Topic: The Canadian government should cover dental costs
Thesis Statement: Dental care costs should be covered under the umbrella of Canada’s publicly funded health care system because oral health is linked to our overall health, the current insurance scheme widens the gap between the rich and poor, and the dire need for universal dental coverage is rather a major social and health care issue that has to be acted upon by the Canadian government for the Canadians. If you haven’t figured out enough reasons to take good care of your mouth, teeth and gums, the relationship between your oral health and your overall health provides even more, because choosing to practice a good oral hygiene equates to making an investment in your overall
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Dental insurance coverage is a key determinant on whether to seek care or not. The exclusion of our mouths from the rest of our body parts and not receiving the care it requires is quite impossible to rationalize (McClymont, 2015). Dental care is essential in the maintenance of good oral health and in the identification of symptoms of systemic conditions that most likely are manifested through the mouth. As striking and conspicuous as it may sound, Canada has indeed a type of health care system wherein mouth is excepted as a part of the body. As a matter of fact, our lips, tongues, and throats are securely covered while our teeth and gums are left out from the privilege. The most common infectious disease in the world are dental diseases, and the fact that many health issues can be first diagnosed through the oral cavity validates its importance and co-relevance to the rest of our body. Studies have linked poor oral health such as severity of gum infection to AIDS, first stages of osteoporosis, reveal nutritional deficiencies, immune disorders, cancer, and so on and so forth. Xerostomia or dry mouth for an instance is often a symptom of undetected diabetes. Diabetic patients have higher risks of gum infection caused by increased blood sugar, thickening of blood vessels resulting to hindered healing process that is why they are obligated to undergo pre-medication as a form
Oral hygiene is a healthy practice of maintaining a clean and health teeth and mouth and protects it from the dental problems. Some of the general dental problems are the gingivitis, bad breadth, dental cavities and periodontal disease.
This proves that the lack of dental insurance within these low-income households plays a key role in whether or not these children will receive dental care. When these children do not visit the dentist, they increase their chances of developing dental caries significantly. The British Dental Journal disclosed that, “Sugars consumption varies by social class. National food surveys reveal a higher consumption of sugar and sugar-containing foods and drinks amongst low income groups”(Watt 8). Healthy food is expensive; therefore lower class families resort to unhealthy food because it is significantly cheaper. This extensive consumption of sugar-ridden foods is extremely detrimental to the enamel. The British Dental Journal also declared that “oral inequalities will only be reduced through the implementation of effective and appropriate oral health promotion policy”(Watt 6). The dental program will make the inequalities in dental care known and work to reduce those inequalities. Dental health is often times overseen because it is typically expensive and people are unaware of how the condition of their teeth affects the condition of the rest of their body. The all-inclusive dental health program will give people the treatment they need, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
The provision of dental treatment in Australia is a topic that ignites a wide range of opinions and emotions among the various stakeholders involved. Much of dentistry in Australia is provided in the private setting, some estimates suggesting 83%1. Australians fund up to 60% of dental care via out of pocket payments1,2. Only a relatively small amount of dental care is provided in the public sector to patients who are often disadvantaged in regards to their oral health1. It is estimated that a large amount of the population is unable to access dental care due to finances; however the capacity of the public sector to provide dental care is limited. With limited funding and resources, the public sector is unable to provide dental care for all Australians and a large proportion of people are on long wait lists, some estimates of 650,0002.
Dental care has long been viewed as luxury due to the fact that many can not afford this high cost for health care1. Overall, much of our society either perceives the cost too high or does not give it the urgency it so deserves1. As mentioned earlier, one of the communities biggest issues is the lack of care being served to low-income communities.. This largely comes from the fact that many health care companies do not cover dental care. Another issue is that due to lower pay back from Medicaid, many times dentists do not accept Medicaid as a payment1. Unfortunately, within these underserved, low-income populations, Medicaid is the primary form of coverage that these individuals are able to receive. Other barriers to treatment, also include the lower number of dentists that are also available in these under
Good oral health is important for a person's sense of well being and quality of life (Fiske, 2001). Inadequate oral hygiene can lead to pain, tooth loss, oral disease,
Unlike the previous studies mentioned here, this study by Decker & Lipton (2015) looked more on adults who are covered by the Medicaid. Two key findings were revealed in this study—first of all, an increase of the likelihood of dental care visit is evidenced by those who have Medicaid coverage and second, there is also a reduction of the likelihood of untreated dental caries. It is also concluded that Medicaid is essential in promoting dental care and that it is strongly suggested that it should be expanded to further benefit a wider population of
Access to healthcare thought the invidual’s life is an important value. Even though in Canada the health care system is universal. Prescription drugs, dental and other aspect are not
Oral health is not considered an integral part of Canada 's universal, publicly-funded health care regime. Dental care, outside of a hospital setting, does not constitute a ‘medically necessary’ service for the purpose of maintaining health as per the Canada Health Act (1964). There are three components to the Canadian health system that exist today: universal, publicly-funded coverage for physician and hospital services (known as Medicare); goods and services such as home care, long-term care, and prescription drugs which are funded either privately (through insurance or out-of-pocket), or publicly (through targeted subsidies or direct delivery programs); and finally, private health care services which include dental care.1 Costs for
According to Health Canada (2008), “Untreated gum disease can lead to the loss of teeth and an increased risk of more serious diseases, such as respiratory disease.” So it is important to take care of our teeth, gums and tongue to prevent other serious infections and diseases from developing. A person’s self-esteem will be affected if he or she doesn’t have healthy teeth because it will cause confident level to drop and the person becomes more self-conscious about it in front of others. A person with poor oral hygiene will have bad breath due to not scrapping his or her tongue, it will decrease social interaction with others because other people will walk away or they will stop talking.
Because children are influenced by the family tradition and learn from their parents, it is important for parents to make sure that they are teaching proper oral care habits at a young age. The habits that children should learn at a young age are; keeping up with home dental care, receiving the dental care that people should, needing dental care but being enforced to go, brushing teeth as well as they should, being taught on how to control snacking between meals as well as they should, and being taught that dental care is indeed important. " Poor oral health has an impact upon children's health in general and dental caries can lead to a lack of appetite, problems with chewing, problems with sleeping and a decrease in school performance" (Abanto et al, 2011). Proper health education is somewhat
Appendix 7 introduces us to the global expenditures on dental care on a world scale. Also it highlights the global dental supply market and sees how much countries in North America spend on their dental care.
Currently, only two provinces in the country provide dental care programs for the elderly – Alberta and Manitoba (Andkhoie et al., 2014). Thus, most of the country’s elderly population residing in other provinces usually has to fund their dental care through private dental insurance or direct out-of-pocket payment. The majority of these elderly cannot meet their financial obligations in accessing dental care (Friedman et al., 2014), hence the lower levels of access as seen in Newfoundland in this study, and among the elderly population in the literature (Lai & Hui, 2007; MacEntee, Stolar, & Glick, 1993; Yao & MacEntee, 2014).
Dental health is one of the most important matters in our lives. Without proper dental tonicity, people can obtain dental problems, which can be as severe as death. In order to maintain proper dental care go to your dentist every six months. It is also important to change your toothbrush regularly, floss, use fluoride, and eat healthy foods. Healthy foods may consist of fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and drinking water is crucial to your dental health by maintaining a moisturized mouth. A moisturized mouth protects our hard and soft oral tissues. Children and adults should know the benefits of maintaining proper oral hygiene while preventing poor oral asepticism.. Not only does good oral hygiene affects our mouth it also affects our overall health.
Maintaining good oral health is essential to maintaining good overall health. Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping the mouth and teeth clean to prevent dental problems, most commonly, dental cavities, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and tooth loss. Preventing these dental diseases are
Although many Americans have good oral hygiene due to fluoride and making everyday good decisions, others do not have any access at all to oral health care. Over the years, dentists have been trying to demonstrate the importance of oral care. (“Access to Dental Care”) From commercials to campaigns, dentists will continue to demonstrate to their patients as well as to the people who don't have insurance the importance of oral health care. They will teach them preventative care and some techniques on how to prevent from getting any diseases.