24
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Volume1 Issue1
N
ews and
E
vents
Manymiddle-incomeearners
can’t afford dental care inCanada
The studyexamined trends in theaffordability
of dental care formiddle-incomeCanadians,
definedaccording to total household income
and thenumber of people in the family (e.g.,
ahouseholdof oneor twopeopleearninga
combinedannual incomeof $15,000–$29,999
wouldbeconsideredmiddle-income
earners). The study revieweddata
on self-reporteddental insurance
coverage, cost-barriers todental care,
andout-of-pocket expenditures for
dental care, basedondata froma series
of StatisticsCanada surveys conducted
between1978–2009.
According to the study’s results, by
2009middle-incomeCanadians
experienced thegreatest decrease in
affordabilityof dental carecompared
toall other incomegroups.Middle-
incomeearnershad the lowest levels
of dental insurancecoverage (48.7%) and
hadequivalent levelsof dental insurance for
full- andpart-time jobs. Incontrast, national
averages for all incomes show thatmore
full-timeworkershavedental benefits (72.6%)
compared topart-timeworkers (64.7%).
But insuredor not, financial barrierswerean
issue formiddle-incomeCanadians—almost
20%of insuredworkers andhalf of uninsured
workers reportedcost-barriers todental care.
Overall, about one-thirdofmiddle-income
earners reportedcost barriers todental care
by2009. Andby2008middle-incomeearners
experienced thegreatest rise inout-of-pocket
dental expenditures since1978.
Dr. CarlosQuiñonez, the study’s senior author,
sayschanges in the labourmarkethavebeen
detrimental tomiddle-incomeearners: “Inorder
to staycompetitiveglobally, largefirmshave
begun tooffermorepart-timeand temporary
workarrangements,whichallows them tonot
offerdental benefitsat all, or theyhave reduced
theamountor robustnessofdental benefits for
existingemployeesornew full-timehires.”
Thefinding thatmiddle-incomeCanadiansfind it
difficult toafforddental care—even if theyhave
insurance—canbeexplainedby two factors,
according toDr.Quiñonez. “Incomesamong the
lowandmiddle income segmentsof our society
have stagnated since the1980s. In real dollars,
people simplycan’t affordwhat theyused to.”
Thisdecrease inpurchasingpower iscompound-
edby “dental careprices thathave risenwell
above inflationover the same timeperiod.”
Fordentists, theconclusion that an increasing
numberofmiddle-incomeearnersaren’tgetting
thedental care theyneedbecause theycan’t
afford it raisesquestionsabout theoral health
statusofmanyCanadians.Dr.Quiñonez says:
“Access topreventiveandcurativedental care
canplayan important role in improvingpeople’s
oral health.Without it, Canadiansdon’thave the
opportunity tomaximize theirhealth.”
As forwhat theprofessioncando to removeor
reducecost-barriers todental care,Dr.Quiñonez
offers: “I believe thedental professioncanplay
themost important andproductive role in
shapinghowwefinanceanddeliverdental
care inCanada.We shouldbeadvocating
formandatorydental insurance inallwork
arrangements, andmoreprogressiveapproaches
topublicdental careprograms, so that they
reachbeyond the traditional groupsweview
asmost inneed.”
a
Reference
1
RamrajC,SadeghiL,LawrenceHP,DempsterL,QuiñonezC. IsAccessingDentalCareBecomingMoreDifficult?Evidence fromCanada’sMiddle-IncomePopulation.
PLoS
ONE
.2013;8(2):e57377.
An increasing number of middle-income earners in
Canada havedifficulties affordingdental care, according
toastudy
1
byateamofUniversityofTorontoresearchers.
“Incomes among the
lowandmiddle income
segments of our societyhave
stagnated since the 1980s.
In real dollars, people
simply can’t affordwhat
theyused to.”
