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upporting
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our
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ractice
dentistsanddental hygienists compared to theoverall populationhas increased, indicating that thegrowth
ofdental human resources isoutpacingpopulationgrowth inCanada.
Were thesefindingssurprisingor somewhatexpected?
Wewere surprisedby the increasing shareofdental care spendingborneby familiesusingafter-taxdollars
and thedecline in the sharebornebyprivate insurers.Wewerealso surprisedby thegeneral increase in
utilization in the faceof increasingaffordability issues, evenamongmiddle-incomepopulations.
Whatare thenext steps?
This studydemonstrated theneed toexplore thequalityofdental insurance, not justquantity. Employment-
based insurance is still quiteprevalent in theCanadianpopulation, but its robustness
(orquality) hasdiminished.Weneed tohaveabetterunderstandingof thesechanges
and their implications, especially forCanada’s rapidlyagingpopulation.
Whatare the implications fordentists?
Dentistswill need toaddress issuesof access tocarenot just forno-or low-income
populations, butpotentially formiddle-incomepatients thathavebeenwith them for
a long time.Whether that is throughpaymentplansorothermeans, itmaybe that
middle-incomepatientsmay facenewchallengeswhenengaging in treatments that
theyneedor thathavebeen recommended to them.
In termsofdentistsand theirorganized representation, there isaneed to start thinkingmore strategically
about access tocare, as thiswill soonbecome thebailiwickof otherpublic interestgroups, suchas those
representing seniorsand labour.
What’sone takeawaymessage foryourcolleagues?
Financial barriers todental carearenowmoreprevalent thanever, and thiswill impacthowgovernmentsand
thepublicperceiveandengagewithusasdentistsandasaprofession.
a
Theviews expressedare thoseof theauthor anddonot necessarily reflect theopinionsor official policiesof theCanadianDental Association.
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