Pro-active care for people in their communities; Modernizing preventative care through the integration of dental and general health care systems.

Background: Poor oral health is the most common and too often, the most burdensome chronic disease in Canada. Those affected spend significantly more time with the physician and in the hospital than a healthy peer. Yet, 1 in 3 adults have limited access to dental care, even with subsidies from the new Canada Dental Care Plan. These include the pre-frail and frail, those with dental fear and anxieties, Special Needs adults, adults with mood disorders, addictions or cognitive dysfunction, the homeless and near homeless, home care recipients and Canadians unable to fund co-pays or file income tax.

 

Approach: To expand access to dental care, we are introducing a new model which is non-invasive, rapid and delivered in the community or by medical and social services. It painlessly manages oral dysbiosis (the primary cause of poor oral health) after rapid diagnosis. It is designed for service integration – there is no dental equipment, no footprint, no aerosols and no bacteremia.

 

Results: Canadian healthcare urgently needs low cost, readily implemented, impactful innovations in prevention. With a focus on integration within the Guelph Wellington Ontario Health Team, we highlight case studies involving diverse medical and social care providers in Ontario to show the transformative potential of this new model of dental care, then draw implications for the Canadian Dental Care Plan and for the adoption of healthcare innovations and integration.

 

Implications: Dental care is the most inaccessible and unaffordable service in healthcare. Social and medical care providers within Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) currently have no care solution to offer those 1 in 3 adults that can’t, don’t or won’t go to the dentist due to fear and anxiety, inconvenience, dental deserts or cost.

To overcome these barriers, dental care needs to become non-invasive, manage dysbiosis, be quick and painless, and be delivered within existing medical and social care settings.

 

 

International Delegates will gain an understanding of:

• The 1 in 3 Canadian adults that can’t, won’t or don’t access the traditional model of dental care and what that means for OHTs and the broader health care system as it works to provide equitable care, increase access, and reduce costs
• Why chronic dental disease should be given the same attention, prevention, and support as other chronic disease like diabetes, COPD and asthma
• The need for a collective understanding of the current challenge and available solutions in the context of equity, access and cost; and
• Insights from select health and social care teams currently working together to create a community based preventative model of care that works for providers, funders, and patients alike