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[3]By Trish Bauder [4]
BELLEVILLE – An accessible and affordable dental program was held on Tuesday afternoon at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.
The Ontario Oral Health Alliance [5] held the program for low-income adults and seniors in the area.
Anna Rusak, coordinator for the OOHA, informed attendees about how the organization works with community members to provide affordable dental care.
“We’re advocating for the need to expand programs for low income adults and seniors. The government has committed to expanding the programs by 2025,” Rusak said.
“But we believe that it should happen sooner because there are people suffering now.”
Because of the high cost of dental care, some people are forced to live with the pain of cavities, broken teeth, infection and poor-fitting dentures, according to Rusak.
“Some people that I’ve talked to have said they may not need free dental care, they just want it to be affordable,” she said.
“Our vision is free access to programs that will pay for dental care.”
She says the OOHA’s biggest challenge is finding the funding for such programs. There are currently no provincial programs that cover these costs, or provide financial assistance to low-income community members.
“It was very interesting. I know that there is a link between dental and oral health, and other diseases which I think we’re becoming more and more aware of,” said Janet Wright, a belleville resident.