Nowadays, the most topical issues of dental care and general health care in Canada attract a lot of attention of local journalists, writers and bloggers. Canada is a country known for its very advanced health care system that does not include dental care services in overwhelming majority of health insurance plans. In addition, dental services in Canada are quite expensive, therefore, a lot of people just can not afford full treatments, this way putting their general health to an increasing danger. The Ontario Ministry of Health is currently trying to provide children aged 13 and younger with a range of free dental services (including emergency services), allowing children have healthy teeth and gums.

In addition, as the findings of a latest study suggest, a great deal of modern Canadians also can not afford their usual prescription medications. A group of scientists from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto analyzed the data on 5,700 citizens of Canada, and it turned out that 9.6 per cent of the respondents said that could not afford buying their prescription medicines. A call to save money and too high prices for the medications were named as the main reasons for this phenomena. The report about this research was recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Many specialists were highly disappointed with the findings of this research. Dr. Michael Law, a scientist of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia, said: “We claim to have a universal system and we have that for hospitals and physicians. But in Canada, we can’t claim to have a universal health care system if one in 10 are reporting they can’t afford their prescription drugs.” He said that a great deal of drugstores and a known pharmacy in Canada are making efforts on lowering the prices for the most common and the most important groups of prescription medications, including special dental kits, dental flosses, and other dental care products.

In addition to that, the government initiated a program on providing free prescription medications for serious life-threatening conditions like heart attack and others. It was found out that this program helped to actually save costs because those patients who took free prescription medications were hospitalized less frequently. “The evidence shows that providing prescription drugs for free in many situations is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes economic sense,” Dr. Danielle Martin, a chief of Canadian Doctors for Medicare said.

Tags: dental care, prescription medications

Posted: January 20th, 2012 under Miscellaneous.
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As we all know very well, sugary and sweet foods are very harmful to our dental health. Those who like candies, jams, sweet bakery and other too much sweet foods are in a great dander to develop serious dental health conditions, including tooth loss, numerous cavities and so on. On the background of the information that nowadays, not all people who need a proper dental care can afford or by other reasons receive it, the Irish government is considering an interesting and very creative solution to this problem. It is proposed to launch a special so called ‘sugar tax’, and direct the accumulated funds to dental care institutions and spend those revenues to improve national dental care.

In particular, it is proposed to spend those money to sponsor wide national dental care programs and schemes. The experts at the Irish Dental Association (IDA) support this idea extensively, and they stress on the importance of launching such a tax as an indication of government’s concern about national health and well being. The ‘sugar tax’ is a special governmental tax which is planned to be imposed on a variety of fatty foods and sugary drinks, as an effective measure to improve public health in the today’s Ireland.

The experts from the IDA are demonstrating the figures and facts proving a huge decrease in the number of dental treatments and dental procedures provided recently by dental care specialists in the country. They say that in 2010, the amount of dental services decreased too much. In particular, the number of dental fillings has reduced by over 60 per cent compared to the number of dental fillings provided in 2009, and the number of tooth extraction procedures also dropped down by almost 30 per cent compared to the one provided in 2009. The same can be said about the number of oral examinations, which has dropped by 32 per cent in 2010.

That is why, according to the report of the IDA experts, spending revenues from ‘sugar tax’ on national dental schemes and developing new dental programs could be “the best return for the taxpayer”. In addition to that, the IDA specialists point on the fact that governmental help and financial support for the PRSI dental treatment cover programs and schemes have been recently decreasing, and in 2010 governmental funding for these programs decreased almost by 50 per cent. That is why extra financial support for national dental programs is absolutely vital and necessary in the circumstances.

Tags: dental care, sugar tax

Posted: November 10th, 2011 under Miscellaneous.
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The importance of a proper dental care for everyone of us is indisputable. However, people with certain health conditions and diseases should pay extra attention on their dental care and regular dental procedures. This can be said about the people who suffer from type 2 diabetes or severe mental disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Besides, those patients who were diagnosed with the most common types of cancer, who had to undergo a variety of anti-cancer therapies, also require a special attention of today’s dental specialists. And many world’s leading dentists are talking about the necessity to make a good emphasis on this issue is dental schools around the world.

Cancer is a very serious and stressful disease which is linked to a variety of treatments and very serious side effects. The most commonly offered cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, and all of those have very serious impact on the body and health. Sometimes, patients with cancer have to undergo a combination of the mentioned treatments which in turn has much heavier impact on the body and general health. In particular, the most common side effects of cancer treatments on patients’ dental health include:

• Necrosis of tissues in oral cavity
• Tooth decay
• Dry mouth
• Wounds in oral cavity and impaired ability to heal them effectively
• Inability to open the mouth properly
• Increased risks of osteoradionecrosis and other related conditions
• Others

Many specialists point on the importance of teaching young dental specialists how to treat the mentioned dental problems and health conditions which are very common in people who suffer from head and neck cancer. Every dentist should have skills and enough knowledge to evaluate treatment opportunities, choose the best and the most proper one, and perform all necessary procedures in the framework of the selected type of treatment. Unfortunately, currently the issue is not being stressed out enough in dental educational establishments.

In particular, it is known that patients with cancer who undergo a radiation treatment should recognize the importance of special fluoride treatment, and dentists should explain the patients the necessity of performing this procedure on a daily basis. It is crucial to raise the level of awareness and understating of the specifics of dental care for patients with cancer among today’s dental care specialists. Side effects of cancer treatments like radiation therapy or chemotherapy can be very harmful, and proper dental treatments are the only way to prevent their destructive effects on the overall health of those people.

Tags: dental care, patients with cancer, side effects of cancer treatments

Posted: October 25th, 2011 under Miscellaneous.
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