Broken teeth and infected gums: 46K claims filed so far with Canadian Dental Care Plan
CBC
Massive cavities, mouthfuls of broken teeth, bleeding gums and abscesses — they're just some of the serious dental issues Dr. Melvin Lee has treated in less than two weeks of providing care under Canada's new public dental insurance plan.
"I've seen a lot of patients that have infections. Not just dental emergencies, but borderline medical emergencies," the Ottawa dentist said.
"I haven't seen patients in this condition since I did overseas mission dentistry work in Haiti and Peru."
Lee is one of nearly 9,000 oral health care providers who have signed up so far to provide care under the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).
That number has grown significantly since last month, when Ottawa said 5,000 had registered. There are approximately 30,500 oral health care providers across the country that could sign up.
The public plan eventually will provide dental coverage for one in four low- and middle-income Canadian residents who don't have private dental coverage.
As of May 1, eligible seniors 70 and older are covered and registration has opened for seniors 65 and older. To date, 1.9 million seniors have been approved for the plan.
Lee began treating patients on May 1 and has seen about 20 seniors through the CDCP.
Seventy-nine year old Morton Brisard was one of his first patients. He booked an appointment the first day he was covered.
"We are so happy," Brisard said, adding he hadn't seen a dentist in five years because of the cost.
"The dentist is expensive, so that is why I wait, I wait, I wait, till the problem was very bad," he said. "Every morning when I wake up I have blood come from my mouth."
Dr. Lee said most of the seniors he's seen under the CDCP have been in a similar state, having avoided visiting an oral health care provider for years because they didn't have private insurance and couldn't afford to pay out of pocket.
"I've been reminded time and time again of the moral and ethical duty to serve, with every one of these patients that comes through," he said.
The federal government said that 46,000 claims have been processed under the CDCP to date.
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