Social Determinants

Oral health has a direct impact on the general health, hence, it is important that all Canadians have adequate access to dental care services. Over the years successive Governments have reduced financial support to programs delivering dental care to most vulnerable populations. As a result, many low income families and other vulnerable groups have been unable to access dental care. There is further escalation in the disparities in oral health care among Canadians, as the number of Canadians losing dental care benefits continues to increase. Also, higher oral health care costs can be expected in the near future due to shortage of health care professionals.

Sociology is the study of how social forces influence individuals living within a society. Any society is made of norms, values and beliefs that have the effect of constraining individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Through understanding and sociological imagination, individuals can remove or at least lessen the social forces’ impacts that are causing the constraints.

Evidence increasingly shows that poor oral health is associated with functional disability that can lead to deficits and decline” (Overview of oral health, 2017). According to an article in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, dental fear can have a significant impact on a person’s awareness of their oral health, as well as one’s pro-active steps towards prevention and treatment. Therefore, it is paramount in helping a patient alleviate their fear by listening to the patient, acknowledging their concerns, and taking things slowly (Yildirim,

The problem in accessing dental care for low-income community is complex and cannot be determined simply. Lack of utilisation is as a result of lack of demands for dental health (Al Agili, Bronstein & Greene-McIntyre 2005). Demand also depends on the economic condition that supports the patients. At the individual level it has been known for years that financial reason is an essential barrier for not able to visit a dentist (Wallet et al. 2014). However, in this case, the Government try to assist low-income people by reducing financial barrier through the benefit offering by CDBS. Even though the scheme has not maximally encouraged those are eligible for the scheme. In addition to the financial barrier, perceived need is one of the reasons

The authors have properly addressed the health disparities in this article. They started the article by telling the audience why Hispanic faces health disparities the most. First, due to the language barrier they have insufficient knowledge of oral health. Most the people who participated in this study were immigrants, Spanish. Only 2/3 of the people spoke and understood little to no English. Second, because of the poverty they have can’t afford dental health and avoid going to see the dentist. ¾ of the parents received an income of $2,000 or under per month. Third, many of the families did not have any type of dental insurance.

While most of the patients I interacted with were seeking non-dental care, I met patients who were seeking care to health conditions that stem from their oral health such as oral abscesses, which our team was unable to treat except for prescribing antibiotics or painkillers. I encountered similar situations when I shadowed physicians in the emergency room of hospitals, observing a variety of craniofacial disorders originating from a preventable tooth decay. From these observations, I learned that patients often did not receive treatment that addressed the root of their problems: their oral health. As the result, I learned that many physicians saw the same patient repeatedly for problems that would otherwise be easily prevented through proper preventive dental care. Determining to address the unmet needs for accessible preventive dental care, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry so that I can provide a positive and meaningful impact to the underserved community on their oral health and ultimately their overall

The provision of dental treatment in Australia is a topic that ignites a wide range of opinions and emotions among the various stakeholders involved. Much of dentistry in Australia is provided in the private setting, some estimates suggesting 83%1. Australians fund up to 60% of dental care via out of pocket payments1,2. Only a relatively small amount of dental care is provided in the public sector to patients who are often disadvantaged in regards to their oral health1. It is estimated that a large amount of the population is unable to access dental care due to finances; however the capacity of the public sector to provide dental care is limited. With limited funding and resources, the public sector is unable to provide dental care for all Australians and a large proportion of people are on long wait lists, some estimates of 650,0002.

In the course of my time volunteering at the UCSD Student-Run Free Dental Clinics, I came to understand how poverty, language barriers, and a lack of knowledge about the importance of dental care can lead to readily preventable and treatable dental problems. These dental problems can lead to a cascade of issues, preventing an individual’s progress. As a clinic volunteer inside the school’s dental clinic, I noticed young students, with poor dental care, have constant pain that affected their studies and attitude. I recall a Hispanic young boy telling me he was sharing a toothbrush with his family. I hand over multiple toothbrushes and, using Spanish cards, educate him on oral hygiene. With each treatment visit, he was eager to tell the dentist

Many low income areas have dental therapists as part of their local dental team. Many people in these areas have never been to a dentist or do not go every six months as recommended this poses many other health problems. There has been case studies and data showing that in these areas dental health

Dental insurance coverage is a key determinant on whether to seek care or not. The exclusion of our mouths from the rest of our body parts and not receiving the care it requires is quite impossible to rationalize (McClymont, 2015). Dental care is essential in the maintenance of good oral health and in the identification of symptoms of systemic conditions that most likely are manifested through the mouth. As striking and conspicuous as it may sound, Canada has indeed a type of health care system wherein mouth is excepted as a part of the body. As a matter of fact, our lips, tongues, and throats are securely covered while our teeth and gums are left out from the privilege. The most common infectious disease in the world are dental diseases, and the fact that many health issues can be first diagnosed through the oral cavity validates its importance and co-relevance to the rest of our body. Studies have linked poor oral health such as severity of gum infection to AIDS, first stages of osteoporosis, reveal nutritional deficiencies, immune disorders, cancer, and so on and so forth. Xerostomia or dry mouth for an instance is often a symptom of undetected diabetes. Diabetic patients have higher risks of gum infection caused by increased blood sugar, thickening of blood vessels resulting to hindered healing process that is why they are obligated to undergo pre-medication as a form

Oral health care is an integral part of the US healthcare system. In 2012, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced “The Comprehensive Dental Reform Act”, which aimed on expanding dental coverage, accessible oral health care centers, increase in dental workforce, enhanced dental education and encourage dental research. (Congress.gov). The ACA, aim to curb the national health spending, by facilitating the affordability to quality care through private and public health insurance. The purpose of this bill is to cut the healthcare costs and to reverse the “silent epidemic” of dental health status (surgeon gen). This dental bill with an integrated approach towards the preventive and comprehensive oral healthcare is estimated to provide coverage to almost 17.7 million adults. (ADA

(2015) and Dodd et al. (2014), Decker & Lipton (2015) have utilized data qualitatively, which verily served the purpose of gaining rich information on the perceptions of the respondents on dental care and health. This is also important to consider, especially since most of the studies are done quantitatively. Although both qualitative and quantitative studies are good on their own, both also have considerable weaknesses. It would be interesting as well to see more researches done in mixed method in order to fill in the weaknesses of these two. It will be also good to note if the study by Decker & Lipton (2015) can be replicated in different sample—such as other minority groups or a more heterogeneous sample. In this way, the scholar literature can be expanded by our knowledge about dental health that is growing to be a public health issue in United States and in other parts of the world. Given the qualitative data gathered by Decker & Lipton (2015), it will be helpful if better public policies are made to cater to these sensitive populations. This is also true in the suggestion of Dodd et al. (2014) on the widening of the Medicaid coverage among adults—and on the reconsideration not to deflouridate the water supply in New York in the study by Edelstein et al. (2015). As mentioned by Edelstein et al. (2015), removing the fluoride content in the New York water supply could only worsen the rates of early childhood carries. In the long run,

The cost of dental care and the ability to directly pay for services are key economic barriers to access and use of dental services (Bhatti et al., 2007; Duncan & Bonner, 2014; Vargas & Manski, 1999). Research and studies on economic barriers of dental care have noted that individuals at the lower end of socio-economic scale often tend to have poor oral health status compared to those at the higher end of the scale (Anikeeva, Brennan, & Teusner, 2013; Listl, 2011; Locker et al., 2011). The poor and the working poor (marginally poor), as well as, some middle income Canadian often have to make a budgetary trade-off by compensating other vital good and services such as food, in order to be enable to pay for dental care (Muirhead, Quiñonez, Figueiredo, & Locker, 2009). The findings of this study confirm a relatively low proportion of access and use of dental services among residents with total household earnings of less than $20,000 in all three provinces. Cross-tabulation analysis (table 2) shows that the percentage of residents who have consulted a dentist, actually visited a dentist, and used dental services in less than a year, increases with increasing household income in all three provinces. However, the level of access and use of dental care services among the individuals with lower household income are not the same in the three provinces. The proportions of lower household income residents in Alberta and Manitoba who have consulted a dentist, actually visited a dentist,

Economic status of the dental industry is “A key risk factors for many oral diseases, and significantly determines both general and oral health” (Beaglehole Pg 49) .Countries income and dental care can determine the number of oral health or dental diseases people might have in that country. In appendix 8 and 9there is a chart which identifies the “Relationship between GDP per capita” (Beaglehole 48) in the dental care industry.

Although many Americans have good oral hygiene due to fluoride and making everyday good decisions, others do not have any access at all to oral health care. Over the years, dentists have been trying to demonstrate the importance of oral care. (“Access to Dental Care”) From commercials to campaigns, dentists will continue to demonstrate to their patients as well as to the people who don't have insurance the importance of oral health care. They will teach them preventative care and some techniques on how to prevent from getting any diseases.