A cost-saving, life-enhancing oral health program at seven elementary schools in Wellington County, Guelph and Dufferin County is at risk of having its funding cut when a new amalgamated dental program is rolled-out by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in August.
That is the fluoride varnish initiative – a program that began during the 2007-08 school year and targets students’ urgent dental care needs, said Dr. Bob Hawkins, a dental consultant for WDGPH.
Under the new dental program, WDGPH said it is unsure what programs will remain covered through ministry funding.
Public health initially targeted Centre Peel Public School in Drayton for the fluoride varnish, because many of the students had been identified as in urgent need of intervention, Hawkins said.
“What I mean by urgent is that they’re either in pain or are likely to be in pain in the next four weeks and it’s primarily due to dental decay or tooth decay,” Hawkins added.
Professionals come to the school and apply or “paint” the fluoride varnish onto the students’ teeth. Hawkins said it could take as little as two minutes for younger children with smaller teeth and five minutes for older students with adult teeth.
The program is free to every student, as long as they have parental consent. The treatment is applied three times a year.
The program is such a success at Centre Peel PS that the number of students with urgent dental care needs fell from 66 in 2005-06 to 11 in 2014-15.
WDGPH has since rolled out the program at Princess Margaret, Brant Avenue, Priory Park, Westwood, Victoria Cross and Hyland Heights schools.
“Right now, this fluoride varnish program is unique in that we’re not having the kids show any documentation about financial need,” Hawkins said. “We’re not putting up administrative barriers that might impede access to care.”
Even if students are regularly visiting the dentist, Hawkins said the fluoride applications will not do any harm to a child’s teeth, but it could be an additional benefit. Hawkins was clear in stating regular dental check-ups are still recommended.
“This is not meant to be a replacement at all, but we recognize that for various different reasons people might not be able to access regular preventative care at the dental office,” he said. “This is really a supplement to that.”
At the Feb. 4 WDGPH board meeting, medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer said the entire program costs about $16,660 for all the schools per year. In comparison, she explained that between $132,000 and $155,000 was saved in 2008 in dental care costs for students at Centre Peel PS alone as a result of the fluoride varnish initiative.
The results are prevalent at this pilot school.
Rhonda Gingrich, the principal at Centre Peel PS, said her school has been transformed.
“[It’s] making sure kids are taking good care of their teeth, that they’ll be able to keep them for a long time, so that they don’t have to be sitting there with cavities or mouths blown out with a whole bunch of work that needs to done,” she said.
Gingrich said the program fosters a positive relationship between dental health professionals and students.
“We’re all happy to see the dental team come in here,” she said. “We’re happy, we have conversations, we have relationships, and then when you watch the dental team with our kids they know the kids on a first name basis. There’s great relationships there.”
In addition to the fluoride varnish, Centre Peel PS students also brush their teeth once a day when they are at school.
“It’s part of our healthy schools commitment,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s physical exercise or what it is, it’s part of being a healthy, active human being and to live that, here as part of our school culture, is going to pay forward in the years to come in terms of positively impacting our students’ lives.”
Though Hawkins said WDGPH has no intention of discontinuing the program, Gingrich said it would be a disappointment if the program was no longer offered.
“The kids leaving here have had a very, very different experience, probably, than the ones before they had these opportunities given to them,” she said.
Currently the fluoride varnish program is funded under the Healthy Smiles Ontario program, Hawkins explained.
“It’s an uncertain future for this initiative and obviously we want it to continue because we’ve seen a great benefit from it and it’s the type of program that if it went away … there’s no replacement for it,” he said.
Mercer said at the March 4 board of health meeting, she would like board chair Doug Auld to send a letter to Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Eric Hoskins asking for clarification on what the new amalgamated Healthy Smiles Ontario program will include, the public health components that will be funded, supports for vulnerable populations that will be offered and an indication of the services contained in the new program.
The new program will amalgamate six different dental programs, including: Healthy Smiles Ontario, Children in Need of Treatment, Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities and preventative services run through public health.
The board of health has approved that a letter be sent to Hoskins.
