Improving oral health care in the community was the focus of a meeting involving dozens of insurance providers, local activists, and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
They met during a session at the the Fogolar Furlan Club to examine how to deal with inequality when it comes to dental care.
Oral Health Manager at the health unit, Kim Casier, says the unit gets bombarded with requests they're not equipped to deal with on a regular basis.
"We'll receive either phone calls, or people walking into our clinic or emails, looking for services to help them when they're in pain. Currently there are no provincial programs for adults and seniors," she says.
Casier says having no dental coverage is a common way of life for young adults and seniors and there are very few places to turn locally.
"Not everyone has access to health care benefits through their employer and there are people that have been struggling to make ends meet to try and afford to access care in a dental office," says Casier.
The meeting also examined what other communities have done to address the issues.
"Some communities have formed oral health coalitions, some communities have seniors programs that they fun municipally," she says. "We're just creating awareness, whether it's contacting your MPP and saying this is an issue in our community and what can we do collectively to raise awareness."
Casier adds that in a perfect world, OHIP would recognize oral care as an essential part of living a healthy life.
— with files from AM800's Kristylee Varley