New dentist office on wheels caring for seniors in Toronto-run long-term care homes
There’s a new mobile dental-care program making the rounds in Toronto.
Toronto Public Health has two vans with built-in dental clinics that are travelling around the city to provide care to seniors in 10 long-term care homes operated by the city.
“Everything is on site, so it’s accessible, it’s timely and it’s free,” Dr. Karen Lee, a dentist with the mobile team, told CTV News Toronto Monday following an announcement about the program.
The vans are equipped to handle patients using wheelchairs and allow for a range of services from cleaning, fillings and x-rays to surgery and dentures.
Teams expect to care for more than 2,600 residents.
“To promote health and equity to those who could not afford it or access it,” Dr. Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, said of the program.
The vans have already visited Kipling Acres Long-Term Care Home, Castleview Wychwood Towers and Bendale Acres Long-Term Care Home.
Resident Jovita Deguzman. 92, said she has been dealing with a few dental issues which are expensive. She is looking forward to giving the mobile clinic a try.
“Excited, happy and grateful,” she said.
While not everyone is eligible for care in the vans because it depends on their insurance, Deguzman qualifies for some of the services.
“If I go to the clinic, I have to take a taxi, or see if someone can drive me. It’s hard, it’s winter, the roads, so this is really convenient.”
The provincial government funded the program with Toronto Public Health doing the dental work.
The aim is to help bridge the link between oral care and overall health, which if unchecked, can lead to problems.
“They don’t eat well, they don’t smile well and if there’s an infection it can lead them sometimes to emergency,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“It’s about making sure seniors have access to the right care in the right place,” said Stan Cho, Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Toronto eliminated from PWHL playoffs
Toronto has been eliminated from the PWHL playoffs.
Information commissioner faces $700K funding shortfall, says system is 'overwhelmed'
Canada's information commissioner says her office is facing a $700,000 funding shortfall that could impact its ability to investigate complaints about government transparency and accountability.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.