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
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.