Dental Health

Oral Health

Oral health is important to overall health and well-being for children and youth. Poor dental health can lead to negative health and social outcomes for young people and is important to many aspects of a child’s development (Rowan-Legg, 2013).

December 2019 Board Meeting - Healthy Smiles Ontario Funding Resolution

ISSUE

Healthy Smiles Ontario (HSO) is a publically funded dental care program for children and youth 17 years old and under from low-income households. The Ministry of Health introduced HSO in 2010 as a 100% provincially funded mandatory program for local health units, providing $1,529,700 in funding for children in Windsor-Essex (2019). HSO covers regular visits to a licensed dental provider within the community or through public health units.

Résultats du Sondage sur la santé dentaire des adultes et des personnes âgées de la région de Windsor-Essex : Rapport 2018

Une bonne santé dentaire est importante pour la santé et le bien-être en général. En effet, de bonnes habitudes d’hygiène dentaire et des visites régulières chez le dentiste aident à prévenir les problèmes de santé dentaire.

Community Water Fluoridation (CWF)

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s Board of Directors recommends that the Province of Ontario amend the regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act to require community water fluoridation for all municipal water systems (when source-water levels are below the Health Canada recommended level of 0.7 mg/L) to prevent dental caries (tooth decay) and provide the funding and support to municipalities required.