Oral health is a major contributor to overall health and well-being. Researchers have found links between oral health and many systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, various types of cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, arthritis, diabetes, and cognitive diseases. Evidence has also shown that socioeconomic factors, including income, education, employment, are determinants of oral health. The Government of Canada is taking steps to develop a Canada-wide dental care program to improve access for those that need it the most. We are also investing in research to better understand oral health conditions and develop more effective treatments.
Today, Rachel Bendayan, Member of Parliament for Outremont and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance announced, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, a new investment of $2 million over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support an established national research network that will advance oral health science in Canada and help improve dental care for Canadians.
The Network for Canadian Oral Health Research (NCOHR) is led by Dr. Ana Miriam Velly, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University and a researcher at the Lady Davis Institute, the research arm of the Jewish General Hospital. With the support of the new funding from CIHR, Dr. Velly and her team will work together with scientists, health care providers, industry partners, and patient representatives across the country, to spearhead new discoveries and strengthen existing approaches for improving and maintaining oral health. This national network will also support the training of the next generation of oral health researchers and clinicians with a strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. These trainee's activities will be supported by the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, the Canadian Association of Dental Research, the Canadian Dental Association, and the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association.
In addition to investing in NCOHR, CIHR is also supporting research and policy development with an oral health data platform created through a partnership with Statistics Canada. The platform houses oral health data collected from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. It will allow researchers to address questions related to oral health and health care and the links between oral health and overall health. The NCOHR was crucial to setting up the research team for the platform and will be essential in ensuring that oral health researchers, their trainees and others use the data platform to understand the oral health of Canadians better.
In addition to supporting research, the Government of Canada has introduced legislation that proposes a new, temporary Canada Dental Benefit as the first step in developing a national dental care program. This benefit would provide dental care for uninsured Canadians with a family income of less than $90,000 annually, to make oral health care accessible to children under 12 years old in 2022.
