Last week, the much-anticipated and highly touted Canadian Dental Care Plan was unveiled. As a doctor, I will be the first to tell you oral health is important for long-term health and wellness, especially among seniors and those of lower incomes.
The plan and its rollout was hastily conceived and implemented. The government appeared to be scrambling to do something big in order to leave a legacy (again).
One would think if you were developing a national dental care plan, you might have consulted dentists? It’s a fact that less than one in six dental-care professionals are opting into this program because of how vague, disorganized and rushed it is. This means more wasted government resources and funding on a program that was never given a chance to succeed due to mismanagement and poor communication.