People camp out overnight for free dental clinic in Guelph

A Guelph dental clinic is helping put smiles on faces for free.

There was a long lineup at Westwood Dental Group when they opened their doors on Friday morning at 7 a.m.

Some people, like Tuk Sharma, had been waiting since 5 a.m. that day.

“Having to go often for treatment, I’m mentally stressed – physically stressed,” Sharma said. “This support is really grateful for us, for me and everyone.”

The clinic was offering free services to community members who otherwise could not afford

procedures including filings, cleanings and extractions.

More than 100 people, eager for relief, showed up to take advantage of the offer. Some even camped out overnight in hopes of securing a spot.

“I’m actually from Hamilton,” Marcus Thomas Antonio Del Conte said. “This is the first time that I’ve experienced an event like this. It’s the first time I’ve been here and it’s excellent.”

Although this was Del Conte’s first visit, it was the ninth time the Westwood Dental Group has held their ‘Gift from the Heart’ event.

“You would think that in a first world country we wouldn’t see this level of dental needs and decay and just people in need,” Dr. Michael Bull said. “But the need is there and it’s alarming how much.”

According to Health Canada, one-third of people living in this country do not have dental coverage. One in four Canadians reportedly avoid visits to the dentist because of the cost.

“We just noticed that there was quite a gap as far as access to dental care, people just not being able to afford routine dental care with the cost of service being what it is today,” Bull said.

Canadian Dental Care Plan

The federal government has taken steps to try to address the gap in dental care by introducing the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

The initiative provides dental coverage to Canadians without dental insurance if their family income is less than $90,000. Some of the treatments and services they will have access to include cleanings, X-rays, cavity fillings, dentures and root canals.

The program is not fully operational yet. The rollout, to date, has focused on seniors.

So far, two million seniors aged 65 and older have signed up for the program, but only 10,000 oral health providers have enrolled to provide services.

When the program’s rollout is complete in 2025, approximately nine million low-income Canadians of all ages are expected to be eligible.

The next phase of enrolment, coming up in June, will include children under the age of 18 and Canadians with a Disability Tax Credit certificate.