Good oral health for all
Message from the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis for Oral Health MonthMore Canadians are keeping their teeth as they age. According to Statistics Canada, the percentage of Canadians aged 20 to 79 with no natural teeth has gone down over the past 20 years from 17% to just over 6%. This means fewer Canadians with dentures or toothless grins.
This improvement in oral health can be attributed to the widespread use of fluorides in Canada and improved access to dental care over the past few decades. Good oral health has other benefits, too. Losing your teeth may cause changes in eating patterns, nutritional deficiencies, and involuntary weight loss. Also, cavities and gum disease may contribute to serious health conditions such as diabetes and respiratory disease. So by keeping their teeth, gums and mouths healthy, people are helping maintain their overall health.
Research has contributed to this improvement in oral health care. Since 2000, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research has invested more than $50 million in oral health research. This research has increased our understanding of oral biology and helped improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases. Researchers today are exploiting the latest advances in fields such as nanotechnology to produce better dental implants and are exploring the potential for growing artificial teeth to replace those lost through injury or disease.
Despite these advances, many Canadians still suffer from poor oral health. We know that the groups likely to be affected are those vulnerable to other health problems – the poor, seniors, Aboriginals, and people living in rural or remote regions. But just how big is the problem? And what are the barriers that prevent these people from getting proper dental care and information that they can use to improve their oral health?
Oral health research is one of the priorities of the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis. In an effort to build a better picture of the state of oral health care in Canada, the Institute launched a research funding opportunity on oral health disparities in 2006. This initiative led to the funding of four projects designed to build research capacity and improve our knowledge of the oral health services that are available to and being accessed by vulnerable populations in different regions of the country:
- Drs. Rosamund Harrison and Michael Macentee at the University of British Columbia are exploring the oral health care policies, services and educational programs for low-income people in B.C.
- Drs. David Locker and Carlos Quiñonez at the University of Toronto are working with federal, provincial, and municipal governments to fill knowledge gaps and facilitate the development of policy at the local and national level to reduce oral health care disparities.
- Drs. Paul Allison and Christophe Bedos at McGill University are building a multidisciplinary team to understand the main determinants of oral health and improve oral health and oral health care of vulnerable groups.
- Dr. Stephen Bornstein at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Drs. Joanne Clovis and Debora Matthews at Dalhousie University have put together a team to study the status of oral health care among older adults in Atlantic Canada
These research teams are helping to improve oral health care services, policies and programs for people not just in their regions but across the country.
It's important that all Canadians have access to the best oral health care. As research continues to show: oral health is linked to overall health. And a future where all Canadians have healthy mouths and healthy bodies is a future that should make us all smile.
Dr. Jane E. Aubin
Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis