Research has shown that maintaining oral health is crucial to a person’s overall health and well-being, but for many dental care is out of reach. The recently announced federal Canada Dental Benefit will offer free dental care for eligible children 0 to 12 years old. While this is very good progress, it still does not comprehensively cover the needs of many people lacking the financial means to access dental care. In 2019, 1 in 5 people on the island of Montreal lived in poverty and of these, 40 per cent were employed and many others were students or retired.
Given the need for affordable access to dental care, Green Shield is investing $1.35 million in McGill’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences to support the urgent need for accessible dental care; contributing to the construction funding for a second clinic at Welcome Hall Mission and covering the full costs of the care it will provide. This gift is one of the largest corporate gifts that McGill has ever received. This investment will also support knowledge translation of data emanating from these clinics, which will contribute to research investigating the impact of access to quality dental care.
Green Shield President and Chief Executive Officer Zahid Salman says that filling the gaps in oral health care is an important priority within Green Shield’s social impact strategy. “Although it is a critical aspect of health care, access to oral health care remains precarious for many Canadians, including those who face physical barriers in accessing care, lower-income Canadians, and members of vulnerable populations,” Salman says. Coverage alone is too narrow a concept, and Green Shield is committed to removing the many barriers Canadians face both in accessing and affording oral care.”
McGill’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences is a leader in community programs and research, so they are a natural fit with Green Shield’s social mission. “It’s important to Green Shield that we support communities throughout Canada,” adds Steve Laberge, Vice President, Quebec and Strategic Solutions, “so this partnership with McGill is exciting for both our company as a social enterprise, and also very special to our Quebec team – to be able to help those in the community where we live and work.”
The new clinic at Welcome Hall Mission will be built in an unused space close to the existing Jim Lund Clinic. It will have three chairs, doubling the current capacity. More dentists and staff can be hired, and this clinic will be open on Saturdays to accommodate more patients.
“Welcome Hall Mission is responding to a significant increase in need for all our services. Our free dental clinic cannot keep up with the growing demand,” says its CEO Sam Watts. “The need for quality oral healthcare has continued to grow. Increases in the cost of basic items like food and rent causes people to make difficult choices. Being able to increase our capacity will provide more people with access to basic dental care and it will save the healthcare system money in the long term.”
For Dean Elham Emami, this investment from Green Shield has arrived at a crucial time. “The Green Shield partnership is well aligned with the Faculty’s and McGill’s equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, and it will allow us to expand our dental care services for those who cannot afford it. By creating new facilities in an accessible environment and expanding an existing clinic, we can better respond to the needs of underserved Montrealers.” She also explains that the research component of the Green Door Project Fund is as important as the clinical services. “The data we collect will drive oral health research and will contribute to evidenced-based practices and new information for dental health policies.”
Green Shield is looking forward to the start of construction. “Increasing access and removing the burdensome cost of dental care is an important step towards better health for all,” says Salman.