Filling a gap in the health policy literature, author and dental public health specialist Dr. Carlos Quiñonez explores the complexities surrounding Canada’s dental care system and policies, including how they came to be, their consequences, and what they mean for oral health and access to dental care. The Politics of Dental Care in Canada seeks to answer a long standing policy question in Canadian health care: Why is dental care excluded from Canada’s national system of health insurance, Medicare? The text presents a history of dentistry in Canada from the late 19th century onward, outlining how dentistry traversed a developing Canadian welfare state. Dr. Quiñonez explores factors that led to dentistry’s separation from larger movements in health care policy, including moral questions on individual versus social responsibility over health, scientific advances in the field, and prevailing economic uncertainty. Opening with a series introduction by Dr. Dennis Raphael, this vital text offers an extensive overview on how the politics of dental care contributes to inequalities and inequities in oral health. From discussing scientific and public health advances in dentistry to looking at the general nature of oral health care in Canada from an international perspective, this text serves as an important addition to the field of health policy and a foundational resource for courses in dentistry, health studies, and comparative health policy. FEATURES - Comprehensively discusses the current state of Canadian dental care policy, the history and factors that led to the policy, and the resulting outcomes and inequalities - Presents the latest available information on the epidemiology of oral diseases and conditions; the connection between oral health and systemic health; and the organization, financing, and delivery of oral health care in Canada and internationally

Dental care is excluded from Canada’s universal healthcare system, with services provided based on the ability to pay. Our dental-care system is leading large segments of the population to neglect care, resulting in poor oral health and all of its consequences. This book examines the history of dentistry in Canada, demonstrating how private business interests have prevailed over public health. Current trends in the industry, such as corporate ownership and a focus on cosmetic dentistry, continue this history. But change is possible. By examining alternative approaches to the current dental-care system, this book is a call to action to make a healthier future possible.

"Brings together leading and emerging researchers to advance understanding of the complex relationships between homelessness and health. Covering a wide range of topics from youth homelessness to end-of-life care, contributors outline policy and practice recommendations to respond to this public health crisis."--Back cover.

The first book to discuss the Canadian welfare state through a health-focused lens, The Politics of Health in the Canadian Welfare State argues that the nature of Canada’s liberal welfare state shapes the health care system, the social determinants of health, and the health of all Canadians. Documenting decades of work on the social determinants of health, authors Toba Bryant and Dennis Raphael explore topics such as power and influence in Canadian society, socially and economically marginalized populations, and approaches to promoting health. Each chapter examines different aspects of the links between public policy, health, and the welfare state, investigating how broader societal structures and processes of the country’s economic and political systems shape living and working conditions and, inevitably, the overall health of Canadians. Contextualizing the history and status of Canadian health and health care systems with Canada’s welfare state, this concise and timely text is well suited as a supplementary resource for health studies, sociology of health, and nursing courses in universities across Canada.

As recently as fifty years ago most people expected to lose their teeth as they aged. Few children benefited from braces to straighten their teeth, and cosmetic procedures to change the appearance of smiles were largely unknown. Today, many Canadians enjoy straight, white teeth and far more of them are keeping their teeth for the entirety of their lives. Yet these advances have not reached everyone. The Smile Gap examines the enormous improvements that have taken place over the past century. The use of fluorides, emphasis on toothbrushing, the rise of cosmetic dentistry, and better access to dental care have had a profound effect on the oral health and beauty of Canadians. Yet while the introduction of employer-provided dental insurance in the 1970s has allowed for regular visits to the dentist for many people, a significant number of Canadians still lack access to good oral health care, especially disabled Canadians, those on social assistance, the working poor, the elderly, and new immigrants. At the same time, an attractive smile has become increasingly important in the workplace and in relationships. People with damaged and missing teeth are at a substantial disadvantage, not just because of the pain and suffering caused by poor oral health, but because we live in a society that prizes good teeth and warm smiles. The first history of oral health in Canada, The Smile Gap reveals that despite the gains made, too many Canadians go without any dental care, with damaging consequences for their oral health, general physical health, and self-image. To complete our health care system, it is time to close the gap.

The history of the dental program at Western University is a spirited and gritty story of grand visions, strong personalities, and contentious leadership. Focusing on the years from 1965 to 2015, Transforming Dentistry highlights Western University’s ambitious plans to create and situate a dental program within a health sciences complex; the practical challenges involved in implementing a curriculum and populating a new school; the influence of key dental faculty, community dentists, and students in shaping the program; and the school’s near closure during the 1990s. David J. Kenny and Shelley McKellar detail how and why the training of dentists was transformed by science, technology, and individual educators. The book focuses on the unique aspects of Western’s dental program and compares it with the programs offered at nine other Canadian schools. Today, the strong reputation of Western dentistry is a direct result of the ambitious visions, professional commitment, and steadfast leadership employed by London dentists and university educators over more than five decades.

An NPR Best Book of 2017 "[Teeth is] . . . more than an exploration of a two-tiered system—it is a call for sweeping, radical change." —New York Times Book Review "Show me your teeth," the great naturalist Georges Cuvier is credited with saying, "and I will tell you who you are." In this shattering new work, veteran health journalist Mary Otto looks inside America's mouth, revealing unsettling truths about our unequal society. Teeth takes readers on a disturbing journey into America's silent epidemic of oral disease, exposing the hidden connections between tooth decay and stunted job prospects, low educational achievement, social mobility, and the troubling state of our public health. Otto's subjects include the pioneering dentist who made Shirley Temple and Judy Garland's teeth sparkle on the silver screen and helped create the all-American image of "pearly whites"; Deamonte Driver, the young Maryland boy whose tragic death from an abscessed tooth sparked congressional hearings; and a marketing guru who offers advice to dentists on how to push new and expensive treatments and how to keep Medicaid patients at bay. In one of its most disturbing findings, Teeth reveals that toothaches are not an occasional inconvenience, but rather a chronic reality for millions of people, including disproportionate numbers of the elderly and people of color. Many people, Otto reveals, resort to prayer to counteract the uniquely devastating effects of dental pain. Otto also goes back in time to understand the roots of our predicament in the history of dentistry, showing how it became separated from mainstream medicine, despite a century of growing evidence that oral health and general bodily health are closely related. Muckraking and paradigm-shifting, Teeth exposes for the first time the extent and meaning of our oral health crisis. It joins the small shelf of books that change the way we view society and ourselves—and will spark an urgent conversation about why our teeth matter.