The Richmond Women's Grandmothers Group (BC, Canada), is asking for your support in calling on the BC provincial government to commit to implementing a program for publicly funded dental care for low-income seniors in BC. This issue is important to us because seniors who cannot access dental and oral health care suffer greatly:

1. They endure unnecessary, chronic mouth pain
2. They suffer from lack of sleep and nutrition
3. They lose teeth that could be saved through preventative treatment
4. They suffer social isolation due to shame about their teeth.

Healthy gums and teeth are not a luxury.  Seniors with dental decay are much more likely to develop pneumonia, the #1 cause of mortality in long-term care. Seniors with gum disease are 4 times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, and have up to a 90% increase in risk for heart disease. 

The majority of Canadian seniors cannot afford dental care, and over 27% of seniors avoid dental care due to cost. BC is worst place in Canada for seniors to access affordable dental care.  Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan all have dental care programs for low-income adults. Alberta and Newfoundland have programs for low-income seniors. All three territories fund oral care for all senior residents. In BC seniors have very few options.

Access to dental and oral health care as we age benefits all of us. If you are lucky, you will grow old. Seniors oral health care is not just important for seniors, it is important for all British Columbians.

BC needs a program of publically funded oral hygiene and dental care for low-income seniors.