Top-quality dental care is expensive

Re: “Accessible health care should also include our teeth,” Aug. 5.

The commentary contains some truths, half-truths and non-sequiturs. I practised dentistry for 30 years and retired some years ago.

Preventive dentistry included teaching patients to care properly for their oral health, for example brushing techniques and daily flossing were critically important. Only in dental school did I learn that dental disease was not God’s will and was preventable.

I placed a plaque on the wall above my hygienist’s chair: “You don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep.”

The writer is correct in stating that oral health and systemic (whole body health) are intimately connected. Dental cavities and periodontal disease can lead to any number of life-altering consequences.

During my career, the dental services provided were quite fragmented: Indian Affairs, Veteran Affairs, Social Services, private insurance, school dental plan for children to age 12, and the working poor with no coverage.

She said that her request for “crown and bridgework” was denied. Much of my daily practice entailed communicating various treatment plans and estimates.

And of course, the wealthy could choose “Cadillac” options such as crowns, implants and bridgework. Others had to choose various options depending on affordability — acrylic partial dentures or cast metal frameworks, root canal or extraction, etc.

Social Services paid for one cleaning per year, root canals only in anterior teeth etc. I don’t believe that a successful partial or full denture for any patient is impossible.

Governments are under tremendous strain with demands from the public for all manner of services. Dental treatment is very expensive. In my last year of practice, my overhead was about $200 an hour due to staff salaries, updated quality equipment and general office expenses.

Top-quality free dental care for everyone will never be possible. Any responsible government has an obligation to provide treatment that alleviates pain and provides function. That is a basic human right.

Cadillac service for everyone at taxpayer expense is not.

John Billett, DMD (retired) Victoria