A few communities in Easten Ontario have exisiting dental coalitions or
are in the process of developing coalitions.  The Kingston Coalition for
Dental Care has been around for nearly 2 years. We are a community
coalition of community members and organizations (for example CHC,
Health Unit, other health/social agencies).  We meet monthly and have a
core group of committed (and active) members.

The coalition has developed a series a fact sheets which have been
distributed in Kingston and area over the past few months.  Additional
fact sheets are underway and other activities related to Oral Health
Month are planned.

Anyone interested in conversing more about this type of dental advocacy
can contact me at [log in to unmask]   I would be interested
to learn about organizations/groups undertaking similar initiatives, as
well.  Our coalition welcomes ideas from others and we are happy to
share our strategies and ideas with those who are like minded.

Marci Swazey
Current Chair,  Kingston Coalition for Dental Care



Marci Swazey
Project Coordinator
AWARE
PO Box 86
Kingston ON K7L 4V6
613/545-0117
fax 613/545-1508

Roosendaal, Inge wrote:

>It's great to see interest on the list-serve regarding oral health.
>It's an important health issue that is often overlooked in health
>promotion.
>
>The Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD) has a Health
>Promotion and Advocacy committee working at developing an advocacy
>campaign around access to care issues and the face of dental disease in
>Ontario.
>
>We are in the very early stages of our advocacy work.  To help identify
>stakeholders, we want to find out if there are any organizations or
>coalitions in Ontario that are engaged in advocating for access to
>dental care for any population.
>
>As a member of their committee, I would appreciate hearing from anyone
>who has information about active groups (contact names and email
>addresses would be appreciated), or your thoughts in general about this
>important issue.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Inge Roosendaal, B.Sc., M.PL
>Health Promotion Officer
>Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Dental
>Region of Peel Health
>Tel: 905-791-7800, x2091
>Fax: 905-458-5158
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Health Promotion on the Internet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>Behalf Of Jenny La
>Sent: March 30, 2004 7:00 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Poverty and Oral Health symposium and related articles
>
>Thanks, Alison, for addressing this crucial topic of dental health.
>
>I'm currently brainstorming on effective ways to promote oral health
>with
>children through the educational system and/or community centers to
>prevent
>dental problems with our future generations.  Teach them at a young age.
>>From my survey of students and schools, I am shocked to learn that there
>is
>a lack of ongoing dental education for children and families!!  I have
>developed a dental program (called Healthy Habits For Kids) that I want
>to
>implement at schools and community centers.
>
>If anyone is interested in helping me with implementing this initiative,
>please contact me at: [log in to unmask]  Thanks!
>
>Cheers,
>Jenny La:)
>Coordinator
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Health Promotion on the Internet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
>Behalf
>Of Stirling, Alison
>Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 5:58 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Poverty and Oral Health symposium and related articles
>
>An issue that rarely gets discussed by health promoters is dental health
>and
>the link to poverty and determinants of health. The last few days, this
>issue seems to have come to the forefront with announcement of an
>upcoming
>symposium on the issue, and research articles about the situation in
>Quebec
>and in Ontario. Here's a compilation of these items for our
>consideration
>and discussion.
>
>Symposium - Access and Care: Towards a National Oral Health Strategy
>Toronto, Ontario, May 13-15, 2004
>
>The Toronto Oral Health Coalition, George Brown College and University
>of
>Toronto have organized the first ever Symposium on Oral Health Policy,
>to
>take place in mid May.
>This symposium is especially crucial and timely because:
>* dentistry was excluded from consideration in the Future of Health Care
>in
>Canada (Romanow) Report;
>* unlike most developed countries, Canada has no recent nation-wide
>survey
>of the oral-health status of its citizens;
>* there is virtually no planning for future dental provider roles or
>requirements;
>* Canada has no national dental-care program for children and
>expectant/new
>mothers--similar programs are available even in many developing
>countries;
>* hospital-based dental clinics have been closed, having a severe impact
>on
>training and services;
>* public programs for seniors and children have been cancelled;
>* there are higher fees and, consequently, higher student debt for
>training
>in dentistry;
>* there are extreme limits on dental coverage for those on welfare and
>almost nothing for the working poor and seniors;
>* Canada has income tax-free care for those with employer-paid dental
>insurance; and
>* most importantly, no-one has accepted the challenge of improving the
>situation
>
>For more information or to register on line visit
><http://www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/continuinged/contedcourselist.html>.
>
>
>Just as the symposium was being announced in the OHPE Bulletin last
>Friday,
>an article on accessibility of dental services by poor people in Quebec,
>was
>being shared in another listserv. The original article is "Improving
>dental
>health for the poor" by Bronwyn Chester from the McGill Reporter March
>11,
>2004 v.36 #12<http://www.mcgill.ca/reporter/12/bedos/>
>This article focuses on the work of McGill Dentistry Professor
>Christophe
>Bedos on improving the dental health of those with limited access to
>dentists. His interviews with Quebec welfare recipients (reported in
>Social
>Science & Medicine Apr 2003 http://tinyurl.com/2cy7b) showed that the
>poor,
>despite access to free basic dental care, were less likely to go to
>dentists. Some of the barriers related to their relationship to
>dentists,
>the environment and the stigma of poverty. Dr. Bedos is turning his
>attention to educating dentists and dental students on working with the
>poor, and looking to changes in coverage to include most dental
>services.
>The McGill Faculty of Dentistry, which has several preventive and
>treatment
>programs aimed at those with little access to dentists, is [also]
>organizing
>a conference on poverty and dental health.
>
>A year ago, the Ontario Health Promotion E-Bulletin (OHPE) carried an
>article about the Toronto Oral Health Coalition and the efforts of the
>Hamilton District Health Council on accessibility to oral health
>services in
>May 2003 in issue #310. You can see it at:
>http://www.ohpe.ca/ebulletin/ViewFeatures.cfm?ISSUE_ID=310&ROWNUMBER=31
>Check it out and learn more about the issues and the people who are
>involved.
>
>Alison
>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
>Alison Stirling, health promotion consultant
>Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse (OPC)
>Suite 1900, 180 Dundas St. W. Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8
>Tel. 416-408-2249 or 1-800-263-2846 x226
>Fax. 416-408-2122  Email: [log in to unmask]
>Internet: http://www.opc.on.ca
>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
>
>To unsubscribe send one line: unsubscribe click4hp to: [log in to unmask]
>.
>To view archives or modify subscription see:
>http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html
>
>To unsubscribe send one line: unsubscribe click4hp to: [log in to unmask]
>. To view archives or modify subscription see:
>http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html
>
>To unsubscribe send one line: unsubscribe click4hp to: [log in to unmask] . To view archives or modify subscription see: http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html
>
>
>

To unsubscribe send one line: unsubscribe click4hp to: [log in to unmask] . To view archives or modify subscription see: http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html