Urban Dental Clinic
Many Canadians earn low incomes and have no access to dental insurance or government social-assistance programs. The Urban Dental Clinic, established in 2005, is served by volunteer dentists and hygienists who provide emergency dental care to uninsured low-income adults. Services provided are emergency examinations, xrays, prescriptions, extractions, fillings and cleanings.
The clinic has recently moved to a new enlarged facility in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. Under the same roof as our founders and long-standing supporters, The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care. Our common goal is to provide free treatment to the dentally and medically uninsured. In May 2017, the UDC and a growing team of volunteer dentists and hygienists, expanded to 3 dental operatories with the generous support of Henry Schein Canada and public donors.
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Patient Information:
We treat low income adults age 18-64 who have no employer or government dental benefits. Financial screening is carried out by phone.
All our dental patients are screened according to fixed financial criteria, and those who qualify can receive basic dental care at our clinic for a small fee, including emergency treatment, extractions and fillings
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Our Impact - 2019
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Preventations:
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Extraction:
We saved Toronto Public Health
“Choose between essentials such as rent and groceries or having a painful tooth fixed"
The uninsured are falling through the cracks in our health-care system. In Canada we have reached a crisis situation where many hard-working individuals are forced to choose between essentials such as rent and groceries or having a painful tooth fixed.
The recently published Wellesley Report (2015) (1) states that more than two-thirds of Ontarians earning $20,000 or less annually, have no employer-provided health benefits. This means that most people working at, or near, minimum wage, have no access to dental benefits and in addition are ineligible for government-funded public health programs. As a result, our already busy hospital emergency rooms are seeing many people suffering from painful dental conditions.
These patients can only be placated with antibiotics and painkillers, often leading to return visits when an infection recurs. The Urban Dental Clinic is committed to making a difference in the lives of Toronto’s uninsured. We are only able to reach a small percentage of those in need, but the impact can be life-changing for each individual we are able to help.
The patient pictured (above) was living in constant pain with mulitple decayed and broken teeth. We were able to provide relief by extracting the offending teeth and fittting her with dentures donated by a local laboratory
This kind of transformation can affect far more than just a smile. It can restore much-needed self-esteem and confidence and lead to increased chances of success in both the workplace and in relationships.