CDA Essentials 2019 • Volume 7 • Issue 2

19 Issue 2 | 2019 | N ews and E vents Manitoba Dentist Your T he Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) wants to address this issue in Winnipeg by opening a dental ER in close proximity to the city’s main hospital. According to Dr. Cory Sul, MDA president, it’s an idea that would improve access to care for Manitobans, decrease hospital wait times, and save the province money. Dr. Sul explains that each year, there are roughly 3,000 visits to hospital ERs for dental problems across the province. Under the MDA proposal, the savings realized by the province by diverting these patients away from the hospital ER would be used to fund a dental ER. For example, he estimates that a patient provided pain killers in the hospital ER, where the cost of acute care is about $625 for a single visit, could get the same service for about $45 at a dental office. “Under the MDA proposal, dental ER patients would receive the same services as they would have received in the hospital ER, at no cost to them but at a significantly lower cost to the government.” If a patient needs additional dental treatment and can’t afford to pay for it, the MDA is open to working with the provincial government to explore ways to fund that care. “Our hope is that the savings realized by the province from establishing a dental ER could be made available to treat people who are struggling to afford to pay for their dental needs,” says Dr. Sul. Dr. Sul has requested a meeting with Manitoba’s Minister of Health, Seniors and Active Living this year. “A dental ER will improve the health of our most vulnerable members of our society,” he says. “I am confident the government will see value in our plan.” a Every year, thousands of Canadians with dental pain or infections visit hospital emergency rooms (ER). Once there, they are seen by ER physicians who aren’t trained to diagnose and treat oral health conditions, receive painkillers or antibiotics that don’t address the underlying problem, and often return multiple times to the ER for the same problem. It’s a costly and ineffective use of hospital ERs that is unlikely to change as long as a segment of the population can’t afford dental treatment. Manitoba Dental Association Proposes Dental Emergency Room Under the MDA proposal, dental ER patients would receive the same services as they would have received in the hospital ER, at no cost to them but at a significantly lower cost to the government. Dr. Cory Sul, president of the Manitoba Dental Association