Flashing wide smiles and toothy grins, Grade 3 students regaled Health Minister Eric Hoskins with tips about good dental hygiene at Lord Dufferin Public School in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood Tuesday.

“Floss is boss,” said one student. “Think before you drink,” said another, referring to the dental perils of sugar-laden pop and other sweet beverages.

The visit was part of the province’s re-launch of Healthy Smiles Ontario, a free dental care program for children and youth under age 18 in low-income families.

The $100-million-a-year initiative is expected to offer free dental checkups, cleanings, fillings, X-rays and urgent oral health services for about 460,000 children.

First launched in 2010 as one of six separate programs, the new integrated service, introduced Jan. 1, will be easier for parents to understand and access, Hoskins told reporters.

“It’s a program that puts patients first,” he said. “Parents no longer have to spend time understanding which program their child needs, for which treatment ... a barrier that can often become confusing for families.”

Children receiving services under the old programs will be enrolled automatically and will get a Healthy Smiles dental card in the mail to present to participating dentists and dental hygienists, he said.

Others can visit a new one-stop website at www.ontario.ca/healthysmiles to find out if their children are eligible and sign up. They can also enroll through their local public health office.

New income eligibility, first announced in December 2013, means 70,000 more children from low-income families will have access, he added.

According to the Healthy Smiles website, families with one child under age 18 and net incomes of up to $22,070 are eligible, with the income cap rising by $1,670 for each additional child.

To date, more than 323,000 children from low-income families are enrolled, but Hoskins hopes a new public awareness campaign will encourage more families to sign up.

“Good oral health can have a positive impact not just on a child’s health, but also on that child’s self-esteem and their ability to learn,” he said. “Left untreated, it can affect a child’s ability to eat, sleep and concentrate in school, impacting their growth and development.”

Dentists were concerned about the confusion and inefficiency of six separate dental programs and are pleased the ministry has taken their advice to merge them, said Jerry Smith, past-president of the Ontario Dental Association.

“Ontario dentists are a willing partner in this important and imperative work,” the Thunder Bay dentist told reporters. “However, there is more work that needs to be done.”

Dentists receive an average of just 44 cents for every dollar of dental care they provide through publicly funded programs, Smith said in an interview, adding more funding is needed.

Dental health advocates welcomed the program’s new simplicity.

“But we need to do a lot more outreach to community organizations that are working with low-income families and to schools and doctors’ offices and child care centres to make sure this program is adequately promoted,” said Jacquie Maund, of the Association of Ontario Health Centres.

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Queen’s Park should also move faster on its 2014 promise to extend free dental care to low-income adults and seniors by 2025, Maund said.

“It’s a gaping hole in our health-care system,” she said. “People can’t wait nine more years to get their teeth fixed.”

Healthy Smiles by the Numbers

2010 Year Healthy Smiles was first announced, to serve 130,000 children and youth with no other dental coverage and whose parents earn less than $20,000.

2013 Year Healthy Smiles was expanded to cover up to 70,000 more low-income children and youth.

2016 Six publicly funded dental programs for low-income children were merged into a single program under the Healthy Smiles Ontario logo.

323,000 Low-income children and youth currently enrolled in the streamlined program

460,000 Low-income children and youth eligible

$100 million Annual cost