HALIFAX—Nova Scotia’s New Democrats are pushing for a free dental hygiene program for every child in the public school system.

The opposition party proposed amendments to the Health Services and Insurance Act Friday, which would see the province hire dental hygienists to provide dental exams, cleaning and fluoride treatments to students from grades primary to 12.

“This would go a long way to giving everybody equal access to dental services,” NDP leader Gary Burrill said at Province House.

Burrill wants the government to hire 35 hygienists at an estimated cost of $5 million annually.

The program would complement a service that the NDP introduced when they were in government in 2013. The Children’s Oral Health Program, which has continued under the Liberal government, pays for dental exams and some treatments for children up to the age of 14 when they don’t have private coverage.

Burrill said his party had plans to extend that service before they lost to the Liberals in 2013.

“Today in Nova Scotia kids do not have fair, universal access to preventive dental care. It depends at the moment on what your income situation is. Once you get over 14, those who can afford to go the dentist go and those that can’t, don’t.”

Brandon Doucet, a fourth-year dentistry student at Dalhousie University, told the Star that when he sees patients with “very late stage” tooth decay it can often be attributed to a lack of early dental care and education.

Under the NDP’s proposal, school hygienists would also provide advice and good oral hygiene practices.

Doucet said the government’s current program is a “step in the right direction,” but in the long-term, not enough. He’d like a universal public dental care system.

Health Minister Randy Delorey said his department is not considering bringing dental services into schools, although the NDP bill has yet to move through the debate process at the legislature.

“As far as youth dental services, we have recently expanded the preventative services for youth in Nova Scotia,” he said, referring to a recent $1-million expansion to the Children’s Oral Health Program.

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Delorey said the province takes its cues from the Nova Scotia Dental Association when it comes to publicly funded dental care.

He said the association made it “very clear” that the priority for youth should be expanding the scope of services, so in January the government committed to pay for molar sealants and annual fluoride treatment for all children without private coverage.

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