VANCOUVER—The province has increased funding to non-profit dental clinics providing free and low-cost dental care.

Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson announced a commitment of $3.6 million in funding over three years, which will be distributed by the British Columbia Dental Association to the province’s 24 dental clinics.

The funding is part of TogetherBC, the province’s first-ever poverty-reduction strategy, which was released on Monday.

“Poverty requires a multitude of solutions and too many people are denied opportunities because of physical, social, financial and structural barriers,” Simpson said at the Mid-Main Community Health Clinic on Wednesday. “Dental care can be one of those barriers.”

Simpson described how people experiencing poverty are sometimes “forced to sacrifice oral health for priorities like shelter.”

With this funding, the BC Dental Association will double the annual grant funding to $20,000 per year for each of the 24 not-for-profit dental clinics located across the province in cities such as Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, Prince George and Salmon Arm.

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The remaining $2 million will fund equipment and capital improvements, such as new dental chairs and pediatric equipment. In 2017, not-for-profit dental clinics saw 54,000 visits by patients from low income families, who can access services at a reduced rate or for free.

Linda Ferris, co-ordinator of the Cool Aid Dental Clinic in Victoria, said this new funding is “really going to help.”

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Ferris said her clinic receives hundreds of calls per month from people who are unable to access affordable dental care. Because her clinic doesn’t charge patients receiving social assistance or disability assistance for the fees that are not covered by the provincial dental plan, she said, the clinic can lose money treating patients in need.

“There is always need, so this will really help in that regard.”

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