Federal programs can do more for dental health in North

Researchers are calling on Ottawa to expand the Children’s Oral Health Initiative, which helps prevent tooth decay in remote Inuit and First Nations communities, reports CBC.

The program is currently offered in five communities and trains community members to promote oral health.

“Communities that had more days of…a community member that was trained to be an oral health knowledge keeper, it seems like the dental disease levels in those communities are less,” said Kavita Mathu-Muju, a UBC dentistry professor and one of the study authors.