'SO GRATEFUL': Expanded dental program at Langs a 'great program for everybody'

Lynda MacKinnon doesn’t hesitate when asked about the importance of funding concerning the recent expansion of the dental clinic at Langs Farm Village Association.

“Without the funding, this isn’t something that we would be offering our patients,” the Clinical Director at Langs said.

Langs, which services Waterloo Region and Wellington County as part of the province’s network of non-profit Community Health Centres, has been operating a dental clinic for seniors at its Cambridge location since 2019.

The government-funded Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program provides access to care to low-income seniors. Langs was selected as one of three such sites in the region.

Thanks to help from the GreenShield Cares Community Impact Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), Langs recently added to its dental offerings, effectively doubling its capacity in the process.

In addition to providing dental service to those aged 65 and up, Langs is now providing care for folks between the ages of 16 and 65, who don’t have coverage through other means.

The government-led Healthy Smiles Ontario program provides free dental service for children and youth while the provincial seniors program covers that segment of the population. Thanks to the funding, there is now a chance to bridge that in-between gap that exists, including many vulnerable members of the community ranging in age from 18-64.

“We’re a Community Health Centre and we serve primarily those that are lower income, working poor. People that just generally struggle day to day, and do not have the disposable income for preventive dental care,” MacKinnon said. “Without any public or private dental coverage, they have to make the choice to ignore their oral health needs, often leading to a primary care appointment related to resultant dental issues that arise.”

The new pilot program, like the seniors program, includes both emergency and basic dental service. Langs has partnered with a local community dental office (Riverfront Dental) enabling patients to get the care they need when they need it either through self-referral to the program or referral from their primary care team.

“More often than not, it’s an emergency dental appointment because they’re in need,” MacKinnon said.

Langs’ Interprofessional Primary Care Team performs “outreach to folks who are homeless and precariously housed,” she added. “By virtue of attachment to that team, they also have access to those services, and we’ve been able to provide services to those folks.”

While MacKinnon said the number of clients accessing the pilot program was lower than expected in the beginning, word is getting out and the “momentum is picking up.”

“It’s just been such a great program from everybody. Just understanding that these are folks that are not able to get this (service) at the best of times,” she said. “The patients are so grateful. They’re not expecting all this. They’ve been suffering for so long and then, suddenly, this has become available to them.”

Added MacKinnon: “I don’t even know how to put into words what GreenShield and WRCF have done for the folks that we’re able to (help). Their health is so positively impacted by being able to address their dental health needs. That has to be such a satisfying endpoint for the patients as well."

If you would like to learn more about Langs and the services they offer, visit their website at langs.org.

If you would like to join GreenShield and WRCF in supporting Langs’ oral health programming, visit their website at langs.org/get-involved/donate.