With lots of Halloween candy just around the corner, the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit is warning that local oral disease is higher than the rest of the province and that's resulting in more visits to the dentist and to the emergency room over the past year.
A health unit report shows those between 20 and 39 visit the local ER more often because of oral disease and a lack of dental coverage is having a ripple effect.
Epidemiologist Laura Zettler says only 64% of the Chatham-Kent population has dental insurance and that's a factor.
"Overall, I think our population does have good oral health but we are missing some pockets of people. Especially low income individuals and households who don't have access to dental clinics or insurance," says Zettler.
The health unit reports an average of 750 local ER visits a year for oral disease.
Zettler says 80% of Chatham-Kent residents have good oral health but those with lower income and males are less likely to have good oral health.
"We have older adults over the age of 65 who are facing issues with dental insurance coverage. We see a lot of these indicators varying with household income," Zettler says.
She says more visits to the dentist aren't necessarily bad if they're to maintain good oral health and not fix oral disease.
"Of course we want everybody to be flossing and brushing and taking care of themselves but it's that visit to the dentist that is critical and is hinging on a lot of social factors that present barriers for people," says Zettler.