Canadian opinions on publicly financed dental care.

BACKGROUND: Inequalities in oral health and care are long recognized in Canada, with public health environments increasingly focusing on issues of equity and access to care. How does Canada publicly insure for diseases that are largely preventable, minimally experienced by the majority, but that still cause tremendous suffering among the socially marginalized? We consider this dynamic by asking Canadians their opinions on publicly financed dental care.
METHODS: Data were collected from 1,006 Canadian adults through a telephone interview survey using random digit dialling and computer-assisted telephone interview technology. Simple descriptive and bivariate analyses were undertaken to assess relationships among variables, with logistic regression odds ratios calculated for significant relations.
RESULTS: Canadians support the idea of universal coverage for dental care, also recognizing the need for care to specific groups. Generally preferring to access public care through the private sector, Canadians support the idea of opting out, and expect those who access such care to financially contribute at point of service.
CONCLUSION: Support for publicly financed dental care is indicative of a general support for a basic right to health care. Within the limits of economy, the distribution of oral disease, and Canadian values on health, the challenge remains to define what we think is equitable within this sector of the health care system. This question is ultimately unanswerable through any survey or statistical means, and must, to become relevant, be openly promoted and debated in the social arena, engaging Canadians and their sense of individual and social responsibility.