1 in 3 Canadians Have No Dental Insurance
20% of Ontarians Cannot Afford a Dental Visit
Our mission is to provide affordable urgent dental care by Volunteer Dentists to low income Torontonians who have nowhere else to turn.
Filling the Gap Dental Outreach is a non-profit organization that uses existing community dental clinics in locations across the city to provide affordable dental treatment to low income adults. Dentists and hygienists at all stages of their careers can benefit from the experience of volunteering with Filling the Gap Dental Outreach.
Volunteer
Our volunteers have expressed a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment from being able to use their valuable skills to help others when they are most in need. It is also a great way to network with other colleagues and learn from one another.Newly qualified dentists and hygienists find our clinic to be a relaxed environment where they can build on their clinical skills.
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in the Aftermath of COVID-19
in the Aftermath of COVID-19
The past year has been a year of growth, development, and accomplishments for our dental care charity.
We are pleased to review the past year and highlight the significant milestones that we have achieved in
advancing our mission to make dental care more accessible to vulnerable individuals in our community.
In June 2022, we opened our new and second clinic in Rexdale, with the generous cooperation of Toronto
Public Health and in partnership with the Rexdale Community Health Center. This clinic is open three days a
week and has been in the works for a long time. This new clinic has enabled us to provide more services to
the community and reach out to those who need it most. We are grateful for the support we received from
our partners in making this project a reality.
Over the past year, we provided over $295,000 worth of dental care, nearly 1300 appointments, and
over 2000 volunteer hours to vulnerable individuals. This would not have been possible without the hard
work and dedication of our staff, volunteers, partners, and donors. We are grateful for their support and
commitment to our cause.
In addition, we were awarded a generous grant by Greenshield to expand our services, which has allowed us
to extend our reach and help more people. Filling the Gap Dental Outreach was able to hire a new dedicated
part-time dentist to work at both locations, which has further increased our capacity to provide quality dental
care to vulnerable individuals.
Filling the Gap Dental Outreach attended and held a booth at the Ontario Dental Association’s Annual Spring
Meeting to spread the word about our mission to make dental care more accessible. This event allowed us to
connect with dental professionals and community members who shared our vision and could help us achieve
our goals.
We created new partnerships with organizations such as Homeless Connect Toronto, The Filipino-Canadian
Dental Hygienists Society, Alliance of Canadian Dental Hygienists, and Gift from the Heart and carried out
joint events to provide much-needed dental services to vulnerable individuals. Through these new partnerships
we were able to hold the Free Dental Clinic Day at the Filipino Centre Toronto and the Day of Giving through
our partnership with Gift from the Heart and Homeless Connect, which allowed us to reach out to homeless,
low-income, and refugee individuals living in Toronto.
2022 was a year of growth, development, and accomplishments for our dental care charity in Toronto,
Canada. We are proud of what we have achieved and are committed to continuing our work in providing
accessible dental care to vulnerable individuals in our community. We thank everyone who has supported us
and look forward to continuing our mission in the coming year.
A lack of insurance coverage is forcing more than a third of people in Canada’s largest city to go without dental care, a new report says.
About 35 per cent of residents don’t have dental insurance, forcing many to avoid the dentist altogether due to the cost, according to the report from Green Shield Canada and the Toronto Foundation, an organization that aims to connect philanthropists with community needs.
“One thing is clear: for many of the most vulnerable people in our communities, the current system has left them behind and without support,” the report said.
The report is based on data from the 2017 and 2018 Canadian Community Health Surveys, though the foundation believes the problem has only gotten worse since then and with the aging population it will continue worsen without “timely action.”
Julia Howell, the foundation’s chief program officer, pointed to the growing number of people who are self-employed or working in “precarious” jobs — meaning part-time, temporary or contract positions, rather than full-time employment that carries benefits.
“That’s where the greatest growth in the labour market is,” said Howell.
“We’re seeing more and more people, increasingly … that are shut out of dental care supports, and in COVID, it’s gotten that much worse.”
An urgent need: Despite efforts by those in private practice and through government programs, access to dental care remains a challenge for many working, low-income Canadians, who do not qualify for public programs:
- 1 in 3 Canadians have no dental insurance.
- 20% of Ontarians cannot afford a visit to the dentist.
- In Toronto, more than 257,000 residents report persistent pain in their mouths, and more than 400,000 only go to the dentist for emergency care or never.
These access issues were made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and disproportionately affect seniors, newcomers, and refugees. When not addressed in a community setting, these patients tend to wind up in already-busy emergency rooms and physicians’ offices, further straining the healthcare system and often resulting only in pain management.
Filling the gap: Founder, Dr. Amanda Morel, saw the impact of these access issues firsthand while acting as a volunteer dentist at a low-cost clinic. But through this experience, she also saw the transformational impact that care could provide on the confidence and outlook of her patients.
That’s when she started Filling The Gap Dental Outreach. Supported by volunteer dentists, hygienists, and administrative staff, the organization utilizes existing community dental clinics in locations across Toronto. Unique to this program’s model is their use of flexible clinic hours, which ensures that vulnerable patients with challenging schedules can attend. Without the program, these patients would not likely receive care owing to the lack of public dental programs to support them.
