Finance committee  I think you'll see a lot of this come out with the oral health access fund proposals, but one of the challenges I faced as a pediatric dentist.... My speciality area was children, but I treated all adults with special needs, because once they turned 18 or 19, I had nowhere to send them.

Finance committee  I absolutely hope so. Right now, I think it's only in Saskatchewan and maybe a few other provinces that dental therapists can practice on federal land. We have a new training program in Saskatchewan, so that workforce will be reinvigorated, but we need pathways to licensure for them across Canada.

Finance committee  This will address affordability for a lot of Canadians. There are still going to be challenges with access, but without this commitment or plan, there will be a lot of adults and seniors in particular who won't have the means to pay for care.

Finance committee  At least anecdotally from having worked in Ontario and now in Saskatchewan, I think if it was a carbon copy of the provincial plans, you may have fewer dentists wanting to be involved. There's a historic distrust between provincial plans and the dental profession, because they've only ever been clawed back.

Finance committee  I never heard that, but—

Finance committee  In my public health work, I've done evaluations for a lot of plans, so I know that's a realistic cost for development because of the upfront infrastructure that has to be in place, particularly on the timeline to get this out there.

Finance committee  In our current system, I think it is, because the projection for those who will enrol is based on the idea that there are many with private coverage within the income ranges. I don't know if there is the capacity at this time to do this should private plans or employment-based insurance start to disappear.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  I would probably tell them to continue as they are, because they're more familiar with what they have. There are some private plans that cover less as a percentage than some of the public plans, but at the same time, what's covered and what's not are still very new. If they have an existing plan and services they're comfortable with, I'd say to keep that.

Finance committee  It varies by province. Some of the lowest I've seen could be in the 30% to 40% range. I've seen some provinces—Saskatchewan, for example—in the 70% to 80% range. It varies quite considerably. It depends on how often each province or payer of a plan re-evaluates their fee and reinvests into it.

Finance committee  Again, the needs of individuals with disabilities are more complex. The plan should reflect that. Most of the codes based on time.... It almost takes twice as much time to deal with some of these patients. We see that with pediatric patients as well, even healthy ones. It may take more time for them.

Finance committee  I think for many it's a lack of exposure during training to deal with the complex issues or complex medical needs that many individuals with disabilities have. For one thing, there's a lack of comfort level, which may deter them from realizing they can, with practice or mentorship, work on that.

Finance committee  I don't know if I've ever seen a national survey or percentage on that, but I imagine it would be pretty high. Almost 60% to 70% would have some challenges, whether it's with transportation, accessibility within an office or finding a provider within a reasonable range of where they are.

Finance committee  Is that for those with special needs or just in general?

Finance committee  Thank you for that. School-based systems, I think, have always been shown to work for finding kids who have high needs. Some provinces have targeted school-based programs where providers go to schools in areas where they know the risk is going to be higher. In Ontario, for example, some areas might have screening and fluoride.