It is an incredible program that the government is funding. We've heard many stories—the same as you. I've had a dental hygienist who treated an 86-year-old man who had never received dental care in his life. She said it was the highlight of her career. He's coming back, and he's getting oral health care. They're receiving care in long-term care homes where they couldn't chew, eat or swallow. Now they're receiving care. We have dental hygienists who have mobile practices that go into long-term care. Before, they could provide care only for those who could afford it. Now, because of the CDCP, many can have that. It means their quality of life improves significantly. There are so many cases.
We just did some public opinion polling regarding the CDCP. Nearly 73% of CDCP users say that the program has helped them access dental services they previously could not access. I just got these results yesterday. We're launching them in a few weeks. A lot of it is the cost. Ninety-two per cent say the program has at least somewhat improved their access to dental care. We're hearing very positive things about the program.
Also, we want to prevent disease. Dental caries is the number one disease in the world, and it's largely preventable. Through this program, we can prevent disease. Preventing disease has economic impacts. There are reduced emergency room visits, which cost the health care system. There is reduced absenteeism for children at school and reduced absenteeism for our workforce, because they have good oral health care and they're not missing work because of dental pain.
The programs are coming on board. There are 27,000 oral health providers enrolled in the program and providing care. We do need the oral health workforce. We do need a strong workforce—including dentists, dental hygienists and the whole dental care team, including assistants—to be trained to deliver that care.