If there were a branch of health care linked to improved health — from reducing inflammation to better control of diabetes to improved outcomes for substance use treatment — it would be logical to expect that it would be covered under our universal health-care program. But Canada’s health-care system ignores dental care, which has all of these benefits.

Dental care is not a luxury. It’s a critical part of overall health, but it’s one that many Canadians can’t afford.

Today in The Conversation Canada, emergency physician Hasan Sheikh of the University of Toronto and his dentist colleague Brandon Doucet make the case for a universal dental care program. They both see first-hand the damage caused by skipping oral care because it’s too expensive: conditions that escalate to crises, and huge public costs from emergency room visits.

Also today:

Regards,

Patricia Nicholson

Health + Medicine Editor
A woman walks past a photograph of a smiling woman outside a dental office, in Vancouver, B.C., Aug. 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadians should be able to access dental care with a health card instead of a credit card

Hasan Sheikh, University of Toronto

Oral health is a key part of overall health, but many Canadians skip dental care due to the cost, resulting in emergency room visits and health issues. It's time for a dental care plan for all Canadians.
Veronica Lopez, who has spina bifida, gets vaccinated at COVID-19 vaccination site at the East Los Angeles Civic Center in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

COVID-19 amplifies the complexity of disability and race

Karen Kume Yoshida, University of Toronto; Ann Fudge Schormans, McMaster University; Chavon Niles, University of Toronto; Susan Mahipaul, Western University

Using an intersectional approach will help bring visibility to diverse disability communities and provide the support they need to be safe, recover and rebuild their lives.
Medical education needs to include understanding how genetic conditions can occur. (Shutterstock)

Medical schools need to prepare doctors for revolutionary advances in genetics

Rama Shankar Singh, McMaster University

Medical education has not kept up with genetic discoveries — primary care physicians require more genetics and genomics training.
We unthinkingly defend a consumerist worldview when confronted with evidence of environmental threats such as climate change. (Shutterstock)

How gratitude for nature can rein in your existential angst about climate change

Barbara Jane Davy, University of Waterloo

Hearing about climate change prompts people to buy more stuff, which increases their environmental footprint. Rituals that inspire gratitude for nature can help reduce the desire to over-consume.
ESG rankings and lists aren’t often entirely reliable for consumers or investors wanting to make decisions on companies they buy from or invest in. Appolinary Kalashnikova/Unsplash

Sustainability rankings don’t always identify sustainable companies

Rumina Dhalla, University of Guelph; Felix Arndt, University of Guelph

Some companies rank high on some lists that measure environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, and rank near the bottom on other lists. Which rankings should we trust?

La Conversation Canada
La donne a changé et le déploiement mondial, même réussi, des vaccins actuels ne garantit plus la victoire. Daniel Cole/AP

Les vaccins ne suffiront pas contre les variants. Il faut une stratégie mondiale de « suppression maximale » du virus

Susan Michie, UCL; Chris Bullen, University of Auckland; Jeffrey V Lazarus, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal); John N. Lavis, McMaster University; John Thwaites, Monash University; Liam Smith, Monash University; Salim Abdool Karim, Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA); Yanis Ben Amor, Columbia University

Les variants ont changé la donne. Nous devons agir en conséquence pour éviter de nouvelles vagues d’infections, de nouvelles fermetures, restrictions, hospitalisations et décès évitables.
La mairesse de Bogotá, Claudia López, que l'on voit ici lors de sa cérémonie d'investiture le 1er janvier 2020, a alimenté les discours haineux envers les migrants vénézuéliens par ses déclarations récentes. Photo AP/Ivan Valencia

Comment la Colombie utilise la xénophobie comme bouclier politique

Priscyll Anctil Avoine, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); Mairene Tobón Ospino, Universidad de los Andes

En Colombie comme ailleurs, l’utilisation des minorités comme bouclier politique afin de contrer les perceptions citoyennes sur la détérioration de l’efficacité gouvernementale est monnaie courante.

COVID-19

Arts

Education