KFL&A Board of Health hears about mobile dental clinic, Napanee infant feeding clinic

 aimed at providing KFL&A residents with better access to the services they need to keep families strong and healthy are being initiated in the region.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the monthly meeting of the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Board of Health, Medical Officer of Health Dr.Piotr Oglaza introduced the board to the new services. A mobile dental clinic has arrived in KFL&A and is having a "soft launch" as Public Health staff become accustomed to the service. Meanwhile, the citizens of Napanee and surrounding areas will now have access to an Infant Feeding Clinic.

“As you arrived at our parking lot, you might have seen a big truck parked in front of the building. This is a dental truck,” Oglaza told the board, saying that the mobile dental clinic initiative “was started in 2020, when the Ontario Seniors Dental Program was first introduced, and at that time, an application was made in partnership with Hastings County for Public Health to seek funding for a mobile dental unit, one for Hastings --- Prince Edward, one for KFL&A.”

“This vehicle has a fully equipped dental [office]. It's on wheels and includes things like X-ray capacity for dental treatments. The intention is to increase access to the provincial dental program, with a focus on under-serviced and rural areas,” Oglaza explained.

“This process began in 2020, and it's only recently that we got the truck… The reason for the delay that sometime around 2021, there was a worldwide shortage of semiconductors, and that delayed the production, [causing] huge delays in vehicle production at that time. So we finally got this in the fall.”

Now, the Public Health dental team is doing what Oglaza termed a soft launch of the mobile clinic program “by providing dental hygiene clinics while the vehicle is parked in the proximity of our building,” to allow staff time for “orientation to the technical and clinical function of these vehicles and sort out any issues with IT, water, power, etc. before they hit the road next year.”

“So far, we have held successful clinics on Friday, October 11, and today, in the morning, October 23," Oglaza told the board. "We are using this experience of the clinic operating out of our parking lot to refine standard operating procedures for mobile services so there are no surprises when we bring this vehicle to provide service in the community.” 

Oglaza said the plan is to provide dental treatment for seniors through this mobile unit, beginning in 2025, “and that's going to include a contract with dentists who will be on site... providing services.”

“While this was funded initially by the Ontario Seniors Dental Care program,” Oglaza noted, “it will also be used to promote oral health in the community and provide preventive services to other populations (like children), and services such as the fluoride varnish. So it will have multiple uses and will maximize its use and deliver services to the community.”

Board member Dr. David Pattenden shared his opinion that the dental truck could be used to educate about and emphasize the benefits of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), which was recently expanded to include children under 18. He referred to the recent federal government-produced TV advertisement showing a boy asking his mother, "What does a cavity feel like?" that is intended to help people with children understand the program. 

“I think there needs to be an emphasis, as much as possible, on children,” Pattenden noted.

The CDCP is one of the largest social programs in Canadian history. According to a release by the federal government, the CDCP will make dental care more affordable for up to nine million Canadians who currently lack insurance. The CDCP is currently open to eligible seniors, adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate, and children under 18. It covers cleaning, fillings, dentures, and more to help Canadians pay less for healthy teeth.

Oglaza responded to Pattenden's comments, saying the mobile clinic plan's focus in 2025 would expand “to ensure that these vehicles are used across this spectrum of age and provide services where needed.”

Board Chair Wes Garrod said that he and fellow board member Judy Greenwood-Speers, Mayor of Frontenac Islands, had visited the new mobile unit. 

“It's a full dental office --- it's amazing,” he exclaimed. “To have the X-ray services and all the services required is excellent."

"The fact that it's mobile is huge,” Garrod added. He explained that residents in the northern reaches of the Health Unit’s coverage often have difficulty finding dental treatment in their local areas, and that the mobile aspect would allow services to be provided to people who have not easily received them.

The meeting also provided a platform for Oglaza to discuss the new Napanee infant feeding clinic. 

Oglaza said that creating a location outside of Kingston for this program “was done to support equitable access to services in communities with fewer available supports.” 

“A public health nurse who is also a certified lactation consultant will be available in Napanee every Wednesday. This is offered in a flexible format, provided in the same location on the same day as other services for prenatal care, as well as for new parents. Appointments are available, but also parents can drop in to see the lactation consultant before or after they attend any other programs,” the MOH explained. 

The new clinic is located at the site of the Lennox and Addington Resources for Children (LARC) EarlyON Child & Family Centre at 465 Advance Avenue in Napanee. “It's co-located with our Food for You, Food for Two programs and EarlyOn baby group,” Oglaza said, noting that this would reduce the travel burden by creating a one-stop shop for parents of babies one day a week in Napanee.

“LARC rescheduled its groups for Wednesdays to align with the infant feeding clinic. So this is an effort on both organizations to have this service available in a more economical timeframe so people can attend simultaneously in one trip. And this LARC team has been promoting breastfeeding while promoting this service to their audiences, so we get a broader, amplified message,” Oglaza said.

Oglaza congratulated both teams for working diligently together to accomplish better services for the public, especially by maximizing outreach and opportunities “and providing access to communities that generally have fewer services available.”

The KFL&A Board of Health, which is made up of municipal and community appointees, works to ensure that all residents of the KFL&A region have access to public health programs and services. The board meets monthly.