​​​April is Oral Health Month, an opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of visiting your dentist regularly and practising good oral hygiene between visits.

The First Nations Health Authority's (FNHA) Oral Health Team delivers oral health services to rural and remote communities throughout BC, and partners with communities to enable them to run their own dental programs through funding arrangements and contracting with dental providers.

In this message, we share the feedback of a client who lives in a remote community in northwestern BC.

“I'm happy we have a dental hygienist who comes into our community monthly," says Vesta Williams of Gitwangak. “Many of our people don't own vehicles to get to town, so this service is important for our community. Especially those who are living on a fixed income.

“Our Dental Hygiene Practitioner, Marlene Araujo, is so professional. She understands my fear of dentists, and explains the procedures and makes me feel valued and heard. My personal fear was due to a past traumatic experience – 20 years ago, I was hit in the mouth by a metal bin that pushed all five top teeth to the roof of my mouth. The pain was extreme! They froze me up to eight times and still the freezing would not kick in, so they gave me medication to relax me. I ended up blacking out, and next thing I remember, I was in the dentist's chair with my face full of blood, shirt soaked in blood."

The accident with the metal bin left Vesta's top teeth so damaged that they had to be extracted. She went a year or two without any top teeth until she got her partial upper denture made.

“When I found out we had a dental hygienist coming into the community, I finally decided to go in to have my teeth checked. Marlene was so amazing; I explained my fears and she walked me through the whole process and made me feel so comfortable."

Vesta adds that the dental services help give her and other clients “confidence in whatever we're doing, whether at work or school," and that she is “grateful to Gitwangak Health for bringing a hygienist to our community."

You can read about the FNHA's Oral Health Team's flagship programs at the links below:  

• The Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI), which provides oral health education and preventive services to children ages 0-7 years, their caregivers, pregnant individuals, and Elders. Educating children about oral health early gives them a good foundation for a healthy life.
• The Community Oral Health Services (COHS) program, which is an oral health prevention and treatment program for clients of all ages accessing services in community. Having oral health services available in or near community, and with a “no-fee-for-service" model, lowers the barriers to access.
  

In addition, the FNHA has partnered with Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) to offer a comprehensive Dental Benefits Plan for BC First Nations clients.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of oral health to overall health and wellbeing! You can read our previous Oral Health Month messages, which include helpful tips for maintaining good oral health, here and here.