High cost of dental services prompting some patients to seek alternative options
MONTREAL — An unaffordable price tag kept Melanie Laxson out of the dentist’s chair until the pain became unbearable.
With no access to insurance, the 38-year-old says there’s no way she could afford the full cost of a dentist.
Canadians spend about $12 billion per year on dental services, but six million people annually avoid dentists because of costs, said a 2014 report by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, some 25 million Canadians, representing 80 per cent of working families, have coverage under extended health insurance which covers dental and prescription drugs, hospital and medical expenses not covered by provincial government plans.