Canadian adults report financial barriers to dental care, especially those of low income. These barriers appear to have negative effects with respect to dental visiting and oral health outcomes. For policy, appropriateness will be key, as clarity needs to be established in terms of what constitutes actual need, and thus which dental services can then be considered a public health response to affordability.

This study identified predisposing and enabling vulnerabilities that jeopardize the dental care-seeking practices of working poor persons. Dental care utilization was associated with relinquishing spending on other goods and services, which suggests that dental care utilization is a competing financial demand for economically constrained adults.

ED visits for dental problems of nontraumatic origin are not insignificant. Over the study period, these visits were greater than for diabetes and hypertensive diseases. Policy efforts are needed to provide alternative options for seeking emergency dental care in Ontario.

The addition of global ratings of oral health-related quality of life and quality of life provides information of use in understanding the negative consequences of oral disorders.

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