Dental health

Clinical Study on the Oral Health of Québec Elementary School Students in 2012-2013

At the request of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec conducted a study entitled Étude clinique sur l’état de santé buccodentaire des élèves québécois du primaire 2012-2013 (ÉCSBQ) [clinical study on the oral health of Québec elementary school students in 2012-2013]. This study assessed the oral health status of Grade 2 and Grade 6 students in Québec and highlighted trends in their oral health since the late 1990s.

For the first time in Québec, ÉCSBQ 2012-2013 used a new visual assessment system, making it possible to study not only non-reversible dental caries, which have been the focus of attention to date, but also reversible dental caries. Reversible dental caries, also known as non-obvious dental caries, are lesions that are limited to the early stages of the disease and that can be reversed through preventive action. As for non-reversible dental…

Opinion on a project to fluoridate drinking water

This opinion relates to a project submitted by the National Public Health Director to amend the Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP – Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks) to include a mandatory minimum standard for fluoride of 0.7 mg/l for all Québec municipalities with populations of 5,000 or more.

Tooth decay and its consequences are a major public health concern affecting the entire Québec population. By way of illustration, tooth decay affects 42% of the province's kindergarten children. In addition, Québec children have 40% more cavities than their counterparts in Ontario and the United States. In Québec, dental treatment costs exceed $2 billion.

The fluoridation of drinking water is presented in the literature as one of the safest, most effective, economical and equitable ways of reducing tooth decay. It has a greater impact on disa…

Comité d'éthique de santé publique

Cree Health Survey 2003, Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.1, Iiyiyiu Aschii: Health status, life expectancy and limitation of activities

The survey was conducted during the summer of 2003 using a representative sample of residents aged 12 and older from the nine communities in Iiyiyiu Aschii: Chisasibi, Eastmain, Mistissini, Nemaska, Oujé- Bougoumou, Waskaganish, Waswanipi, Wemindji, and Whapmagoostui.

  • One out of six Iiyiyiu Aschii residents reports himself or herself to be in “fair or poor” health.
  • Life expectancy at birth of Iiyiyiu Aschii residents is two years less than that of residents of the rest of Quebec (77.2 vs. 79.2 years). The difference is slightly more than 3 years between women of both regions (78.7 vs. 81.9 years).
  • More than half (57 %) of Iiyiyiu Aschii residents reported a long-term health problem. The five main problems reported in 2003 were hypertension, non food-related allergies, diabetes, back problems and migraine headaches.
  • The prevalence of some of the main chronic health problems reported increased between 1991 and 2003:
    • Asthma, bron…

Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 : Hearing Loss and Dental Health

Hearing loss

Hearing problems are widespread in Nunavik with one quarter of adults having hearing loss in both ears. Men have three times more hearing loss than women (36% vs. 12%) and these problems are found to increase with age; more than half the adults over age 45 suffer from a hearing loss in both ears. Prevalence of hearing disability (as defined by World Health Organization) was 7.6% in Nunavik in 2004, which is one of the highest of the regions of the world surveyed to date.

Comparing men and women, hearing ability is similar in the youngest age group, but at age 30-44, men already show a greater deficiency compared to women. In the oldest age group (45 and over), three out of four men suffered bilateral hearing impairment compared to one out of four women. If we assume that hearing loss in women is primarily due to age and factors other than noise exposure, we can observe the deleterious effect of noise in the male population. Frequent hun…

Water fluoridation : an analysis of the health benefits and risks

The purpose of water fluoridation is to prevent dental disease. Major international organizations such as the WHO and the CDC consider fluoridation to be a safe and effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay. Although health organizations largely concur on the safety of fluoridation, a small number of studies do raise questions concerning the link between fluoride and certain health problems. Consequently, in order to offer the population the benefits of water fluoridation, while minimizing potential problems, the INSPQ (Quebec public health institute) has taken into account Quebec’s public health risk management framework, the Cadre de référence pour la gestion des risques pour la santé dans le réseau québécois de la santé publique, in developing its recommendations.

The INSPQ produced this advisory taking into account its mandate to improve health risk management practices (90). Quebec’s public health risk management framework is designed to serve as a guide to…