It is with great dismay that our Canadian healthcare system does not cover the costs of dental care. The oral cavity is truly the gateway to the body. Infections of the gums (periodontitis)  leads to localized inflammation and bone loss but periodontitis is not a localized disease. Microbial products, and agents of inflammation travel beyond the tooth's gum tissues and travel to a variety of sites within the body. This can lead to low weight preterm babies, cardiac disease, bone loss, diabetes, and dementia. Surely the costs to the medical system for admissions to hospitals and treatments clearly out-price the costs for routine dental care.
Additionally, a poor dentition causes pain, malnutrition due to a decreased ability to chew healthy foods.  I have always been critical of our health system where hip replacements are free, but dental cripples are allowed to suffer . As a practicing dentist, it is about time that dentistry be included into the national framework of medicare.