Mobile Dental Clinics Coming Soon to Arden and Flinton

Jeff Green | Apr 02, 2025

Mobile Dental Clinics for seniors are coming to Central Frontenac, North Frontenac, and Addington Highlands in the spring.

The new clinics are an initiative of the South East Health Unit (formerly Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health) that has been in the works for several years, and was slowed down by supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sarah Donnelly, the Program Manager of Dental and Vision Programs and Services, said that the mobile clinics are an extension of the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program that is provided by Kingston Community Health Centre in Kingston and Napanee already.

Those services, which are provided free of charge for seniors, based on income, “have been more difficult to access for seniors living far from Kingston and Napanee, so we are launching mobile clinics on the dental vehicle, to bring the services to seniors closer to home,” she said.

With the service ready for the open road, Public Health approached Rural Frontenac Community Services and Land of Lakes Community Services for inroads to the senior population that the agencies both serve, as well as the three townships.

The request to the townships was to allow the mobile clinic to set up in the parking lot of township halls in communities across all three townships, and to open the halls for use by clients of the clinics for washroom facilities and as a place to wait in inclement weather.

The program is getting underway in the spring, with dates in Arden at the Kennebec Hall, and in Flinton at the Flinton Recreation Centre (and Township Office). “These will be our pilot locations, and we will let people know the dates in May,” said Sarah Donnelly. “Later on this year we plan to expand to other locations. We are really excited about this program, and the mobile clinics themselves are pretty impressive to see.”

The Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDP) is a provincial initiative that started up in 2019. It pre-dated and is distinct from the Canadian Dental Care Plan that was brought in recently by the federal government.

At mobile clinics, treatment with a dentist may include exams, x-rays, tooth repair and tooth removal. Across all locations, including referrals to specialists, the OSDCP provides the following free services: checkups, including scaling, fluoride and polishing, repairing broken teeth and cavities, x-rays, removing teeth or abnormal tissue (oral surgery), anaesthesia, treating infection and pain (endodontic services), and treating gum conditions and diseases (periodontal services).

Dentures are also covered under this program.

Eligibility is based on family income. Less than $25,000 annual income for a single person, and less than $45,100 for a couple.

This is more restrictive than the new national program, but the OSDCP is free aside for a small co-payment required for dentures.

Since it is offered by dental care professionals under contract with Public Health, it is easy to access for those who are eligible, more so now for residents of “the north”.

To get on the list to be contacted about the dates in Flinton and Arden, call 613-549- 1232 ext. 1218 to connect with the dental health team. The dental team can also help with applications for the program.

For those who would like to use the web, go to KFLAPH.ca and click on Health Topics on the left of the screen near the top, and then click on Dental Care from the dropdown menu, and Ontario Seniors Dental Program from the page that pops up. You can follow the prompts to apply for the program from there.

There is also information about booking an appointment in Kingston or Napanee on that page, for those readers who are already eligible and are handy to those centres.

To contact the service provider (Kingston Community Health Centre) directly, call 613-507-6064 for locations in Kingston and Napanee.