Since the introduction of public health benefits in Canada, no province in our entire history has thought to include Dental Health benefits as part of their plan. People have, quite literally, died as a result. You can enter the emergency room in blinding pain - and be left to sit for 8-10 hours, until a nurse finally arrives to administer pain medication and give the standard advice. "Go see a dentist." Doctors can do no more than that. Dental issues require the services of a dentist, and an M.D. can't overstep that boundary. Everything from broken teeth causing pain and bleeding, through to life threatening infections, must be dealt with by a dental practitioner. And for a growing number of BC citizens, that means paying cash. Many times, the amount required to fix one painful tooth is more than an individuals rent or mortgage payment. So many BC residents are left to suffer, waiting until they can "afford" to have the tooth extracted. People in this province have suffered infections, pain, bleeding, malnutrition, and other ailments for long enough! Dentists say that they don't want dental work to be covered by MSP. They say that they would have to lower their rates. They say that people who cannot afford dental care really CAN afford it, they just won't. How many people do you know who have a broken, chipped, cracked, or aching tooth - right now - who absolutely, under no circumstances, can afford to have it fixed without losing their food, electricity, heat, or even home It is time for this to stop. Please sign this petition to have Dental Benefits included with our public health benefits in the province of British Columbia. Once we have collected enough signatures, this petition - along with dozens, perhaps even hundreds of letters - will be sent to our health care minister. Maybe, just maybe, if we all take one little step, we can make a big change.