Grey Bruce Public Health will soon welcome patients to its new, brick-and-mortar dental clinic in Brockton; a state-of-the-art facility that will provide oral health services to qualifying seniors, children, and youth from low-income households in southern Grey-Bruce.

The 1,380-square foot clinic, at 200 McNab St. in Walkerton, will provide a full range of dental services – from checkups to preventative care to treatments – for patients enrolled in the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program and Healthy Smiles Ontario.

A grand opening event, with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and clinic tours, took place at the new space on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The first appointments at the clinic are scheduled for Sept. 10, 2024.

“I would like to thank the Ministry of Health for providing funding to support the Walkerton dental clinic capital project, which will bring publicly funded services with a dentist closer to home for many low-income residents in southern Grey-Bruce. I would also like to thank Grey Bruce Public Health’s Oral Health Team for their work on this important initiative,” says Dr. Ian Arra, Grey-Bruce’s Medical Officer of Health and CEO of Grey Bruce Public Health.

“Good oral health is critical to good overall health. This project supports Public Health’s ongoing and focused work to address health inequities in communities and remove barriers to care, which aligns with our overall mission of protecting and promoting the health of everyone in Grey-Bruce.”

Prior to this project, GBPH’s Oral Health team provided services at two permanent clinics – in Owen Sound and Markdale – and mobile clinics in Wiarton and Walkerton.
In Walkerton, the team set up and dismantled a temporary clinic on each clinic day in a common space at a Bruce County-owned housing complex.

Grey Bruce Public Health received Ministry of Health funding to upgrade its dental clinics, following the launch of the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, which provides dental services to eligible, low-income seniors aged 65 and older.

The funding was used to upgrade its Owen Sound and Markdale clinics and build a permanent clinic in Walkerton.

Construction of the new clinic began in March 2024, with substantial completion achieved in late July.

The new clinic features two operatories, along with x-ray, sterilization, charting, and consult rooms, a reception area, waiting room, utility room, and lunchroom.

The permanent clinic includes full dental amenities, allowing for weekly dentist clinics.

“Our Oral Health team is excited to continue offering the highest level of oral health care to our clients in this new space,” says Jason Weppler, Manager of GBPH’s Oral Health Program.

“This clinic will help to provide a full array of new services to our clients, including x-rays, dentist services, and more.”

In addition to dental services, the new clinic will be used by GBPH’s Sexual Health and Vaccine Preventable Diseases teams to provide services in southern Bruce County.