Community led: celebrating wellness with a smile

Dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease in Canada and creates a significant burden on both human and financial costs. In Canada, the annual cost of dental day surgery for children is $21.2 million. The objective of this study was to explore and address the strengths and barriers related to the provision of oral health services in an Indigenous community in northern Saskatchewan. This community-based participatory research project focused on developing authentic relationships with the community. This research is novel because it is community-led and from the perspective of Indigenous people. Descriptive statistics were undertaken to describe the 38 participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with elders, healthcare providers, teachers and parents/guardians of elementary school-aged children; and inductive, thematic analysis was undertaken with the qualitative data. The most commonly identified themes included: community resilience, the need to improve oral health literacy and skills and the mitigation of barriers to access care. The research process included co-creating tools with the community that built upon strengths, creating opportunities for change, generated solutions and transforming the health system the community accessed.