About 18,000 people in the region will be eligible for the Canadian Dental Care Program in May.
The program will be expanded to include anyone between the ages of 18 to 64, meaning another 6,350 people in the region will be eligible.
Currently only those younger than 18 or older than 65 are eligible.
The Northwestern Health Unit says the dental care program is badly needed in the rgion as tooth decay rates are twice the provincial average.
As well, emergency room visits for dental issues are nearly three times higher than the Ontario rate.
The Health Unit says each visit to the emergency room costs about $513 per visit.
