Year in Review - Report from the Executive to the 2013 AGM

President’s Report on NDEB Annual Meeting - October 20th 2012

Introduction: The National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) is the organization responsible for establishing and maintaining a national standard of competence for dentists in Canada. In fulfilling their responsibility, one of their roles is includes administering the board exams for undergraduate dentistry students across all ten dental schools, both the written and the OSCE version. Their Annual Meeting was held on October 20, 2012 at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa, ON.

Sponsorship: Because of the Federation’s limited finance in sponsoring the president to attend, NDEB generously provided a one-time sponsorship of $1500 towards the cost of travel and accommodation for the meeting. It is hoped that through this sponsorship, a written agreement will be established for continued student involvement with NDEB in for subsequent years. At the time of the sponsorship, the Federation had not yet fully established its financial arrangements and thus, the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) was granted guardian of the funds on behalf of the Federation. After the meeting, NDEB reimbursed CDA for a total of $1268.89 for the cost of travel and one evening’s stay at Lord Elgin.

Attendance: The meeting was chaired by immediate past-president Dr. Maureen Bourgeois and registrar Dr. Jack Gerrow. In attendance were members of the: Executive committees, Finance committee, Examinations committee, By-Law committee, and Public representative committee. All the chief examiners were present. Also in attendance were members of CDRAF, CDAC, RCDC, CDA, ACFD, FCDSA as well as other invited guests.

Meeting: A number of items were discussed during the day of the meeting including each of the exams administered by the Board. This included reports and discussions on:

  • NDEB Written Examination
  • NDEB Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
  • Equivalency: Clinical Skills Examination
  • Equivalency: Clinical Judgment Examination
  • Equivalency: Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge
  • Dental Specialty Core Knowledge Examination (DSCKE)

A few of the discussion items will be highlighted here including:

  1. The potential for the use of high definition photographs in replacing some of the OSCE testing items such as dental casts.
  2. The DSCKE will now be a responsibility of NDEB, previously administered by CDRAF
  3. NDEB Written and OSCE is also administered by the Minnesota Dental Board

In the afternoon, Dr. Jack Gerrow gave reported the demographics of the current applicants. According to his presentation, the majority of applicants for the equivalency process are from India, Brazil and China. The equivalency process allows for applicants coming from non-accredited dental schools. There has also been an increase in the number of applicants undergoing the equivalency process for the past few years (2011: #821, 2012: #1125). This issue of this high number of foreign-trained dentists seeking for equivalency process seems to stem from various factors, one of which from government pressure involving immigration.

Dr. Jack Gerrow has also announced his permanent role with the NDEB as registrar and thus resigning from his teaching duties with Dalhousie University.

The Board’s finances from the previous year were also reported. One of the issues was the difficulty in predicting the number of participants who will register for an assessment because the cost of hosting an assessment is very costly.

Reports were given from representatives from all other organizations. The Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) reported that they are finalizing upon a mutual recognition with the Irish Dental Council. Thus, this will soon add to USA, Australia, and New Zealand as countries with mutual recognition in dental graduates.

Dr. Maureen Bourgeois gave her final thoughts as president before stepping down as immediate-past president.

Evening event: After the conclusion of the annual meeting, a cocktail reception was held at the NDEB head office in Ottawa. In attendance were all the meeting delegates including the NDEB staff members. A formal dinner was subsequently held at the famous Rideau Club overseeing city of Ottawa. The dinner celebrated the installation of Dr. William Judson (Prince Edward Island) as the newly appointed president.

Submitted to the FCDSA Council, June 2013
Jay Chan (UBC '14), FCDSA President

Report on the ASDA Annual Session - March 2013

FCDSA Vice President Shannon Munsie attended the ASDA Annual Session in Atlanta, GA March 7-9, 2013. Participated in discussions with national leaders from ASDA, SPEA, SNDA, NSRG, Co-SURF regarding how our organizations can support each other in the next year. Presented a 5 minute presentation at the National Leaders meeting as well as at the House of Delegates meeting IV, attended by approx. 400 ASDA members and other national leaders. Attended breakout sessions regarding current issues facing dental students and ASDA’s position on some of these issues. I attended sessions regarding Advocacy and Alternative Workforce Models, and a dentistry-related session on occlusion in the mixed dentition as well as an inspiring workshop on networking presented by ASDA President, Colleen Greene (Harvard ’13).

Introduction:

I had the incredible opportunity the FCDSA at ASDA’s Annual Session in Atlanta, GA March 6-9, 2013. The purpose of this report is to explain what I have learned about ASDA as it pertains to the Federation, as well as what I talked about when I was there so that future delegates and contacts with ASDA have a thorough background on the communication and
initial relationship between the FCDSA and ASDA. ASDA is a well-established student organization and the Annual Session was very professional and a truly inspiring learning experience that will benefit the FCDSA in the upcoming year. I arrived a day late to the Annual Session - March 7, 2013 and received a warm welcome from everyone I met. ASDA provides a
wonderful experience for their members, both at the national and chapter (university) levels. I was impressed with the professionalism, quality of presenters and the thorough and well-researched explanations for each of ASDA’s statements on each of the issues or topics that ASDA addressed. I had the opportunity to meet ASDA’s President (now ‘immediate past president), Colleen Greene, Vice Presidents Alex Barton and Ben Youel, Executive Director Nancy Honeycutt and national leaders Leslie Murray from the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA), Robert Hann, chair from the American Dental Education Association Council of Students, Residents and Fellows and Justin Harlow, treasurer from the Student National Dental Association and Kelly Sayre, secretary-elect, from the National Student Research Group. These connections are key to the Federation as we grow and develop as a well-respected organization in organized dentistry. The incoming ASDA President, Jiwon Lee (Columbia ’14) and will be a great resource for us in the upcoming months. As per FCDSA bylaws from June 2012, we have invite an ASDA representative to our FCDSA Annual General Meeting in June 2013.

In this report, I will briefly discuss each of the meetings and workshops that I attended at the
ASDA 2013 Annual Session.

Current Issues facing Dental Students

Many issues facing dental students in the US are similar to the interests and concerns of Canadian dental students. ASDA advocates and supports several issues and programs. Some examples from the 2013 Annual Session include: Tuition, licensure and examination issues, alternative workforce models, mid-level providers, facilitating change in government, professionalism and ethical considerations for dental students (example: pre-dental or junior dental students performing irreversible procedures while volunteering abroad), email list for advanced standing students.

What is ASDA? 

The American Student Dental Association, known by members as “ASDA” is the unified national voice for dental students in the United States. Each dental school has the option of forming an ASDA chapter, which works independently at respective schools to educate, involve and help students better understand current issues facing dental students.  ASDA’s membership comprises an impressive 88% of all dental students. Chapters are organized into 11 Districts, based on geography and leaders from each chapter attend an annual District meeting, as well as the Annual Session, National Leadership Session and many members attend “National Lobby Day” in Washington, D.C.

The Mission Statement of ASDA is: 

The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests and welfare of dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education, representation and advocacy.

Lunch Thursday March 7, 2013

By chance, I sat a table with ASDA’s Vice President, Ben Youel, as well as a student from Case Western and a 2nd year student from Detroit Mercy, who is from Ottawa and was very interested in the FCDSA and the possibility of having Canadians at US schools be involved in the Federation.

A piece of constructive feedback that I received at this lunch conversation and I agree is something that we should consider is the name of our organization – It is very long. Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations was referred to as “a mouthful” and the acronym FCDSA was referred to as “alphabet soup.”  Further, the full name Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations was too long to fit on my name tag and Associations was abbreviated to Assn – which I feel makes it lose its meaning.

Breakout session: ADPAC and Advocacy for the generation of dentists

  • ADPAC – Dentistry Political Action Committee, 35% of dental students join ADPAC – it is a large, lobbying organization
  • ADPAC deals with lobbying concerns to benefit both dentistry and the public. D
  • Example of costs in Vermont: $2.7 million were spent in emergency hospital visits for dental-related trauma, whereas the cost of emergency hospital departments to “work with dentists” would be only $440,000 and provide more efficient care (opinion of speaker)
  • ASDA has a voting seat on ADPAC
  • ADPAC provides student opportunities such as internships in DC as well as ASDA internships in Chicago

Exhibit Fair

  • ·Vendors from over 50 companies had booths set up and representatives available for students to ask question
  • Students had a passport and if they received 45 stamps (1 stamp per vendor visited), then they were entered into a draw (each company had donated a raffle prize)
  • The exhibitors were: Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Implant Dentistry, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy of Periodontology, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons, American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, American Student Dental Association, AppleWhite Dental partners, Crest Oral-B, Dental Decks, Dental Planet, Eastern Dentists Insurance Company, FLOSS, GEICO, GL Advisor, Great Expressions Dental Center, Heartland Dental Care, Henry Schein Dental, Henry Schein Practice Solutions – Dentrix, Kool Smiles, Lexicomp, Medical Protective, Pacific Dental Services, Patterson Dental Supply, Professional Protector Plan, Smile Brands, Inc., Sunstar Americas, TDIC, ADA- sponsored insurance plans, A-Dec, Air Force Recruiting Service, American Association of Endodontists, American Dental Political Action Committee, Army National Guard, Aspen Dental, Atlanta Dental Supply, Benco Dental, Brasseler USA, Colgate, DDS refining

 Student Research Poster Presentations (Friday, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm)

  • Students (~15) presented their research posters prior to and during lunch. It was a casual, walk-around and ask questions type set-up. Posters were evaluated and awards were announced in the evening at the Gold Crown Awards.

Breakout session: Early to mixed dentition, presented by Dr Judson Reed, DMD, MS (Orthodontist)

  • The options to choose from for this breakout session were:
  • Get on the Right Track to Success – AGD
  • Periodontics: More than just scaling and Root Planning
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Explore the Scope and how to enter OMS
  • Spotting Eruption, Bite and Developmental Problems in Early to Middle Mixed Dentition
  • Endodontists and General Dentists: Partners in Patient Care
  • The benefits of Dental Group Practices for New Dentists
  • How you can make a difference with your Dental Degree (US Forces, director of commissioned corps recruitment)
  • Review of important aspects of occlusion in mixed dentition
  • American ortho society recommends each child have an ortho consult by AGE 7 in order to address issues of space maintenance and skeletal bite development
  • If you are interested in learning more, I took comprehensive notes that I am happy to share. Please let me know.

Breakout session: Alternative Workforce Models, Friday, March 8, 2013

  • The options to choose from at the breakout session were:
  • Outside the dental office: Alternative Careers in Dentistry
  • Dentistry at a Crossroads: A look back, a look forward
  • Alternative Work force models
  • Alternative Workforce models is a big issue in dentistry and for ASDA. It refers to mid- level providers such as dental therapists, DHAT, CDHC (hygienists), CDHC (community dental health coordinator), and ADHP as a way of reaching more people in need in areas where there is limited access to a dentist.
  • Research shows that in areas where these programs have been launched (example from New Zealand and in Maryland) showed that these projects failed and the DMFT in these areas remained the same in areas without the project.
  • These mid-level providers are not licensed to perform irreversible procedures.
  • The controversy is rooted in trying to break down barriers to healthcare, and opposition to the ADA’s position (not in support of these programs) say that dentists are trying to create a monopoly, rather than promoting access to care.
  • ASDA’s share’s the ADA’s view that research shows that mid-level providers are not an effective way to increase access to care and that everyone deserves a dentist. Further, research shows that alternative workforce models are not economically viable.
  • One dentist attending the session (from Maryland) stood up and shared her view, which is that the problem is lack of education of oral health and the value people place on their teeth. If people wait until they are in pain to see a dentist, that is not the dentist’s fault, but it is an important issue to be addressed.

Gold Crown Awards, Friday, March 8, 2013, 5 PM

  • Awards were presented to ASDA chapters for excellence in areas such as their newsletter, membership and being an ‘ideal ASDA chapter’
  • Examples of newsletter names are: the Articulating Paper, Incisal Edge, Post&Core, Caries Free Press, Tennessealants, word out mouth, mouthing off
  • Chapters were competitive and keen to know if they had received a Gold Crown Award. Having some sort of awards presentation is something that I recommend the FCDSA consider for the 2014 AGM.

National Leaders Meeting: Saturday, March 9, 2013, 8 AM

Meeting was attended by:

  • ASDA: Colleen Greene, president; Alex Barton, vice president; Ben Youel, vice president, Nancy Honeycutt, CAE, executive director
  • ADEA: Robert Hann, chair, American Dental Education Association Council of Students, Residents and Fellows
  • FCDSA: Shannon Munsie, vice president, Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations
  • NSRG: Kelly Sayre, secretary-elect, National Student Research Group
  • SNDA: Justin Harlow, treasurer, Student National Dental Association
  • SPEA: Leslie Murray, vice chair, Student Professionalism and Ethics Association

Agenda:

  • ASDA President Colleen Greene will facilitate the discussion.
  •  Introductions – Each group has 5 minutes to introduce their organization.
  •  The meeting will be a discussion on the mission of each organization; identifying areas of common purpose and considering future collaborations and how we can help each other achieve our organization’s goals.

Meeting Notes:

  • Each organization introduced themselves and explain what their organization does and when their executive transition will be taking place in order to ensure our organizations continue communicating. ASDA elections take place during the Annual Session and new leadership will take on their roles immediately. Colleen Green will be the immediate past president and will still be involved in ASDA.
  • Determined areas of common interest and discussion took place regarding the ethical concerns of international volunteering and pre-dental or 1st or 2nd year dental students performing irreversible procedures before they have been cleared to do such procedures by the school. SPEA is interested in having students discuss this in their schools, ASDA supports that students should only be doing procedures that they have been taught and are comfortable doing and it was pointed out that the reasoning behind this is similar to that of the issue of mid-level providers: People should be getting quality dental care. The justification that ‘they would not otherwise get this care’ is not sufficient because it is not known if they will get this care and they may not fully understand the risks that they are receiving treatment from someone with inadequate training and knowledge to be performing such a procedure.
  • ASDA noted that many professors and dentists are aware of this ethical dilemma, but students and pre-dental students are not. When abroad and handed a set of forceps, students or pre-dental students may think that this is OK and is a good learning experience because they have not been appropriately informed. In addition, there is concern that some pre-dental students talk about this experience (performing irreversible procedures) during their dental school interviews and this may or may not affect their application, since they are doing something essentially unethical, while they may not even be aware of it.
  • All organizations agree that we look forward to working with one another and that the issue of international volunteering regarding pre-dental and junior dental students continue.

Breakout session: How to Network Effectively, Saturday, March 9, 2013, 9 AM

  • Presented by ASDA President, Colleen Green
  • Breakout sessions to choose from included: How to build a stronger relationship with your state senate dental association, managing your dental school debt (by Henry Schein Practice Transitions), On-boarding New Members to ASDA
  • Being able to walk into a room and strike up a conversation with anyone isn’t easy. But being able to talk to people you don’t know and build a connection is a skill that will help you in school, in your chapter and as a dentist.
  • Networking tips: Remember FIRST names, Pretend everyone is MARRIED (don’t flirt), be the 3rd to join a conversation, bear small gifts (gum, mints etc.), 2 drink limit ALWAYS, don’t focus on the food
  • Be aware of your reputation; your reputation networks for you, even when you are not around (refer back to 2 drink rule – don’t do anything that compromises your reputation). How to build a reputation: respond to ALL emails IMMEDIATELY, follow-up every conversation
  • Use of instagram, twitter and LinkedIn ENDORSEMENTS – people feel really good when you endorse them on linked in
  • If you see an article about someone who has received an award etc., forward the article to them and say congratulations – they will feel special and remember that you did it.
  • Get to know your professors – It is OK to try to get to know them, knowing that you will need a reference one day. The best way to get to know them is to work or volunteer with them outside of class time.
  • Get to know your classmates. All of them. Not just your year. You should know everyone at your school.

House of Delegates: Meeting IV and V, Saturday, March 9, 2013

  • Delegates wishing to state a position or make another motion must approach a numbered microphone and wait to be recognized by the speaker. After being recognized by the speaker, the delegate introduces himself/herself and states his/her position on the motion or the delegate may present a new motion. If a new motion is made, the speaker of the House restates the motion, thereby placing it before the House for action.
  • To interrupt motions (i.e. Point of clarification) and parliamentary inquiries: delegates use the “priority” microphone
  • To speak in favour of an amendment, delegates use the ‘pro’ microphone
  • To speak in opposition to a resolution or amendment, use the con microphone
  • Comments were to be directed towards the speaker of the House and not to other members. Questions may be asked of other members, but may not be rhetorical in nature and must be done through the speaker of the House in the form of a parliamentary inquiry from the priority microphone.
  • Delegates should be organized, factual and concise when granted the floor, and must practice proper decorum in their remarks at all times.
  • Delegates with a resolution were to submit it via email by March 7, 2013 at 1:30pm
  • Examples of resolutions or policies discussed or suggested include:
  • Initial Licensure Pathways
  • Policy on Dental School Tuition Levels
  • Amendment to J-1 Substance Abuse/Chemical Dependence
  • Membership dues
  • Adopting addition of ASDA chapters
  • Website consolidation
  • Email list of international students
  • Conflict resolution substituted for advocacy program
  • Legislative Grassroots Network Name Change
  • Report from Reference Committee on Membership and Professional Issues
    • Definition of Quality Oral Health and Quality Oral Healthcare Delivery (opposition: should this be something that students do, given that we are students?
    • Dental Assistant Utilization: ASDA encourages accredited dental schools to provide instruction
    • Example of background provided for resolutions (example of dental assistants): In a 2011 survey of 1500 dentists conducted by Dr. Gordon Christensen, founder and director of Practical Clinical Courses, the lack of dental assistant utilization programs in dental schools was identified as a priority facing the profession. Many dental students do not receive significant instruction on how to practice four- or six-handed dentistry, which contributes to poor productivity and ergonomics.  More than 70% of dental students of both sexes complain of musculoskeletal pain by their 3rd year of dental school. Nearly 30% of all dentists who retire early are forced to do so because of a musculoskeletal disorder.  In 2004, one insurance company paid $24.6 million to ADA members who became disabled later 1992, of those 14% were dentists disabled on or before age 45. With student debt levels at an all-time high and the importance of proper ergonomics in preventing injuries nearly universally recognized, learning the proper utilization of dental assistants should be part of a dental student’s curriculum.
  • Each delegate who attended the National Leaders Meeting had 5 minutes to introduce their organization to the House of Delegates
  • I spoke on behalf of the FCDSA and explained that we are a new organization, with brainstorming starting in November 2011 and our first official meeting in June 2012. I spoke about our goals to be the unified national voice for Canadian dental students, communication, branding and to start advocating for issues facing Canadian Dental Students.

Canadian Citizens attending US Dental Schools

  • After my presentation, I was approached by individual ASDA members (at least 3 on different occasions) who are Canadians attending US dental schools and are interested in the FCDSA and how it may be able to help them as well.
  • One said she would be interested in having Canadians at US schools on our council
  • The others are interested in issues such as licensing, board exams and streamlining the process of coming home
  • One offered her services to the FCDSA in starting a newsletter, as the newsletter at her school is one of her roles.
  • The following email is copy/pasted below (with permission) from ASDA member, Kristyn Hope, who is a Canadian student attending the University of Detroit Mercy. Kristyn is from Ottawa, Ontario.
  • She has offered to submit a report on behalf of the Canadian student group at Detroit Mercy – This may be an interesting way to hear what issues are facing Canadians at American dental schools.

Hello again Shannon!

I hope you got home safely after the adventure that is the Atlanta airport. I just wanted to check in now that we're back in our respective locales (only 2 hrs away may I remind you!).  I'll be trying to compile everything I took away from the annual session and submitting it to the Canadian group here so we can start to establish a direction for networking and communication with the Federation as well as other American trained Canadian students. I would love to have our segment of future dental practitioners in Canada represented in the FCDSA and hope that I can contribute positively to this initiative. If you would like to combine our efforts in a report to submit to your meeting in Ottawa in June I'd be happy to contribute. It was so nice to meet you this past week and I hope our paths cross again soon.

Summary and Reflection

  • Many issues facing ASDA members are similar to those facing Canadian dentistry students and are possible issues for the FCDSA to address
  • Examples of issues include: Licensure and board exams and preparation, utilization of dental assistants, mid-level providers, dental school tuition and debt management, advocacy and lobbying, networking, issues facing internationally trained dentists, membership dues/finances, student ethics and professionalism issues such as pre- dental or junior dental students volunteering abroad and performing irreversible procedures.
  • ASDA members suggested that the name Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations and acronym FCDSA are very long. When I mentioned that many acronyms are already taken, the member I spoke with reiterates that is not important and ASDA successfully shares their acronym with the American Society of Dental Anesthesiologists.
  • There are many Canadians at US dental schools and they are interested in the FCDSA and if we may be able to work with them. At this point, I feel it is fair to hear what their concerns are and determine at a later date if there may be action items to consider that we may be able to address, or areas of common interest that we may be able to work on together.
  • The policies and resolutions proposed were all research-based, factual, concise and clearly presented.
  • Communication: ASDA communicates with their chapters through emails, newsletters and a blog. They also encourage their chapters to communicate within their school through the same means and offer awards for top newsletters. The use of a concise newsletter is something that the FCDSA could benefit from in the upcoming year.
  • ASDA is very professional and parliamentary procedure was used correctly throughout the Annual Session.
  • The executive leaders have excellent work ethic and communication and have clearly worked hard over the past year to help ASDA reach its goals over the past year.
  • The quality of presentations and public speaking was notably impressive by all ASDA leaders and their welcoming attitude towards all members and guests was exemplary.
  • This is a very professional, well organized and well-established student organization who shares many of our values and is a sincere pleasure to work with.
  • Photos below: Left (Shannon at Olympic park in Atlanta), Middle (President’s Gala with ASDA President-elect, Jiwon Lee, Columbia ’14), Right (At President’s Gala with ASDA President Colleen Greene, Harvard ’13)

Submitted to the FCDSA Council, June 2013
Shannon Munsie (Western '14), FCDSA Vice President

Report on the CDA Annual General Meeting - April 18-20, 2013

Introduction:

The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) is the national voice for dentistry, dedicated to the advancement and leadership of a unified profession and to the promotion of optimal oral health, an essential component of general health. Their Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on April 18th-20th, 2012 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, ON.

Sponsorship:

Because of the Federation’s limited finance in sponsoring the president to attend, CDA generously provided full sponsorship for my travel and accommodation for the duration of the meeting.

Attendance:

This 3 day AGM gathered together all the leaders of Canadian organized dentistry under one roof and hence, nicknamed ‘the tent’. Members of every provincial associations (except Quebec) were present. Other affiliated organization that were present included: Dental Corps of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), Canadian Dental Regulatory Authorities Federation (CDRAF), Commission of Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC), Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Canadian Dental Specialties Association (CDSA), National Dental Examining Board (NDEB) and Canadian Dental Research Association (CDRA). Corporate members such as CDPSI were also in attendance. Dental students’ representation were through the Federation.

The following will be a brief summary of the events that were participated in by the president during the course of 3 day AGM.

Thursday April 18th: Meet and Greet

Earlier in the day, Broad of Directors had their meeting. The evening was a casual meet and greet for all the meeting delegates. CDA’s famous margarita was served during the night.

Friday April 19th: Morning Dentistry Leaders’ Forum
This morning meeting brought together all provincial associations along with members from various affiliated organizations. The meeting was hosted by President-elect Dr. Peter Doig and Dr. Amarjit Rihal. A number of topics were discussed including:

1) Development of a national strategy in oral health by CDA
2) Introduction of the issue revolving mid-level providers for a subsequent afternoon discussion
3) CDA Seal of Recognition Program:

  • The discussion revolved around how it is being used and how it can be better promoted
  • Currently used in 18 products such as toothpaste and mouth rinse. The seal program has been around for at least 20 years and generates a source of income for CDA but its value is declining as there is a lack of clinician supporting its use. CDA would like provincial association to support the seal program at the provincial level.

4) NIHB (Non-insured Health branch)

  • This pertains primarily with regards to delivery of dental care for the First Nations population. There appears to be a variety of issues with such program as to their effectiveness in delivering care to the estimated 850,000 First nation people in Canada.

5) CDAnet Strategy

  • This is a system that enables dentists to send patients’ dental benefit claims to insurance companies electronically. Companies include: Great West Life, Pacific Blue Cross, Sun Life and Manulife.

6) CSI eReferral

  • This referral system enables a secured digital platform for transmission of patient records for the purpose of referral. This brings about a workflow advantage. Issues seem to arise from differences in privacy regulation from each province as not all provinces at the moment seem to have standardized guidelines on this issue.

7) CDA’s proposed Code of Ethics

  • CDA wishes to create a new document that aims to be a public facing document for the entire profession. Instead of re-writing a code of ethics, the document intends to be a code of aspiration for the dental profession. It is intended for the media and government for the purposes of strengthening the public’s perception. The cost of writing this document will be around $60, 000. There were some opposition from various provincial association with regards to this matter.

Friday April 19th: Awards Luncheon

This luncheon presented various awards to members of CDA that made significant contribution to the profession. The awards included: Oral Health Promotion Award, Distinguished Service Awards and also Special Friend of Canadian Dentistry.

Mr. Lyle Best, Chairman of the Board of Directors for CDSPI, was awarded the Special Friend of Canadian Dentistry award. Mr. Best also gave a speech highlighting some of his involvements with organized dentistry.

Friday April 19th: Afternoon National Dental Forum

The afternoon session focused on two topics: JCDA Oasis and Mid-Level Providers. During this session, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jim Tennant and Dr. Roger Armstrong, both are dentists from the Northwest Territories.

1) JCDA Oasis is an online advice and searchable information system. It serves as a credible source for clinician to use and as a tool for knowledge transfer. It is comprised of JCDA.CA, Oasis Help and Oasis Discussions. There are 2 outreach tools associated with it including: CDA magazines and JCDA Oasis Bulletin which is an email correspondence sent to all members. There has been concerns that because this is a service funded by members, it should remain as a members-only service as opposed to being public at the moment which can be made available by others outside of Canada. JCDA Oasis aims to market this heavily to new graduates.

2) Mid-Level Providers is currently a very controversial topic here in Canada. A number of presentations were made to first clarify the issue by looking at the historical context of mid-level providers in terms of dental therapists in Canada and how they have evolved to their role now. Dental therapists was a concept that coincidentally stemmed from the Federal government and
from the Saskatchewan provincial government in the 1970s in an attempt to address issues of access to care in remote areas. The Federal project was to train dental therapist and then have them provide care to those much needed in very remote parts of the territories. Similar, the provincial program provided the same but to rural areas of Saskatchewan. The current issues seems to revolve around the use of dental therapists as viable economic models in delivering care. As agreed upon during the forum, the issue at stake for the profession right now is an uneven distribution of the dentists across the country. Canada itself is not facing a shortage of dentist. Thus, the impact of mid-level providers on access to care in underserviced or remote communities as well as on the continuity and cost of care will need to be further clarified.

Friday April 19th: President’s Installation Reception and Dinner

The President’s Installation Reception and Dinner celebrated the installation of Dr. Peter Doig as the new president for the CDA. In attendance were also a number of corporate sponsors including Colgate. During the dinner, I sat with Dr. Colin Jack who was previously the Board of Director that served as liaison between the Federation and CDA.
Friday April 19th. Evening Socials with BCDA members
Following the dinner, I met with members of the BCDA along with the dean from my faculty to discuss the day’s events.

Saturday April 20th: Morning Annual General Meeting
The AGM began at 9:00 am. In attendance were voting representatives from each of the provincial association as well as one each from academic, military and specialist representation. Chairperson Dr. Ron Markey made an announcement to the general assembly with regards to the Federation and my presence at the beginning of the meeting.

Three reports from Board members were given. Over the past year, CDA has developed three Strategic Priority teams in addressing three goals:

1) A Strong Profession (Advancing the Dental Profession) by Dr. Randall Croutze

  • Developed a trust and value program
  • Developed JCDA Oasis
  • Made a number of National policy statement over issues such as breast feeding and obstructive sleep apnea

2) A United Community (Building a collaborative dental community) by Dr. Colin Jack

  • Working collaboratively with corporate members
  • Enhancing communication with dental stakeholders
  • Improving relationships with dental students through assisting in the development of the Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Association (FCDSA)
  • Connecting with external stakeholders such as Canadian Medical Association

3) A Healthy Public by Dr. Mike Brown

  • Establishing a media wide expert group for media request
  • Met with Health Canada
  • Recognizes that access to care remains as a challenging issue especially with regards to children and seniors

A comprehensive report on CDA’s finance was presented by Dr. Gary MacDonald. KMPG is currently serving as auditor for CDA. Of note, one of the issue of concern to CDA is that only 5 of the 10 schools will use the manual dexterity component of the dental aptitude test (DAT). Thus, CDA foresee losing income from selling less soap and from less exam administrations.

Also, a members’ fee increase was proposed for a 10 dollar increase for all 3 tier groups (Tier 1:
$525, Tier 2: $427.5, Tier 3: $330). However, voting representatives could not come to a consensus initially. Following the intermission, a proposal to the fee increase for a 5 dollar increase for all 3 tier groups was proposed, subsequently motioned and resolved.

Reports from various dental groups were given. This include: Dental Corps of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), Canadian Dental Regulatory Authorities Federation (CDRAF), Commission of Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC), Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Canadian Dental Specialties Association (CDSA), National Dental Examining Board (NDEB), Canadian Dental Research Association (CDRA) and CDPSI.

Of note, the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) reporting the addition of a mutual recognition with the Irish Dental Council. Thus, this adds to the existing three other countries USA, Australia, and New Zealand with mutual recognition in dental graduates.

The Federation did not provide a report.

A brief remark was given by the outgoing CDA President Dr. Robert Sutherland followed by a presentation by the incoming CDA President Dr. Peter Doig.

The meeting officially adjourned shortly after lunch time.

Submitted to the FCDSA Council, June 2013
Jay Chan (UBC '14), FCDSA President