CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 2

9 Issue 2 | 2018 | CDA at W ork M y term as president is almost complete and I’m very pleased with what CDA was able to achieve on a wide range of issues. To mark the end of my term, I’d like to recap some of our successes. I joined the CDA Board in 2010, having been one of the architects of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlined the relationship between CDA and the provincial and territorial dental associations. The goal of the MOU was to maximize resources, avoid duplication and harmonize efforts to advance the profession, and today we are acting in unison on key issues. In shaping public policy, CDA has had some noteworthy successes. Our collaborative campaign persuaded the federal government to drop proposed taxes on health and dental benefits. And CDA continues to urge the federal government to rethink its proposed changes to tax planning using private corporations. After some progress in getting the government to back away from some of its proposed measures, CDA continues to press for improvements. As part of our advocacy work on children’s oral health, CDA initiated the popular First Visit, First Tooth campaign and sponsored a continuing education course to support dental teams in examining infants and establishing preventive programs. We will now focus our efforts on the special oral health care needs of children with cognitive impairments. In addition, we have started to explore ways of improving the oral health of Indigenous children. I care deeply about this issue and it is my hope that CDA, in close partnership with Indigenous groups, can bring meaningful change through preventative measures and culturally appropriate education. It is an especially momentous time for Indigenous health, given the creation of the new Department of Indigenous Services Canada. We have met with senior leadership of the Assembly of First Nations and although our collaboration is still in its early stages, it is heartening to have taken these first steps together. CDA is also providing leadership for the profession through a national task force established to explore how big issues, such as changing societal expectations, evolving economic forces, and new technologies, will affect the future of dentistry over the next 15 years. The task force report will include recommendations to help the profession be better prepared for the future. In the area of practice support, CDA launched CDA Secure Send, a communications tool designed to let dentists exchange patient information without violating a patient’s right to privacy. So far, it’s helped thousands of dentists keep their patient data secure and enrolment figures are growing. We are also closer to reaching CDA’s goal of ensuring that subscribing dentists can transmit dental benefit claims to any claims processor in Canada simply, efficiently, securely and without transmission fees. As CDA president, I’ve had the privilege of working with other dentists and health care providers to strengthen our profession, improve the oral health of the people we serve, and bring visibility to important issues in oral health. It has been an honour to represent Canadian dentistry and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been your president. Thank you. From the President Larry Levin, dds president@cda-adc.ca CDA Accomplishments AYear of Progress