CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 4

21 Issue 4 | 2018 | CDA at W ork E nhancing the Wellness of Canadian Dentists, jointly organized by CDA and CDSPI, provided a forum for examining mental health strategies for dentists, and for learning from other professions that have successfully established wellness initiatives. Wellness—a term that captures physical, mental and emotional health—is an increasingly important goal in dentistry and in other health professions because it not only affects individual clinicians, but could also have an impact on the quality of care they provide to patients. Treatment, supports and tools Representatives from regulatory bodies in medicine and dentistry outlined their roles in promoting wellness through their support of health programs. In medicine, Physician Health Programs (PHPs) have evolved to cover a range of issues, but health programs developed specifically for the needs of dentists are comparatively new. Conference participants discussed some of the challenges for dentists who undergo treatment for a mental health issue, including how to keep their practice viable during an absence (particularly difficult for dentists in solo practice or in smaller jurisdictions) and dealing with income loss while covering costs associated with treatment. Learning from the Canadian Forces A program developed by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) helps its members mentally prepare for challenges Dentist wellness was the focus of discussions among leaders in Canadian dentistry who gathered in Ottawa for a one-day conference onApril 21. DENTISTWELLNESS CDA and CDSPI Open the Conversation on