CDA Essentials 2019 • Volume 6 • Issue 3

10 | 2019 | Issue 3 CDA at W ork Dr. Alexander (Sandy) Mutchmor, CDA’s president for 2019–20, smiles as he tells a story about his two sons, who are both following in their father’s footsteps in their career choices. Randal is completing a General Dentistry Residency at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and Bradley is in his final year of dental school at the University of Manitoba. Randal, in grade 9 at the time, had spent the day at his dad’s office for Take Our Kids to Work Day. “When he got home, all he could talk about was the lunch we had. By the time it was Bradley’s turn to come to my office for the day, all he was really looking forward to was the lunch!” he laughs. “So I don’t think I was necessarily the influence that got them into dentistry; I always wanted to support them, but without steering them in any particular direction.” These are humble words for someone who has been a leader in dentistry at the local, provincial and now national level. Throughout his career, Dr. Mutchmor has given back to his profession, starting at the University of Manitoba where he served four years as the CDA representative for his class, and one year as the representative on the CDA Council on Student Affairs. He later served as a board member of the Winnipeg Dental Society and the Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) and went on to lead both organizations as president. Supporting the profession As MDA president, Dr. Mutchmor was one of the signatories to the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CDA and the provincial and territorial dental associations (PDAs), which established a new membership and governance model for CDA. The new model redefined CDA’s membership; instead of supporting both the PDAs and individual dentists, CDA would focus its support on the provinces, with dentists accessing CDA programs and services through membership in their PDA. Dr. Mutchmor is proud of the part he’s played in bringing in this new CDA membership model. The end result, he thinks, paved the way for a stronger and more unified profession. “The MOU brings CDA and the PDAs together as true partners,” he says. “Working together as a cohesive group strengthens our credibility when we address issues that affect the profession across the country.” The MOU is up for renewal in 2020 and Dr. Mutchmor hopes to have his signature on this version too, but this time as the 100th president in CDA’s distinguished history. In the eight years he’s served as a member of CDA’s Board of Directors, he’s grown to appreciate CDA’s impact on Canadian dental practices. “It’s all the things that are being done for dentistry that most dentists don’t know about, because we don’t think about where they come from—we just use them!” he says. Dr. Mutchmor cites the many CDA services that are part of everyday practice in Canadian dental offices: iTRANS, CDAnet, Secure Send and USC&LS, to name just a few. “You don’t really learn about all the work that’s involved in creating and maintaining these absolutely essential benefits until you’re involved in the process and because of that, I think some dentists aren’t aware of how CDA has shaped how practices function today.” I had never even considered dentistry, but from that moment I knew that’s what I wanted to do. DR. ALEXANDER MUTCHMOR CDA’s 100th President