Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 2

James Armstrong BSc, MBA, DMD president@cda-adc.ca Lessons Learned Fromthe Pandemic The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of the Canadian Dental Association. O n March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Since that time, almost every aspect of our lives has been altered. During my presidency, I saw a decade’s worth of change happen in mere months. Seismic changes bring incredible opportunities, as well as some stress. But I’m inspired by and immensely proud of how dentists have adapted and come together to meet the challenges of caring for Canadians in a world that has been transformed. As I come to the end of my tenure as CDA president, I’ve reflected on the opportunities the pandemic has brought and how the dental community has shown great insight, innovation and compassion as we’ve navigated through these new circumstances. InequalitiesRevealed This past year, the effects of social determinates of health and systemic racism, even in health care, have been thrown into sharp relief. Many people lack access to oral health care in Canada. I believe we need to continue the conversation about our shared responsibility as health care providers to tackle these issues. How do we work together to create a nation where everyone has an opportunity to live a healthy life? There is a growing need to adequately fund targeted oral health programs that provide services to underserved groups—such as children, seniors, Indigenous Canadians and other special needs groups—and CDA has been advocating with the federal government to ensure that such programs are appropriately prioritized and funded. Dentists asVaccinators Canada is undergoing its most ambitious vaccination effort in its history. To date, two provinces have embraced having dentists serve as vaccinators for COVID-19 vaccines. The profession may consider this as an opportunity to discuss potentially increasing our scope of practice. Disruptive innovation, technological improvements and changing patient needs will require dentistry to pivot and expand at both the bottom and top of our scope. The dental profession also has the potential to contribute to public health and the health of our patients by providing influenza or HPV vaccines in our practices. Dentists should be seen as key members of an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals with various areas of expertise to work together toward the overall health goals of patients. GlobalProblems, Local Solutions The global response to the pandemic and the development of vaccines in less than a year have shown that nations can mobilize when faced with large, globally- interconnected challenges. We’ve learned how to organize and cooperate to create solutions that require all of us to contribute. One of my hopes for dentistry is that we can collaborate on creating solutions to environmental issues on a global scale that will impact on our lives in Canada. More than ever, it’s clear that problems around the world affect our daily lives. To that end, CDA actively participates with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the FDI World Dental Federation, the latter of which brings together more than a million dentists internationally to work toward common oral health goals. From the President CONTINUED 7 Issue 2 | 2021 | CDA at W ork