Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 3

“Dental assisting is a skilled profession with 8 provinces requiring licensing or registration,” added Dr. Holden. “Dental assistants are crucial members of dentist-led teams and without them, the gaps in access to dental care will widen. Dentists need more formally- trained, licensed dental assistants to help maintain and increase Canadians’ access to oral health care.” CDA is committed to work collaborativelywith the federal government and the Canadian Dental Assistants Association (CDAA) to address issues that directly impact the retention of dental assistants. CDA is committed to work collaboratively with the federal government and the Canadian Dental Assistants Association (CDAA) to address issues that directly impact the retention of dental assistants. CDA recently partnered with the CDAA to submit a project to Employment and Social Development Canada’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program. The project, Building the Professional Dental Assisting Workforce of the Future , seeks to address the many factors impacting the attrition of dental assistants from their profession by: • providing mental health and wellness training for dental office staff, • providing human resources training for dentists and office managers, • increasing access to certified dental assisting programs through the development of an online- based curriculum; and • developing action plans to address inter- provincial labour mobility and better integration of immigrants into the dental workforce. CDA’s full written remarks, along with a recording of the HUMA Committee meeting, available at: bit.ly/3sMnAoe Fast Facts:  99% of dental assistants in Canada are women, with an average age of 38.  Many dental assistants exit the workforce for other professions due to, among other factors: z workplace concerns such as stress and mental health z the desire for flexible hours z the appeal of work-from- home opportunities  In 2019, 36% of dental offices had unfilled dental assistant positions.  From 2010–20, the ratio of new certified dental assistants to new dentists entering the workforce fell from over 3:1 to almost 1:1. 14 | 2022 | Issue 3 CDA atWork