CONTINUEDP.8 Dr. Lynn Tomkins president@cda-adc.ca ACrossroads forDentistry Back in 2019, as I contemplated running for the presidency of CDA, I knew the association was future-focused, dynamic and well-positioned to manage social and economic transformation. The work that had been done for the Future of the Profession initiative since 2016 meant that we would be able to “skate to where the puck was going to be”—a hockey analogy, and yes, I am a proud Canadian. Of course, I didn’t know back then how quickly and thoroughly our abilities to adapt would be tested, first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the federal government’s commitment to provide funding to improve access to dental care in Canada. I am tremendously proud of how we cared for our patients during the pandemic under extraordinary conditions. Due to our collective diligence as a profession, there haven’t been any documented cases of COVID-19 transmission between a patient and an oral health care provider in Canada to date. Role of Associations in a DynamicWorld The role of a professional association is evolving along with our changing environment. Historically, a dental association functioned in a variety of ways, including serving as a proponent for standards of practice and education, as an advocate for the public good and as a voice for the profession. In several Canadian provinces, regulatory responsibilities have been separated from dental associations. In Germany, dentists have regulators, unions and associations, and it is the unions that negotiate contracts for dentists. Regulators set professional standards that we must meet, but associations, I believe, are the organizations in which we aspire to achieve the highest ideals of our profession. In an association, we plan for the future—we actively work toward one where dentistry can efficiently, fairly and compassionately serve the health and well-being of all Canadians. One might dismiss this notion as utopian, but dentistry has in many ways been shaped by altruistic ideals. We change lives for the better. We alleviate pain and suffering. We are oral physicians and surgeons. Balancing Public Good with EconomicWell-being We have arrived at a crossroads in dentistry, and in this defining moment, we must consider the implications of the fragile balance struck between our commitment to serve the public good and our need to sustain our economic well-being. This is not a situation unique to dentistry, it is shared by other health care sectors, but we find ourselves in a pivotal position at this time. The pandemic was a turbulent period for small business owners of every kind. Inflation, high interest rates and economic uncertainty are stressful for many dentists who have a high level of financial obligation. And our dental students are now graduating with more debt than ever before. Increasingly, there are non-dentist investors in dental practices with their own business obligations. I believe that because of the rather isolated nature of our work and the way the pandemic shrank our lives, many dentists may feel alone in their struggles, both financial and otherwise. Federal Funding for Dental Care My term as CDA president has been focused largely on the new federal funding for dental care and explaining dentistry’s unique expertise to the government to ensure that their investment is effective, sustainable and reaches the Canadians who need it most. Canada’s oral health care system of predominantly private dental practices is efficient; the public health care system in Canada has capacity issues that dentistry From the President 7 Issue 2 | 2023 | CDA atWork
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