The third pathway, what we are calling “gap training,”will be a much quicker pathway for these dentists to gain their licenses and provide care to patients at a level that meets Canada’s standards. “Each year, about 400 graduates from these reciprocal countries are eligible to take the NDEB exam and become dentists in Canada,” says Dr. Jim Yuan Lai, vice-dean of education at the University of Toronto (U of T) and president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD). “The dental education standards in these countries are considered similar to Canada.” Internationally trained dentists from non-accredited dental programs make up the smallest category of new dentists in Canada each year. “Around 180 new dentists from countries in Europe, South American, Asia and Africa are eligible for the NDEB certification process,” Dr. Lai says. Internationally trained dentists who graduated from non-accredited dental program currently have two pathways to becoming licensed in Canada. One pathway is to complete the NDEB equivalency process which consists of the assessment of fundamental knowledge (AFK), the assessment of clinical judgment (ACJ), and the national dental examination of clinical competence (NDECC), which is designed to assess the clinical competence of dentists trained in non-accredited programs. The NDECC is administered in‑person in Ottawa and comprises of two components: i) the clinical skills component that assesses clinical skills and techniques relevant to current Canadian standards and ii) the situational judgment component that assesses judgment required for solving problems in work related situations. “Candidates come to Ottawa to perform various dental procedures on typodonts to demonstrate their psychomotor skills and also show that they possess certain competencies, such as professionalism and communication. For example, the situational judgment component will assess their ability to obtain informed consent,” says Dr. Lai. If candidates pass the AFK, ACJ and NDECC, they are then eligible for the certification process. “In general, candidates who graduated from a dental school very similar to one in Canada are successful in completing the equivalency process,” says Dr. Lai. “But going through both the equivalency and certification process does take time, often a minimum of two to three years.” The second pathway for internationally trained dentists is applying to a Canadian dental school. “Using U of T as an example, we have the International Dentist Advanced Placement Program, which includes six-months of training and then students complete our DDS third and fourth years,” says Dr. Lai. “We receive more than 180 applications for 24 spots, so it’s a competitive process. And once they have completed the program, these students are eligible for the NDEB certification process, the same as all other Canadian dental school graduates.” Many other dental schools in Canada have similar programs. The General Dentistry Gap Assessment and Gap Training Program Going back to dental school for two to three years requires significant investment from internationally trained dentists, both financially and in time spent. “As educators, we’ve realized that there is a lot of variation among the skill sets of internationally trained dentists,” Dr. Lai says. “Some certainly benefit a great deal from going back to dental school, but others are already highly skilled and only have small, specific gaps in skills and knowledge that could likely be addressed more efficiently.” ACFD has obtained funding from Employment and Social Development Canada to develop a third pathway for internationally trained dentists. “We want to create a program that has targeted training for the competencies that need to be developed to address gaps in the skills and knowledge that individuals may have, to allow these dentists to learn what they need 26 | 2024 | Issue 4 News and Events
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