The challenges faced by the oral health workforce are shared with many other health professions, not just within the dental profession. Survey data suggests that more than 74% of denturists agree that more educational programs are needed to attract new talent and 55% advocate for greater governmental involvement in educating future denturists. By expanding programs and raising awareness about the profession, theDAC aims to address the gaps and ensure that there is a steady flow of skilled professionals ready to serve the Canadian population. care sector is an extremely stable labour market compared to other professions. He indicated a long-term growth for dental assistants, dental hygienists/dental therapists, and no major gap in male-female work hours. Using existing Statistics Canada and administrative data, Dr. Finlayson estimated the demand for oral health care workers based on the number of eligible individuals for the CanadianDental Care Plan (CDCP). He asked the hypothetical question to attendees, “Can oral health professionals meet the new demand created by the new plan?” The assumptions Dr. Finlayson used in his modeling included an enrolment rate into the CDCP of 15% of the Canadian population with a 64% participation rate for eligible CDCP clients. He concluded that there would be an additional demand for dental hygienists and dental assistants as CDCP is fully implemented. Dental practices that have room in their schedule to handle additional patients with existing staff will not feel an effect, Dr. Finlayson said, but in practices that are fully booked, CDCP will place additional demands on already limited human resources including dental hygienists, dental assistants and dentists. In a further discussion, Dr. Finlayson explained that a 64% utilization rate for the CDCP was an estimate based on survey information for how often people use their private insurance plans. Often publicly funded plans have lower utilization rates. Dr. Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, a professor at the University of Ottawa who leads the Canadian Health Workforce Network (CHWN), and Natalie Damiano, director of HealthWorkforce Health Workforce Canada Health Workforce Canada (HWC) is a new, independent organization established by an interim steering committee, supported by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and funded by Health Canada. Lynn McNeely, a representative of HWC, explained the role of the new organization and its perspective on the challenges presented by the oral health professional associations. She noted that the challenges faced by the oral health workforce are shared with many other health professions, not just within the dental profession. She also suggested that strategies for the oral health care workforce should include provisions for both Indigenous patients and health care providers. When McNeely asked attendees of the Halifax event, “Do you consider yourself primary care providers?” the overwhelming response was yes. Healthcare Workforce Experts Dr. Arthur Sweetman, a professor from McMaster University, and Dr. Greg Finlayson, of Impact Economics Consultants, presented on the latest data for the oral health care workforce in Canada. Analyzing information from the Labour Force Survey, Dr. Sweetman found national trends showing an increase in the number of dental assistants in the last couple of years. Regarding employment per 5,000 people, the number of dentists is roughly constant, but the number of dental assistants has increased. Almost nine of every 10 dentists live in a Canadian metropolitan area. Dr. Sweetman said that the oral health (L. to r.): Natasha Gillis, DAC; Dr. Joel Antel, CDA; Francine Trudeau, CDHA; KellyMansfield, CDAA. 27 Issue 5 | 2024 |
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