Adopting the Montreal-Toulouse Model In the face of growing challenges—access to care, social inequalities, professional isolation, economic pressures—a fundamental question arises for the dental profession: how can we practise without abandoning clinical and technical excellence, while giving meaning to our work? This question is the focus of the Montreal-Toulouse model, developed by Dr. Christophe Bedos and his team at McGill University and University of Toulouse in France (above, circle). Proposing the adoption of a biopsychosocial approach to care, this model encourages people to rethink the role of the dentist, not only as a clinician, but also as a public health advocate, community partner and socially engaged professional. A Profession Shaped by the Biomedical Model Among the health professions, dentistry maintains a strong identity focused on precision, technique and restoration. This anchoring in the biomedical model has forged generations of skilled and expert dental professionals but has, at times, distanced them from the social and human realms of their patients. According to Dr. Bedos, professor at McGill University and co-director of the Quebec Network for Sustainable Oral and Bone Health Intersectoral Research (Réseau Québécois de recherche intersectorielle en santé buccodentaire et osseuse durable (RiSBOd), this reliance on technical skill is structurally based. “Dentistry has a strong biomedical culture because it is probably one of the final health care professions to 18 | 2025 | Issue 6
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