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President’s Summer 2022 Message

Dr. Olaf Plotzke-President

  

Here we are, half through summer.  I hope you are enjoying vacation opportunities that you have not had for the past couple of years.   

I also hope you’ll take a few minutes to read about the ground-breaking work members of the CSDH are involved in.  I truly believe we are having a positive impact on raising awareness of the challenges faced by people with disabilities regarding access to oral healthcare.  We’re creating an imperative for change and people are listening.   There is still a lot to do, and I encourage all of you to consider taking a more participatory/active role in this vital work.  After all, many hands make light work. 

Governance – Building the infrastructure for a sustainable future 

We are pleased to have completed the crucial governance work of attracting a highly qualified and diverse Board of Directors. Our newest members are: 

  • Dr. Shauna Hachey, a multi-degreed licensed dental      hygienist, and Associate Professor at Dalhousie University  
  • Dr. Sheri McKinstry, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation      of Manitoba, multi-degreed paediatric dentist, Assistant Professor at      University of Saskatchewan and co-founder of the Indigenous Dental Association of      Canada (www.idac.agency) 

Still urgently need people to fill the positions of Treasurer and Vice President.   

Developing a policy manual to guide how the Society operates, lead by Dr. Paul Romanson and Ms. Barbara Rand.  Document will be instrumental in a smooth transition as Board Members complete their terms in office and new ones are elected. 

In addition to finalizing our Society documents, we developed an excellent strategic plan with the help of an expert consultant, Ms. Rand.   Guided by that plan, we have achieved the following:  

Advocacy – Working to remove systemic barriers for people with disabilities 

On-going discussions with Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos voicing our recommendations for the upcoming dental funding program.  We continue to communicate through roundtable discussions and follow-up letters, drawing on years of clinical experience of our oral health practitioners as well as the legal expertise (and personal experience as the mother of an adult autistic child) of Advocacy Chair, Ms. Joan Rush.  

Wrote a letter to the Canadian Dental Regulatory Authorities Federation (CDRAF) and copied all provincial health ministers to encourage approval of Dental Anesthesia as a specialty.  

Ms. Rush presented to the BC Ministry of Finance budget committee recommending improvements to the provincial public dental plan for persons with disabilities.   

Education - Leading dialogue about strategies to incorporate special care dentistry into undergraduate curriculum 

Dr. Sharat Pani and I participated in the biennial meeting of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry ( Home - ACFD ). Dr. Pani presented “A functional model to help Canadian dental graduates care for individuals with disabilities.” The presentation stimulated extensive questions and discussion. Both University of Manitoba and McGill University forwarded the presentation to their curriculum review committee/faculty leads for further discussion.   We will be following up with other universities to determine/establish their understanding of the presentation and possible impact on their curriculums. 

Advocacy Chair, Ms. Joan Rush, wrote to the CDRAF to comment on the proposed Knowledge, Skills, Abilities document for beginning dentists to encourage inclusion of special needs dental education in undergraduate curriculum. 

Research – New and diverse research studies focused on education and treating patients with disabilities  

In August, several CSDH members will attend the iADH Annual Conference.  The CSDH has more abstracts accepted for presentation than any other component society. 

  • Special Care Dentistry      and Dental Education in Canada – Using a functional model to integrate      existing curricula to local competency matrices.  S.C. Pani, C.      Friedman, O. Plotzke, J. Rush, P. Romanson, S.Kassam, A. Ensafi, C.      Yakiwchuk, E. Morch, B.S. Rand, S. Hachey.  
  • A survey of Canadian      Dental Hygiene programs’ curricula focused on individuals with special      healthcare needs (SHCN): Findings and recommendations.  E. Morch, C.      Yakiwchuk, M. Bertone, S.C. Pani. 
  • Fibrodysplasia      Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Canadian Patient's perceptions on their      dental care. C.      Friedman, S.C. Pani. 
  • Fibrodysplasia      Ossificans Progressiva: Complexity of Oral Management.  E. Bouvy- Berends, C. Friedman, Lisa Friedlander. 
  • Analysis of an oral      health self-assessment tool using video conferencing for Special Olympics      (SOBC).  A. Chicote, C. Shuler, C. Friedman, C. Yakiwchuk, P.      Hatzimanolakis. 

Other completed and on-going research, scientific articles and presentation material by members of the CSDH include work by: 

  • Dr. Tracy Doyle (Dalhousie University Dental School,      Supervisor of Student research).  Dental Student, Megan Tobin’s study      is in the final stages of research ethics approval. Once approval is      granted, she will begin subject recruitment and semi-structured      interviewing of previous Special Smiles volunteers. The goal is to      determine if their experiences in the program have influenced their      willingness to see patients with IDDs in practice and if improvements to      the Special Smiles program are recommended.  
  • Dr. Chantal Czerednikow recently      finished a project evaluating the feasibility of using virtual      reality for desensitization in adult patients with Autism at the Montreal      General Hospital (MGH) 
  • Dr. Dora Habib co-authored a      publication titled, Parents’ Perceptions Regarding the Effectiveness      of Dental Desensitization for Children with ASD. Paediatric      Dentistry Vol. 44, No. 3 May/June 22 
  • Dr. Clive Friedman co-authored      “Transition to adult dental care from a pediatric hospital dental home for      patients with special health care needs.” Special Care Dentistry      Vol. 42, Issue 4.

Strategic Relationships - Establishing CSDH’s expert reputation/credibility 

Attended a meeting of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (aadmd.org) as the invited CSDH representative.  Met with leaders in oral healthcare for people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) from the US, Canada and around the world. CSDH was recognized as the Canadian voice of oral healthcare for people with disabilities and the Canadian component of the International Association Disability and Oral Health (iADH). 

Began reaching out to all Canadian federal and provincial dental associations to encourage membership. Several of the organizations have publicly advised their membership about the work of CSDH.  

Other news 

Ms. Jodie Margolis, Education Committee, presented material about oral health care for people with autism at the June 2022 Autism Speaks Walkathon in Montreal.  

Dr. Ruby Bhutani, Education and Advocacy committees, accepted a hospital residency in Calgary. 

Special Olympics Committee members recently collaborated with Special Olympics Alberta to support the launch of the virtual self-assessment Special Smiles program, with nine athletes participating in the event.                                            

The Network for Canadian Oral Health Research (NCOHR) created a new research Working Group for Disability and Oral Health based on our advocacy.  Dr. Sharat Pani is its newly appointed Director and Ms. Rush is involved in the governance of the organization.   

                                                                                         *** 

If any of you are involved in research in oral healthcare for people with disabilities or have special news, feel free to send it to csdhcanada@outlook.com so we can share it with the rest of our members. 

As you can see, there has been a lot of important work occurring in the last few months alone.  The introduction of the national dental funding plan was a catalyst that created an opportunity to tell our story, share our experiences and work that much harder to create positive change.  Please raise your hand to join us as we continue with this work. Even a few hours a month will be extremely helpful. Tell us what you’re interested in or what skills you have, and we’ll connect you to some worthwhile and rewarding experiences. 

Olaf Plotzke
President CSDH
president@csdh.ca 






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