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Volume3 Issue2
CDA
at
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ork
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The inefficienciesof theone-dentist, one-assistant
modelmeant that dentists spentmore timeon
tasks that areusuallydelegated toothers and fewer
patients couldbe seenwithina specific time frame.
Inefficiencieswere keenly felt in thevery longwait
times for removableprosthodonticappliances,
whichhad tobe fabricated ina far-off laboratory.
On topof that, thediscounted fee structure
meant that dentists’ incomeswere relatively low,
compared toan in-office setting. I haveoften
questionedwhether the fee-for-servicemodel
is a suitableone for providingcare in remote
communities.
I believe that technical, administrativeand
infrastructure improvementshave resulted inabetter
caremodel today. However, I don’t knowwhether
therehavebeen substantial improvements to the
realitiesofworkingas adentist in remotecommunities
sincemy time in theNWTdecades ago. If not, itmay
be time for acomprehensive lookat howwedeliver
care in in theNorthor inother remotecommunities.
a
MyExperiences in theCanadianFarNorth
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An aerial viewof Yellowknife, homebase for reaching remote communi-
ties throughout the southern regionof theMackenzieValley.
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Midnight in June on the Mackenzie River. We had travelled by boat to
Fort Simpson from JeanMarie River, a small Dene community, because
we needed to borrow a compressor after ours had seized. The tripback
to JeanMarieRiver took9hours,much longer thanplanned.
➌
Thenursing station inNahanni Butte,wherewewould typicallyoperatea
clinic for2-3days.Wewould seeall thechildrenandasmanyof theadults
whowished to seeus.
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We would reach isolated communities by small aircraft, such as this
deHavillandOtter, on semi-weekly scheduledflights.
➎
Oneof our youngpatients inWekweèti (formerly knownas SnareLake).
➏
The tiny Dene hamlet of Nahanni Butte had a population of around 50.
Wewould fly in by charter from Yellowknife and set up our clinic in the
federal governmentnursing station—wherewe slept andcookedaswell.
➐
Here I’m teaching school children inWekweèti how tobrush their teeth.
Thiswas themost isolated community I visited and had a population of
around75.
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