7
Volume3 Issue6
|
CDA
at
W
ork
I
attended theDental IndustryAssociation
of Canada (DIAC) annual generalmeeting
inToronto this year,where the issueof grey
market andcounterfeit products (collectively
knownasnoncompliant products)was topof
mind. Despiteeffortsbydental companies and
organizeddentistry toeducatedentists about
thedangersof usingnoncompliant products,
this long-standing issuepersists inCanadaand
around theworld.
Thegeneral feelingamong the folks I spokewith
at theDIACmeeting is that theCanadianmarket
for noncompliant products isgrowing, although
nobody knows for certainbecause salesof non
compliant products can’t beaccurately tracked.
Tobecompliant, aproductmust haveaHealth
Canadaproduct licenceandbe soldbyadealer
withaHealthCanadaestablishment licence. If
aproduct’sdocument trail doesn’t leadback to
both typesofHealthCanada licenses, theeffec-
tivenessand safetyof aproduct (andbyextension
the risks itpresents toapatient) areunknown.
It’squiteeasy tounwittinglypurchase
noncompliantproducts. Theycanoften
bepurchasedat amuch lowerprice
and they look just like the real thing!
Butusinganythingother than fully
compliantproducts—those that
havebeen shown tobeeffective
and safeaccording toHealthCanada
regulations—risksdiminishing the
qualityof careweprovide toour
patients. This isunquestionably too
highaprice topay for abargain.
Howcandentists know for sure that the
products theyarebringing into their practice
areauthentic?Oneway is touseDIAC’s step-by-
stepprotocol for checkingproducts (p. 21). DIAC
recommends assigningonemember of your
dental teamas aproduct checker (theperson
who typicallyorders and receives supplies). This
designated individual shouldbe knowledgeable
about theproducts andwill be responsible for
working through theDIACprotocol each time
newproducts arrive in theoffice.
At aglance, noncompliant products can look
very similar to legitimateproducts, but the
DIACchecklist tells youwhat to lookout for
specifically. For instance, check thepackaging
(e.g., is thewriting inbothEnglishandFrench?),
its contents (e.g., is it the same size, shape
andcolour as advertised?) and keepboth the
orderingmaterials (e.g., flyers andcatalogues)
and theproductpackaginguntil theproduct has
beenentirelyconsumed. Thisway, youcango
back to themanufacturer or dealer if problems
aredetected later on.
Togiveyoua senseof howdifficult it canbe
todiscernaphony fromagenuineproduct,
BernieTeitelbaum, recently retiredexecutive
director ofDIAC, provides some side-by side
comparisonsof compliant andnoncompliant
versionsof productsonpage20 in this edition
of
CDAEssentials
.
Theunscrupulouspeopleprofiting from the
salesof noncompliant dental products arenot
theonesheld toaccount if somethinggoes
wrongwithapatient’s treatment. Theonus ison
us asdentists, incollaborationwithour dental
teammembers, tomake sure that our patients
receiveonly thebest care, startingwith the
productswechoose topurchase.
From thePresident
RandallCroutze,bsc,dds
NoncompliantDental Products:
NotWorththeRisk
