Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 1

James Armstrong BSc, MBA, DMD president@cda-adc.ca AReason forHope The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of the Canadian Dental Association. A s I sit down to write in mid-January, COVID numbers are high in many parts of Canada and some provinces are under significant restrictions. Two vaccines have been approved for use and have begun to be administered, but there are delays in vaccine delivery that will cause a slower roll-out than we’d hoped. Dentists in provinces with low case numbers are able to treat a similar number of patients as a normal year, but in places with higher case numbers, dentists are seeing fewer patients. Dentists across Canada are working in full PPE and feeling the burden of uncertainty that the pandemic has caused. We are all anxious, tired and stressed out. So why do I feel so hopeful? Since the beginning of the pandemic, CDA and the provincial dental associations (PDAs) have been incredibly fast and agile in their response to the pandemic. They’ve worked together to help and advocate for dentists from St. John’s to Vancouver Island to Iqaluit. In business school, we teach that there are different skills for success as a “war time” leader compared to in “peace time.” The leadership of the PDAs have proven to be a rare group that are excellent in both contexts. I’m proud of how they’ve lead us through this crisis. Each province and territory has had its own unique experience of the pandemic. One might expect that each would also have its own stand-alone approach to mitigating the challenges. But CDA and the PDAs worked together to create a nationwide strategy. It began with a weekly COVID-19 update meeting where we shared resources. We collated and customized our knowledge into products and services that evolved weekly, daily or sometimes even hourly! Every step of the way, we’ve been focused on the changing needs of clinical dentists. When a PDA asked CDA for a new product or service, CDA would create it quickly. Often, that product or service was also useful in other provinces. For example, early in the pandemic, provincial regulators and public health officials needed to create infection prevention and control (IPAC) guidelines for dental care during COVID. CDA created a repository of information about IPAC regulations and guidance from around the world. PDAs were able to consult these resources in their conversations with such officials. Together, we advocated for federal government support to help our businesses survive the shutdowns of the spring and the financial uncertainty that followed. We worked to make sure dentists had access to PPE, without which we could not practise. The CDA Help Desk was mobilized to provide information to dentists about how to access and navigate the federal financial support programs. In recent months, we’ve been helping PDAs advocate at a provincial level for access to vaccines for dentists and their teams. We’ve also been working toward expanding our professional scope to administer vaccinations so dentists can help in the largest, urgent immunization effort that Canada has ever undertaken. I believe that this pandemic has brought out the best in organized dentistry. I’m extremely proud of the speed, effectiveness and cooperation that I’ve seen over the past year. During this crisis, dentists have proven their tremendous ingenuity, perseverance, humour and resilience. It has been my privilege to continue to work with you during these turbulent times. From the President 7 Issue 1 | 2021 | CDA at W ork