7
Volume2 Issue4
|
CDA
at
W
ork
GlobalBusiness
A
s I sit with a patient inmy office in
Elkford, BC, thousands of dentists
around the globe are doing the
very same thing. If I pick up a bur
and engage it in the chuck of my
handpiece, it fits—just as it would for any hand-
piece around the world. While the organization
of dentistry and the economics of dental prac-
ticevarybetween jurisdictions andcountries, the
common elements of our profession are signifi-
cant andenlightening.
Most of theequipment, instruments and
materials thatweuseoriginate from somewhere
other thanCanada. Asdentists,weneed to
know that our supplychains are reliableand
provide supplies that are safeand legal touse in
Canada. International dental standardsmake this
possible. CDAprovides leadershipandexpertise
in thedevelopment of these standards through
the technical committeeondentistryof the
InternationalOrganization for Standardization
(ISO/TC106), the leadingproducer of
international standards.Whenour supplychains
comeunder threat (consider drug shortages
or global environmental agreements such
as theMinamataConventiononMercury,
whichcameclose tobanningamalgam
outright) CDAadvocates for changes that
are in thebest interestsof dentists and
their patients.
CDA is engagedon theseandother
international issues thatmaygounnoticed
byCanadiandentists.Wemaintainclose,
bilateral relationswith theAmericanDental
Associationandattend theannual
FDIWorldDental Federation
meetings,where there
is anopportunity to
meetmultilaterallywith
manycountries. These
relationshipshelpus
better understandglobal trends, suchas the
corporatizationof dentistryor themigrationof
internationally traineddentists, andbetter equip
us tomanage their impact here inCanada.
Themigrationof internationally traineddentists
toCanada, inparticular, hasbeenanevolving
issue in recent years. Anumber of pathways
nowallow thesedentists tohaveaccess to the
National Dental ExaminingBoardof Canada
(NDEB) exam. Theycanaccess theNDEB
EquivalencyProcess, a3-part assessment exam,
and successful candidates can take theNDEB
exam. AlthoughNDEBhas recognized the
CommissiononDental Accreditation’s (CDAC)
reciprocal agreementwith theU.S. for some
years, Australia, NewZealandand Irelandnow
alsohaveagreementswithCDAC sodental
graduates from thesecountries can take the
NDEBexam. Theseprocesses arepart of the
globalizationof tradeandof labourmobility,
trends thatwill affect dentistryand, indeed,
all professions.
ohelp
dentistsnew to this country (as Imyself once
was) adapt to thecultureandethical valuesof
dentistry inCanada. For international dental
graduates thatmaybecontemplatingworking
in this country, CDAnowmaintains awebsite
withdataon thepopulation-to-dentist ratios
byprovince. Thenumbersdispel themyth that
Canadahas anundersupplyof dentists.
Inmanyways, Canadiancontributions to the
global dental communityexceedexpectations
for acountrywitha relatively small population
base. Our involvement in this arenabringsgreat
value todentistry inCanadaandCanadian
dentistsbringgreat value to the international
community. Thismakesmeveryproud tocall
myself aCanadiandentist.
AlastairNicoll, bdsh
ons
Dentistry as a
From thePresident
