7
Volume3 Issue3
|
CDA
at
W
ork
I
amdeeplyhonouredandextremelyhum-
bled to serveas the97
th
president of the
CanadianDental Association. I havean
immenseamount of pride inwhatwe
accomplishas aprofessionby restoringand
maintaininghealth, alleviatingpainandmaking
people smile—and sometimes even laugh! I feel
soblessed tobeadentist inCanada.
Wehave reason to feel proudbeyondwhatwe
achieveeveryday inour practices. Onmany
occasionsduringmy travels, bothwithinCanada
andabroad, I havemet dentistswhoarebuilders
of their communities. They teach inour dental
schools and share their knowledge; they show
compassionbyvolunteering inclinics and
sharing their skills. Ours is acaringprofession.
Canadiandentists areworking toadvanceour
professionand improve the fabricof society.
When I speak todentists fromother countries
aboutCanadiandentistry’s shared leadership
toward thesegoals andour ongoing
efforts tobuildpublic trust, theyoften
respondwithadmiration.
This year, our profession’s leadership
on theSyrian refugeecrisiswas,
inmyopinion, oneof dentistry’s
proudestmoments. At the
grassroots level,manydentists
across thecountry responded
generouslybyprovidingoral care
for refugees, fulfillingour profession’s
moral obligation tohelp those in
direneed. At theorganizational level,
CDAdelegates consulted
with10provincial and
territorial dental associations andmetwith the
HonourableDr. JanePhilpott, federalMinister
ofHealth, topush for improvements to refugee
dental careprovided through the InterimFederal
HealthProgram.
But for all the reasonswehave tobeproud
of our profession, therearealso reasons for
concern. I have seena lookof fear on the faces
of someofmycolleagues—dentistswho feel
theyareworking just ashard tofill holes in their
appointment books as theyare tofill holes in
teeth. Our profession isnot immune to theharsh
realitiesof achangingeconomy.
Thedentistsof Canadacanbeassured that
CDAand theprovincial and territorial dental
associations areworkinghard to strengthen
our profession. Collectively,weare increasing
publicawareness about the importanceof good
oral healthas an indispensablepart of overall
health.Weareprovidingdentistswithpractice
support services tohelpmakeour practices
moreefficient, our clinicsmoreproductiveand
our professionmoreenjoyable, both for us and
our patients.
Our professional future, full of promiseand
endlesspossibility, isone thatwemust design.
It’s a future thatwill be informedbynew
technology, new scienceandnew techniques.
Wecannot sit idlybyand let changeshappen
without seizing theopportunity to learn, teach
andcollaborate. I havegreat hope for abright
future for dentistry inCanada. It’s a futurewecan
shapebyopeningour arms, lettinggoof the
past, andbuilding theprofession together.
From thePresident
OurProfessionalFuture
Strengthening
RandallCroutze,bsc,dds
rPr fes io alF t re
