The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) is a national non-profit association, representing the collective voice of over 16,500 dental hygienists. CDHA advocates on key oral health issues, including a greater strategic role for the federal government in oral health, to achieve the world’s best oral health. Oral health is essential for overall wellness and it is an integral part of physical, social, and mental wellbeing. Poor oral health can interfere with an individual’s ability to be productive and to contribute to a growing economy as well as to Canada’s economic recovery. We call on the federal government to implement the following two recommendations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. FNIHB increase the investment in oral health promotion and disease prevention through the following three program modifications:

• Expand provider status to dental hygienists across Canada.
• Implement equitable reimbursement rates for dental hygiene services.
• Expand oral health promotion and disease prevention through the Children’s Oral Health Initiative and the NIHB program.

2. Federal government continue its leadership to enhance federal, provincial and territorial cooperation for a strong, equitable pan Canadian public health system that meets the oral health needs of Canadians, and to support this end, designate a transfer of $10 million to the provinces each year for public health dental hygiene human resources.