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Dentists astounded at being left out of GNWT talks on care delivery in communities

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An announcement on the possible resumption of dental visits to communities is anticipated next week, said Health and Social Services Minister Julie Green in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. GNWT image

Federal and territorial leaders are scheduled to meet this week to discuss the resumption of dental travel to small communities, but NWT dentists say they've been left out of the discussion.

Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) Minister Julie Green said in the legislative assembly on Tuesday that the meeting would happen between officials with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and HSS.

Many dentists in Yellowknife haven't been able to make dental trips to the communities since March when pandemic restrictions emerged in the NWT, leaving patients with the sole option of flying to Yellowknife for emergency procedures. Medical transportation to Yellowknife is covered by ISC through the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program.

Dr. Pirjo Friedman, at Adam Dental Clinic in Yellowknife, and other dentists say they weren't informed about the meeting on dental visits between federal and territorial officials.
Blair McBride/NNSL file photo

Dentists say that the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO)'s Covid protocols concerning dentistry make visits impractical. Many communities have only a single room in their health centres where dentists can work with patients, but their work would be slow and inefficient under OCPHO regulations on air exchange and purification times.

Green told MLAs that senior leadership from ISC and HSS would meet to "get an update on a resumption plan that they have all been working on for the last little while that deals with current air exchange requirements and infection control standards so that the services are delivered safely to the people in the communities."

The minister said she anticipates an announcement will be made next week on the "timing and locations of phase one resumption of dental services."

However, Dr. Roger Armstrong, president of the NWT/NU Dental Association and owner of Great Slave Dental Clinic in Yellowknife, is puzzled as to why the association has been left out of government discussions.

"We have received no communication about this upcoming meeting or the topics being discussed, let alone being invited to be a part of these discussions," he said. "We have been requesting over the last two to three months to be part of these discussions as we are stakeholders. The lack of communication is just simply astounding."

Armstrong said communication between the Association and the OCPHO was very good just after the pandemic began while they working on a model for dental clinics to reopen and for dental and hygiene services to resume.

But communication diminished sharply since the Association became aware of the ongoing talks between the GNWT, ISC and regional health authorities.

Dr. Pirjo Friedman, a dentist at Adam Dental Clinic who has been making dental visits to the communities for 10 years, said neither she nor her employer, Dr. H.M. Adam, were informed about the government talks.

The Department of Health and Social Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.