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First Nation Chiefs are applauding the announcement of a long-awaited dental therapy program. (177351429 © Robert Kneschke | Dreamstime.com)
Oral Health Equity

First Nation Chiefs say new training program should help improve oral health equity

Apr 4, 2021 | 8:00 AM

A new dental therapy program is expected to have a significant impact in meeting the needs of the dental workforce and patients’ access to care on First Nations in the province.

The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA), University of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Polytechnic partnered to establish the only Dental Therapy Training program in Canada. The course will be offered at U of S campuses in Prince Albert, La Ronge, and at the Sask Polytech campus in Regina. NITHA will contribute a cultural competency component to the curriculum development that will help ensure graduates are suited to work in Indigenous communities.

“There is a great need for those dental therapists to do that kind of work with children in our schools. There is also a great opportunity for our young people to take this course as it’s the only kind of its school in Canada,” said Prince Albert Grand Council Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte.

A press release issued by NITHA said oral health services have suffered since the closure of the National School of Dental Therapy in 2011, particularly those in rural and remote locations where the dental therapy workforce has aged. It said 40 per cent of the workforce is over 55 and only five percent are under the age of 35.

“For years, this has been a high priority for our Board of Chiefs as our First Nations in northern Saskatchewan continue to experience a greater burden of oral health issues as a result of socio-economic disparities, food insecurity, geographic distance from oral health care, and a shortage of oral health services,“ said NITHA Board Chair Chief Jonathon Sylvestre from the Meadow Lake Tribal Council.

Hardlotte added the new partnership will mark a significant milestone in a memorandum of understanding with the University of Saskatchewan to build northern capacity and improve the success and achievements of students from First Nations communities.

“It’s hard to get dental services in our Indigenous communities, especially in fly-in communities,” said Hardlotte. “The young people that take this program can do some of the work dentists do and will have the opportunity to continue their education and become a dentist.”

Dental therapists are trained to perform restorative dental treatment such as fillings, extractions, and other preventive services. The program is expected to accept students by March 2022.

-With files from Glenn Hicks

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena

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