Patients at the U of S dental clinic in Prince Albert are being redirected as the space undergoes renovations to make room for a unique replacement. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Dental therapy

USask dental clinic in P.A. closes to make way for unique replacement

Aug 11, 2022 | 11:06 AM

The dental clinic run at the University of Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert campus is closed until 2023 and will be replaced by a horse of a different colour.

The new Dental Therapy Program that is scheduled to take its place will train students to be a mix of hygienist and dentist, said Dr. Walter Siqueira, supervisor of the U of S College of Dentistry.

“We are very unique in North America. We are a college that we are planning to embrace all dental professions, said Siqueira.

Right now, they have two programs; one graduates dentists and the other graduates dental assistants.

The dental therapy program combines parts of being a dentist and a dental hygienist.

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Graduates will be able to do extractions, dental care, deal with decayed teeth and do other common procedures.

Applications are not yet open but will be in the next two or three months. The university has already started reaching out to stakeholders to let them know of the availability.

Potential applicants can learn more by monitoring the university’s website.

Another unique part of the program is that students who do not complete the two years will still be able to enter the workforce.

After six months of training, a student can quit and start the next day as a dental aide and after one year, they can work as a dental assistant.

“It’s a program that will work very well with the government of Saskatchewan’s growth plan,” said Siqueira. “I think this is unique and is the first program in Canada this way.”

In order the made the physical changes to the dental clinic in Prince Albert, the office needed to close for one year.

“We decided we’re not to have this location for this period of time because we need to renovate the clinic,” said Siqueira.

In August of 2023, the clinic will re-open with the Dental Therapy Program and funding of $2.1 million from the federal government.

The money will help pay to train 21 people per year in Saskatchewan and hopes to address a shortage of dental workers in remote areas.

Three campuses, one in Prince Albert, one in Regina and one in La Loche, will train seven students per year in each location.

The students will treat patients at the clinic while learning.

The patients that were being seen before at the Prince Albert clinic should have all received a letter explaining that the clinic is closed and explain alternative ways to still get treatment.

“So all this was discuss with the dental regulators before we temporarily closed the clinic,” said Siqueira.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow