Previously, the plan's members were allotted quotas for each time, such as the number of covered root canals, said plan director Dr. Jay Wortman.

"They used to have maybe one capped tooth every three years, but that was not satisfactory because one size does not fit all."

Wortman said that although a $600 limit is now imposed before approval is required, the limit frequently does not apply.

"You'll get everything you need," he said. "The dentist just needs to check to make sure it's needed."

Wortman said the approval process was introduced because if given the option, dentists could bill for high-priced but unnecessary items -- a full plate requested when a partial plate may suffice, for example.

"From the client's perspective this is the better system," he said.

But for dentists, such as Rankin Inlet's Dr. Ahmed Amer, the system is now fraught with delays.

"I don't think anybody's happy about it," he said while visiting Chesterfield Inlet. "It's hard to cope with the paperwork. And your mind is occupied with pre-approval."

Amer said requests for dental work are sometimes returned due to incomplete forms and other times it take a long time before the answer comes back as a "no."

Even if X-rays are scanned and sent as e-mail attachments -- technology Amer still doesn't have -- a response could take weeks.

Amer said he sees about 10 patients a day, often working 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. when in the Keewatin communities.

There are exceptions to the new system, though. If a patient has severe pain, Amer could kill the tooth by taking out the nerve without approval. Meanwhile, in Cambridge Bay, Beverly Mala said that although the dentists are doing a very good job, she is also worried about delays.

Her nephew fell and chipped his top teeth in September and is still waiting for dental work at Stanton Regional Hospital in Yellowknife.

"They keep changing the dates to go out (to the hospital,)" she said. "And he's getting a lot of toothaches.

Children under 10 often go to the hospital for dental surgery so a doctor can provide the anaesthesia.

-30-orthern News Services

When Laureen Angalik, did her nursing practicum in Iqaluit, many patients thought she was Chinese. They only realized her Inuit heritage when she spoke Inuktitut.

"Most of the nurses are white," she explains of her four-month stint in the Baffin community's hospital. "Not many are Inuit."

Now the trail-blazing Inuk is heading home to Arviat for four months to work at the community health centre under the tutelage of nurse Maureen Klenk.

Initially worried that people would feel uncomfortable telling her of private medical conditions, she says the welcome she feels in the community of 1,400 is genuine.

"I've heard people come up to me and say how happy they are that I'll be their nurse."

Angalik graduated from Aurora College's nursing program in Yellowknife. The mentorship placement in Arviat is the next step for grads.

After Angalik's four months in Arviat, officially starting Feb. 16, she will embark on an advanced nursing course to help her secure a permanent job in Arviat.

"This is where I want to work, but I need experience in order to stay here," says the 24-year-old, whose mother once worked in the Arviat Health Centre.

Working in a doctor-less community health centre is different from a hospital because a larger part of her job will be assessing illnesses and administering medication.

Angalik is one of seven placements the program will make this year. Now in its second year of offering mentorships, this is the first year they are being sent to community health centres, rather than hospitals.

"The mentorships expose them to what Northern nursing is really like," says nursing consultant Marnie Bell. "There has been a greater effort to promote a variety of placement settings."

The program is sponsored by the GNWT Department of Health and requires students to be graduates of Aurora College or students originally from the NWT who are studying in the South.

"They have to have initiative," Bell says. "And we try to support the needs and desires of the new grad."