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Dentists all smiles

Agreement brings Northern dentists in line

Darren Stewart
Northern News Services


Yellowknife (Jan 27/03) - The NWT dental association and their First Nation patients should be showing off a healthy smile this week.

Northern dentists considered opting out of the Non-insured Health Benefit Program and planned to vote on the issue at their annual general meeting last weekend. Health Canada offered them a last-minute compromise in the days before the meeting.

"We've finally been offered the same deal given to all the other provinces," said Don Portz, executive director of the association. "For the first time, we're consistent with the rest of Canada."

Rates dentists will recoup for aboriginal patients are 90 per cent of the 2002 fee guide for NWT dentists, adjusted annually. Before the deal, Portz said the rates were 92 per cent of the 1995 fee guide.

Portz said that before the deal Northern dentists received nearly 20 per cent less than Southern dentists to cover dental procedures.

If the association had decided to opt out, aboriginal patients without dental insurance would have had to pay for dental care up front, then wait for the government to pay them the money normally given to the dentist.

Also under the new deal, procedures over $800 must be pre-approved, rather than the $600 limit it was before.

"This takes a big headache off our agenda," said Jim Tenant, former president of the association.

Tenant said the new deal will also make dentistry in the North more attractive to

new graduates.

"We're still faced with problems recruiting, but this will certainly help us."

The NWT dental association also worked on a draft memorandum of understanding for a new federation of dentists including members from the Yukon and Nunavut to join the Canadian Dental Association (CDA).

They plan to have the federation in place for the next CDA meeting in September, giving Northern dentists a say in the operation of the national organization.

"This is a historic moment," said Tom Breneman, head of the CDA, who travelled to Yellowknife for the meeting. "For the first time, dentists north of 60 will have input on decisions made on a national scale."

During the AGM the association voted for Yellowknife dentist Hassan Adam as their new president.