The RCDSO has updated its guidance for managing infection risks during in-person dental care. This update reflects collaboration between Ontario’s four oral health Colleges to ensure consistent expectations for delivery of oral health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific updates outline some preliminary steps to ease precautions for dentistry in compliance with the direction of … Read more
Every dentist shudders when they think about it: You’re going through the mail for your practice and amidst junk mail and bills, there’s an envelope with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) logo in the top left corner. It’s marked “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.” You open it and are shocked to learn that … Read more
Windsor can lay claim to the appointment of the first-ever female chair of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Dr. Carolyn Mason was appointed board chair at the RCDC’s annual general meeting held virtually Saturday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s actually pretty exciting,” Mason said Thursday of her appointment to the college that … Read more
Recently, the College received new advice from PIDAC – the Provincial Infectious Disease Advisory Committee – via Public Health Ontario on the treatment of patients when performing aerosol-generating procedures. PIDAC is now recommending that, in regions of Ontario where COVID-19 transmission levels are ‘not low’, dentists should use precautions when performing AGPs as if their patients were positive – even … Read more
The College has revised its Guidance on managing infection risks during in-person dental care. That document is available on their website by clicking here. Key changes include: A new introductory section that reflects recent developments related to COVID-19, including the Province’s regional approach to re-opening. Clarification of dentists’ reporting requirements for patients and staff who screen … Read more
Stage 2 of the Government of Ontario’s reopening plan is in place starting June 12, 2020. The plan provides information about what businesses and services may open now. Dental practices are essential businesses and already permitted to be open. However, the RCDSO recommends dentists take the following information from the Ministry into account when applying the … Read more
Senior RCDSO staff spoke with representatives of the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario this morning, June 10, 2020. The conversation was congenial and productive. We touched on the differences in current guidance to our respective membership and considered how they might be aligned. To view the full update, please click here. To view more … Read more
As many shuttered dental clinics are preparing to reopen, a rift is growing in the industry over proper protocols to keep patients and staff safe — with one Ontario dental hygienist calling clinics a “ticking time bomb” for creating new COVID-19 cases. After shutting down for all appointments except emergency services in mid-March, clinic owners … Read more
The Chief Medical Officer of Health issued a new Directive #2 on May 26. As a result, dentists are now permitted to provide in-person care for all deferred, non-essential, and elective services, in addition to emergency and urgent care. The College has revised its Guidance on managing infection risks during in-person dental care. That document is available on our … Read more
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the ways in which society operates as a whole. For the time being, large public gatherings are prohibited and cultural and sporting events have been brought to an end. Restaurants and most businesses have been shuttered. Where possible, people are trying to work from home. Our hospital Emergency … Read more
The RCDSO’s new guidance, COVID-19: Managing infection risks during in-person dental care, is now available on the College’s website. The guidance was developed by the RCDSO based on the best available evidence and research, along with expert feedback. This includes information obtained through: Daily calls with the Ontario Ministry of Health Discussion with other dental regulators in … Read more
Dear Colleagues, Since I wrote to you last, the COVID-19 picture in Ontario has started to trend towards improvement. It seems clear that the measures that we have all taken are making a difference. Those measures have obviously included restrictions on how we in dentistry work. That has not been easy for many of us … Read more
A groundbreaking study of complaints made to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) over an 11-year period is yielding new insights into perceptions surrounding oral health-care professionals and their standard of care. The nearly two-year study, led by researchers from the University of Toronto, looked at complaints made to the RCDSO – the … Read more
An Amherstburg dentist who was hauled before a disciplinary panel of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario has been ordered to pay a $5,000 penalty and will be subject to two years of monitoring and random inspections by a college inspector. While given a formal reprimand, the most serious allegations originally levied against … Read more
As legal counsel for dentists, we are routinely asked questions about the complaints process before the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (“RCDSO”). Although the regulatory framework governing complaint matters is quite extensive, the following is the essential information that dentists need to know. Role of the RCDSO At the outset, it is imperative … Read more
Becoming a dentist can be a challenging process. Once licenced by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (“RCDSO”), any dentist, regardless of the quality of their work, may become the subject of a formal complaint. Implementing best practices as early as possible is often a prudent way for dentists to protect themselves. Based … Read more
Describing a toxic work environment fuelled by bullying and favouritism, more than two dozen current and former staff and executives of the province’s dental regulator have been waging a quiet war against their leadership. In response, lawyers for the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and its top executive — registrar Irwin Fefergrad — … Read more
Preamble Recently, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) welcomed comments on its draft document “Standard of Practice: Infection Prevention and Control in the Dental Office.” This critique is based on a thorough reading of the proposed Standard of Practice (referred to as the Standard) and its accompanying references. In addition, the author … Read more
In 2013 the RCDSO introduced the mandatory Practice Enhancement Tool (PET) for licenced Ontario dentist to be exercised every five years: “a computer based self-assessment program … that allows members to evaluate and assess their practice, knowledge, skill and judgement”. 1 At the same time the RCDSO introduced the mandatory requirement for 15 Category 1 … Read more
I’ve forgotten how many times an entry has asked for clarity, transparency, openness from the members of the committee appointed by the RCDSO to address this issue, however, the GUIDELINES are out and in all candour, frankfurterness, I haven’t a clue where to begin………..They have Internet for Dummies, I’ll gladly pay for Encryption for Dummies … Read more