The following notice is for patients and members of the public, health professionals and all individuals and organizations that have an interest in dental regulation and oral health in British Columbia:
The Transition Steering Committee for the Oral Health Amalgamation Project is pleased to provide notice that the proposed bylaws for BC’s new oral health regulatory college are now available for review.
The amalgamation partner colleges are the College of Dental Hygienists of BC, the College of Dental Technicians of BC, the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, and the College of Denturists of BC.
The proposed bylaws set out how the new oral health college will be structured and governed, how it will uphold its legal mandate to protect patients and the public, and the regulatory requirements for the 15,000 oral health professionals the new college will regulate.
- View the proposed bylaws for the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals.
- View the companion document that includes highlights of the proposed bylaws.
This information is available on the four oral health college websites (CDHBC, CDTBC, CDSBC, and CDBC) and also here.
The schedules that will accompany the proposed bylaws are being prepared and will be available shortly. Schedules contain primarily list-based information referred to in the bylaws, including fees, recognized education programs and declaration templates for registration.
How to submit comment
The notice period will run for three months, ending on July 27. Comments on the proposed bylaws for the new oral health college can be submitted in the following ways:
Oral Health Amalgamation Project | Professional Regulation and Oversight BC Ministry of Health |
Please provide the name and/or number of the bylaw part or section that you are responding to. | |
Complete our feedback form (preferred) or | Complete the Ministry of Health’s feedback form or email the Director, Regulatory Initiatives, Professional Regulation & Oversight Branch at PROREGADMIN@gov.bc.ca |
Please feel free to share this link with anyone else you think would appreciate the opportunity to review the proposed bylaws before they are finalized.
Today BC’s Ministry of Health published notice of proposed amendments to the Health Professions Act regulations for oral health professions, paving the way for the creation of a new regulatory body that will oversee 15,000 oral health professionals in the province.
The proposed name of the new college is the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals, and the proposed date of amalgamation is September 1, 2022.
Once the notice period has ended, government can approve the amendments which would allow the creation of the new regulatory college for oral health professionals.
This would mean that certified dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dentists, dental technicians and denturists would be regulated by the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals effective September 1, 2022.
The amalgamation partners are the College of Dental Hygienists of BC, the College of Dental Technicians of BC, the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, and the College of Denturists of BC.
How to provide feedback on the proposed regulatory amendments
You can read the Ministry’s notice of the proposed regulatory amendments here.
The Ministry’s notice period for these proposed regulatory amendments begins on April 4, 2022 and the Ministry has requested feedback as soon as possible. Please submit feedback on the proposed changes to PROREGADMIN@gov.bc.ca.
More information about the amalgamation project
You can read more about the amalgamation to create a single oral health regulatory college here. Questions about the amalgamation project can be submitted via our contact form and will be used to develop a list of frequently asked questions for registrants, patients and the public, and other stakeholders.
This new oral health regulatory college will be a single large regulatory body with ample resources and expertise in the regulation of all six types of oral health professionals. It will facilitate collaborative, team-based oral health care for British Columbians, and will provide a single source of contact for patients, the public, and the health professionals it regulates.
Background The amalgamation to create a single oral health regulatory college requires the leadership of both the provincial government and the four colleges that currently regulate dental professionals. On the college side, the amalgamation project is being led by a Transition Steering Committee that includes two members from each of the four boards of the partner colleges. The concept to create a single regulatory body for oral health professionals was inspired by a 2020 report by the all-party Steering Committee on Modernization of Health Professional Regulation. One of the themes within the report was to reduce the number of health regulatory colleges to increase public protection through improved regulatory efficacy and efficiency. In Fall 2020, each of the four amalgamation partner boards approved a letter of intent to amalgamate to be delivered to BC’s Minister of Health. About the amalgamation partners College of Dental Hygienists of BC Regulates 4,328 dental hygienists College of Dental Surgeons of BC Regulates 10,596 certified dental assistants, dental therapists and dentists College of Dental Technicians of BC Regulates 803 dental technicians and dental technician assistants College of Denturists of BC Regulates 267 denturists |
We are reaching out to you, as a registrant, to gather your perceptions and understanding on a number of topics related to the creation of a single oral health regulator.
The College of Dental Hygienists of BC (CDHBC), and College of Dental Technicians of BC (CDTBC), the College of Dental Surgeons of BC (CDSBC) and College of Denturists of BC (CDBC) have agreed to pursue amalgamation and create a single oral health regulator that will govern the six oral health professions in the public interest.
As you will have learned from our joint letter from August 2020, this decision to amalgamate is informed by the government’s larger regulatory modernization effort.
As the work progresses, the colleges are committed to ongoing timely and transparent communication with you, as oral health professionals, and the public. An understanding of your views on the amalgamation will guide our planning and ensure meaningful communication as the process moves forward.
Information about the amalgamation can be found on our website here. We hope you will participate in this process by reading the backgrounder and engaging with us in one of the ways below.
How to participate and earn CE credits
Small group meetings will be held online in February. Led by an independent facilitator, these meetings provide the opportunity for registrants to engage in a discussion about:
- the challenges and opportunities of forming a single regulator for oral health professionals, and
- the impacts of amalgamation on you as a registrant.
Meeting participants are eligible for two CE credits.
There will be separate meetings for each category of oral health care professional. We will be seeking a balance of perspectives from around the province; to include different levels of experience, different types of practice, and geographic and cultural diversity to participate in focused online group meetings. As these are small group meetings there are a limited number of seats to ensure meaningful dialogue; however, the initial discussions of these small groups will inform an upcoming survey of all registrants.
If you would like to participate in one of the small group meetings, please express your interest by filling out the form here (the form is now closed).
Input gathered from these meetings will be used to develop an on-line survey that will be sent to all registrants of the four colleges. If you are not able to participate in a small group meeting, please watch for our survey, which will be sent to all registrants of all four colleges in April.
A summary report will be shared with the leaders of the amalgamation project at the four oral health colleges and all information will be carefully considered as we move forward in this process.