The Alberta Dental Association (ADA) shares that they are prepared to come to the table with the province, to help bring a Made-in-Alberta Dental Care Program.
With applications for the Canadian Dental Care Plan opening up for all eligible Canadians, President of the ADA, Dr. Hans Herchen, believes that this creates a complicated system for Alberta’s dental offices and their patients.
“Dental offices now have a lot of administrative explaining to do to patients, [like] what plan they should use or how they can use a plan,” Herchen explained. “There’s a lot of opportunity here for improving the provincial dental plans that have not been modernized in many years.”
In terms of the current plan, Herchen believes that there’s several problems that need to be addressed.
“First, patients don’t even know which plan they’re eligible for and how to access that eligibility,” he said. “Then, there’s the significant workload at the dental office explaining these plans to the patients, and there’s a lack of clarity as to what services are covered and what are not covered.”
He adds that a lot of their submissions through the federal plan go responded. Because of this, dentists send “pre-authorizations” to help establish coverage.
“It’s complicated to explain to a patient what the coverage is if we don’t even get a response,” he said. “On top of that, Alberta has many beautiful private dental plans or dental plans managed through an employer. […] There’s a significant risk that this federal plan can damage or eliminate these beautiful plans that Canadians have gotten used to.”
As severe plan limitations continue to underserve patients under provincial dental plans, Herchen said the ADA is ready to develop a plan with the province that can better serve residents in Alberta.
“We also would like to eliminate the red tape and the administrative burden with these provincial plans.” he said. “We would also like to take this opportunity to draw attention to the fact that there is a severe shortage of staff in rural Alberta.
“Hygienists and assistants are very difficult to find, even in the major centres of Edmonton and Calgary. We would like to work with the provincial government to resolve that issue.”
Following an announcement by the province last year to opt out of the federal dental plan by 2026, Herchen said the ADA is asking the Alberta Government to create a dental care plan that better serves all Albertans.
“It’s a beautiful opportunity that we have in front of us,” Herchen said. “But the government must come to the table and act on their commitment to opt out.”
On another note, Herchen and the ADA would like to encourage to take care of their dental health as April is Oral Health Month.
“I encourage everyone to take great care of their teeth,” he said. “One of the easiest ways to do that is with high commitment to brushing and flossing, and just high commitment to home care. You can have excellent teeth on a very good budget with excellent home care. It’s a great way of taking care of your teeth and your pocket book.
“It’s been shown that people who have good dental care and good teeth are healthier overall.”
