CDHO is pleased to announce that the General Regulation made under the Dental Hygiene Act, 1991 has been revised. Changes to regulations must be submitted to the Ontario Government for review and approval. CDHO submitted proposed changes related to registration and examination matters to bring certain provisions in line with modern regulatory practices. In December 2024, the Government requested feedback on the proposed changes.

The following changes were approved:

• The “Inactive Class” is now called the “Non-Practising Class”.
• References to a fourth attempt at the NDHCE/CPEDH were removed to specify that candidates have a maximum of three attempts.
• Specific names of academic program accreditation bodies and professional examinations were removed to allow for greater flexibility.

What these changes mean

RDHs currently registered in the Inactive Class will see no changes to their registration, other than now being registered in the Non-Practising Class. Terminology on CDHO’s website will be updated in the coming days, while terminology on the Public Register and in the Self-Service Portal will be updated in early 2026.

In 2015, the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board (the body that previously offered the NDHCE/CPEDH) rewrote their policies to permit candidates a maximum of three attempts at the examinations. The General Regulation still referenced four attempts, and Ontario was the only province that permitted candidates a fourth attempt. Ontario is now aligned with other Canadian jurisdictions.

The remaining changes are administrative and have no direct impact on applicants or registrants.

The revised Regulation is now posted on e-Laws, which provides online access to official copies of Ontario’s statutes and regulations.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at registration@cdho.org.