Hi everyone! I hope your spring is off to a great start – we all deserve some warm weather and sunshine! This week is National Dental Hygienists Week, and it is my pleasure and honour to be working with such a dedicated group of oral health professionals! Congratulations to all RDHs and a sincere thank you for your commitment to the health of Ontarians.   

Spring brings opportunities for renewal and, if you’re a gardener, planting seeds for new growth. In our work with RDHs, we partner to support continuing competence and, in some cases, quality improvement and growth. This work is informed by data from many sources, the most significant of which is consultation with clients and the public in general. Since 2022, we’ve surveyed clients through our annual Voice of the Patient Survey and other focus groups. These conversations provide us with information that informs areas for which we can provide support to RDHs.

One of the areas that is frequently mentioned is informed consent. When we talk with clients, we consistently hear that they want more information on what to expect during their appointment and the details of their treatment. Informed consent in healthcare means that a client has given a health professional permission to do something only after the client has been:

• Provided all the necessary information about the proposed intervention (e.g., side effects, risks, benefits, alternatives, etc.) in a way that helps them easily understand the information; and
• Given an opportunity to ask questions

Admittedly, it can be difficult to carve out the time for an extensive informed consent conversation in a fast-paced practice environment. However, informed consent is an essential component of competent, comprehensive oral hygiene care. 

To support you in informed consent conversations, we’ve created the new Practice Guideline: Informed Consent. This guideline simplifies and streamlines our existing information. Recognizing that RDHs learn in different ways, we also created a consent e-learning module. In this edition of The De-Brief, we’ve featured a helpful article on consent. Keep an eye out for more resources in the coming months! All these elements are designed to support you in providing the quality of care and service that the public expects.

Please take a moment to read this new Guideline and if you have any questions, please get in touch with us at advice@cdho.org or by calling 1-800-268-2346 (press 2).

Best wishes to all RDHs!

Dr. Glenn Pettifer
Registrar/CEO