Dental Division

The Dental Division of the Primary Health Care and Public Health Directorate (PHCPHD) strives to improve, and ultimately to maintain, the oral health of the First Nations and Inuit at a level comparable to other Canadians. The Dental Division's efforts include the delivery and/or management of a broad range of oral health activities including proactive disease prevention, oral health promotion and dental treatment services provided by regional dental therapists and other First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) staff, as well as the staff of many First Nations.
The key focus areas for the Dental Division are:

• Supporting the regional delivery of the dental therapy program;
• Managing the contract for the delivery of the National School of Dental Therapy (NSDT) training program by the First Nations University of Canada. Currently, 106 dental therapists from NSDT work either directly for First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) or directly for First Nations or territorial governments in the Regions and Territories and serve approximately 170 First Nations and Inuit communities. They are the key providers for FNIHB oral health initiatives. In addition to the services provided by dental therapists, Health Canada also pays for dental practitioner services for specified clinical services in First Nations and Inuit communities. For more information on NSDT, visit the First Nations University of Canada;
• Supporting national development and implementation of oral disease prevention and health promotion programs such as the Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI); and
• Supporting community based initiatives for communal water fluoridation systems.