Home About History

Our History

1963

• Several alumnae of the School of Dental Hygiene, University of Toronto, feel it’s time to organize graduate dental hygienists in Canada on a national basis. They correspond with as many dental hygienists as possible across the country, and, through the combined efforts of dental hygienists in Alberta and Ontario, an executive is chosen.
• Mai Pohlak becomes the first CDHA president.

1964

• The first annual CDHA convention and general meeting are held in Edmonton, Alberta. Represented at the meeting are dental hygienists from Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
• A provisional constitution is adopted, and Jill Dossett is elected president for 1964–65.

1965

• At the Quebec City Convention, the board of directors with delegates from Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia ratify the Constitution of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association.

1967

• After two years of provisional status, the British Columbia Dental Hygienists Association Constitution is approved.

1968

• CDHA presents an important brief to the newly convened Department of National Health and Welfare’s report, “Ad Hoc Committee on Dental Auxiliaries.” The committee’s report is significant in the development of extended duties for dental hygienists, particularly in the area of restorative dentistry.

1970

• The Saskatchewan Dental Hygienists Association becomes the sixth constituent association of CDHA.
• CDHA is a founding member of the International Liaison Committee on Dental Hygiene.

1972

• The Quebec and P.E.I. Dental Hygienists Associations become the seventh and eighth constituent associations of CDHA.

1974

• The New Brunswick Dental Hygienists Association is formed.
• CDHA sponsors the conference on dental auxiliaries, a unique event due to its broad representation, ambitious agenda, and the free and wide-ranging discussion among representatives from every sector of the dental field.

1978

• Newfoundland becomes the tenth constituent association.

1980

• CDHA presents a brief to the Health Services Review Commission under the chairmanship of Justice Emmett Hall. One of the fourteen recommendations is that “further research be conducted concerning dental care delivery systems in Canada.”

1982

• The first conference held in the world on dental hygiene research is sponsored by the University of Manitoba’s School of Dental Hygiene and the Department of National Health and Welfare’s Working Group on the Practice of Dental Hygiene. Fourteen distinguished researchers and consultants from across Canada and the United States serve as conference leaders. Forty-two dental hygienists, representing education, public health, hospital, and private practice settings, register as participants.

1988

• CDHA publishes a national survey of dental hygienists, “Dental Hygiene in Canada, 1987 National Survey of Dental Hygienists: A Demographic, Educational and Employment Profile.”
• The Working Group on the Practice of Dental Hygiene, Department of National Health and Welfare Canada, publishes a report, “The Practice of Dental Hygiene in Canada: Description, Guidelines and Recommendations.” The report highlights a need for more research in such areas as the epidemiology of dental diseases, methods of preventing dental diseases, factors affecting the use of preventive measures, cost-effectiveness of preventive measures, different human resources configurations in dental care, and innovations in delivery systems for dental health.

1990

• CDHA holds a symposium in Edmonton, Alberta on “Clinical Dental Hygiene: Directions for Research, Teaching and Evaluation.” The purpose of the symposium was to emphasize the relationship among clinical dental hygiene research, education, and dental hygiene practice; to explore the ways to participate in collaborative research; and to investigate a conceptual framework for the dental hygiene profession.

1991

• The Quebec Dental Hygienists Association disbands.

1993

• CDHA holds the fourth annual professional conference, the North American Research Conference: An Exploration into the Future. The American Dental Hygienists Association participates in the development of the conference workshops.
• CDHA creates the Board Council on Education and Research.

1994

• The Dentistry Canada Fund is formed when the Canadian Dental Research Fund, the Canadian Fund for Dental Education, and the Canadian Dental Foundation Fund are merged.

1995

• As part of CDHA’s goal to promote quality dental hygiene research, the Board Council on Education and Research offers the first research grant/award to members.

1997

• The CDHA Board Council on Education and Research publishes the Educators Directory, which includes a listing of researchers and their subject areas.

1998

• The CDHA Board Council on Education and Research is disbanded.

1999

• CDHA publishes an inaugural edition of Probe Scientific, which offers a forum for Canadian dental hygienists to publish their own research while also remaining open to publishing international research.

2000

• CDHA, in partnership with the Allied Dental Educators’ Committee of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, develops the “Policy Framework for Dental Hygiene Education in Canada, 2005.” Within this framework, CDHA adopts the position that dental hygiene education programs should offer a baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene.

2001

• CDHA submits a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, for their pre-budget consultations, to inform and educate the committee's members about the importance of oral hygiene, and to ensure that oral health care gets the recognition it deserves.
• CDHA submits a brief to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, contributing to the debate about the future of Canada's health care system; highlighting the importance of the connection between oral and general health; and advocating for increased access to dental hygiene services.
• CDHA undertakes a study to investigate the deployment of dental hygienists in Canada. Termed the “Canadian Dental Hygienist Study: Profile 2001,” it provides information essential to planning oral health human resources for the health care system.

2002

• The second labour survey of dental hygienists is undertaken by CDHA.
• CDHA submits a brief and delivers an oral presentation to the House of Commons, titled “Financing Canada's Oral Health System,” highlighting CDHA's funding position related to the oral health system.
• CDHA submits a brief to Senator Kirby, Chairperson of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, titled “Dental Hygiene Care in Canada.” The report highlights areas where oral health issues have received inadequate attention, and provides recommendations on how to address these shortcomings in the oral health system.
• CDHA creates the Dental Hygiene Code of Ethics.
• CDHA creates the Dental Hygiene Client Bill of Rights.

2003

• The Dentistry Canada Fund now consists of thirty-four endowment funds, including the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association Education Fund.
• CDHA holds the National Dental Hygiene Research Agenda Workshop. Eleven individuals from across Canada are brought together to develop the first “CDHA Dental Hygiene Research Agenda.”
• CDHA submits a brief and delivers an oral presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, providing eight recommendations for federal spending on oral health, and three recommendations for changes in the area of dental hygiene education, including tax deductions for continuing education expenses.
• CDHA delivers an oral presentation to the House of Commons titled “First Nations and Inuit Oral Health.”

2004

• CDHA launches the Canadian Foundation for Dental Hygiene Research and Education during its professional conference in Newfoundland. The foundation’s first fundraising event is hosted at this conference and raises nearly $21,000.
• The Research Advisory Committee is formed based on a recommendation made during the development of the “CDHA Dental Hygiene Research Agenda.”
• CDHA makes a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, advocating for policy and program changes within the federal government to improve the oral health status of Canadians.
• Due to the success of the 2002 survey, CDHA conducts a third labour survey.
• CDHA submits a brief and an oral presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, identifying oral health services as the missing link in the health system. The brief calls for a reconnection of the mouth with the rest of the body, and with the larger health system.

2005

• CDHA submits a brief and an oral presentation titled “Investing in Oral Health – Enhancing Canadians’ Productivity” to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, for their pre-budget consultations. The CDHA submission focuses on two areas of public policy including oral health and tax incentives for continuing education.

2006

• CDHA submits a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for its pre-budget consultations, calling for increased spending on oral health promotion and disease prevention programs.
• CDHA conducts its fourth labour survey.
• CDHA gives an oral presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, describing the links between oral health and overall health.
• CDHA submits a brief and an oral presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, making recommendations for improving access to oral health services, and calling for direct payment to dental hygienists; categorical oral health funding for low-income individuals, seniors, and persons with disabilities; increased funding for the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB), and tax incentives for continuing education.

2007

• CDHA hosts the International Federation of Dental Hygienists 17th International Symposium on Dental Hygiene at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario.
• CDHA makes two presentations to approximately five thousand tobacco-control leaders at the 13th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, held in Washington D.C.
• CDHA holds its first ever Student Summit in Toronto, Ontario.
• CDHA delivers a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance titled “Oral Health Care: A Necessary Public Good Now and into the Future,” which highlights the poor oral health of a considerable portion of the Canadian population, and requests that the federal government consider providing oral health promotion and disease prevention as a public good for specific groups of citizens including children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income individuals.

2008

• CDHA submits a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance emphasizing the importance of a health care system that puts prevention first.
• CDHA presents a draft business case to the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB) titled “Improving Cost-Effectiveness and Program Efficiencies in First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Non-Insured Health Benefits Program,” which outlines the benefits of adding dental hygienists to the NIHB provider roster.
• CDHA creates the Education Advisory Committee (EAC), which replaces the Dental Hygiene Educators Canada (DHEC) organization.

2009

• CDHA participates in the North American Dental Hygiene Research Conference, attended by 150 dental hygienists from five different countries. CDHA presents a Leading Poster Presentation Award and a Graduate Student Travel Bursary during the conference.
• CDHA surpasses the 15,000-member milestone.