This informative and practical series will provide the necessary knowledge and tools for dental hygiene entrepreneurs to move forward with their dream of establishing and operating their own practices.
The Independent Practice for Dental Hygienists Series consists of four online courses. It is recommended to take the courses in the sequence shown below. The courses are:
*Course 1 is an introductory course that provides an overview of setting up an independent practice, from the vision of establishing a dental hygiene practice to the opening day.
*Courses 2 to 4 provide in-depth discussions and the application components of preparing your business plan, developing a marketing and communication plan, working with professional consultants, understanding your role as employer and developing a human
resources manual, project-managing the construction of the practice within realistic timelines, and managing the practice.
Course Information
Registration for the courses is done online and all the courses are taken online in the comfort of your home, at your convenience and your pace. You may pause and restart at any time. It is expected that the entire program will take about 32 hours
to complete, or about 8 hours for each course; however, you can take as much time as you need with the exception of the final examinations. You may wish to break up your learning into several shorter sessions.
A resource manual has been developed for each course. It can be downloaded and printed as a complement to each course. It is a valuable learning tool with the learning outcomes, pre-tests, exercises, activities, post-tests, resources such as links
to websites, etc. It is important that your participation includes these learning activities because they have been designed to contribute to the knowledge required to pass the final examination. You will require a writing tool, calculator, and
paper to complete the courses. Click on the course titles above for information about each course and to register.
A pre-test is presented at the beginning and a post-test at the end of each section of each course. A final timed multiple-choice examination is administered upon completion of each course. Upon successful completion of each examination, a certificate
of completion issued by CDHA may be printed from your computer.
Relevance to Practice
Entrepreneurs generally have strong beliefs about the services they will offer and are willing to accept a level of personal and professional risk to bring their dream to reality. Entrepreneurship is often difficult and tricky, as many new ventures
fail. This certificate program will provide the resources and skills needed to meet these challenges and allow dental hygienists to prosper as independent practitioners.
Ann Wright
Ann graduated in dental hygiene from the University of Toronto in 1971. Throughout her career, she has held numerous positions in dental hygiene. These include working in both private and public health practice, as an examiner for the College of Dental
Hygienists of Ontario and as a clinical demonstrator in the dental hygiene program in Ottawa, at Algonquin College. She has held positions as regional manager, managing multiple dental offices for a large practice group and as practice management
consultant and practice appraiser for a national brokerage firm.
Ann completed an MBA in 1995 at the University of Ottawa. Not surprisingly, her Masters Thesis was entitled "Independent Practice for Dental Hygienists in Canada: Issues and Obstacles." This was followed up with the development of a comprehensive marketing
plan to launch a private practice.
In her work with the CDHA, Ann has spoken at conferences and developed a workshop for dental hygiene entrepreneurs that highlight the pros and cons of owning your own business. As the Business Development Manager, she is CDHA's on-site expert for all
questions relating to private practice.
In April of 2010, Ann was appointed (Acting) Executive Director of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Associaiton.
Brenda Leggett
Brenda Leggett has over twenty years of experience as a dental hygiene educator at Georgian College and Algonquin College. She has practised in community health
as a dental hygiene administrator, and remains active as a clinical dental hygienist in private practice. For ten years, she has participated as an item writer for the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination, and presently represents the
central region of Canada on the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board's Examination Committee. In addition, she is a College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO) representative on the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada site-visit
teams. Brenda is currently the information coordinator at CDHA. Brenda is a dental hygiene graduate of John Abbott College, holds an interdisciplinary BA in labour studies from Carleton University, and a library and information technician diploma
from Algonquin College. Brenda assisted in the overall course development and pilot testing, and as a content expert.
Laura Myers
Laura Myers is currently the director of education at CDHA. She has extensive dental hygiene experience in education, administration, and restorative and community
health, and remains active in clinical practice. Fluently bilingual, Laura has twelve years of experience as an educator at La Cité Collégiale and Algonquin College. She was the executive director of the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board
for more than three years. She has served as a council member of the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO), a member of the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada site-visit teams, and a member of the National Dental Hygiene Certification
Board's Examination Committee. She is the francophone representative on the board of directors of Dental Hygiene Educators Canada (DHEC). Laura is a dental hygiene graduate of John Abbott College and holds a BA in psychology from Carleton University.
Laura is the project manager and presenter for this course.
CDHA wishes to thank CDHO for its financial contribution and ongoing support during the development of this course. CDHA would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the content experts for their initial review of the course and the dental
hygienists who participated in the English and French pilot testing sessions. Their participation and involvement were essential to the quality and relevance of this course.