Council Highlights for March 27, 2025

The 448th meeting of the RCDSO Council was hybrid (in person and livestreamed) on March 27th, 2025. A recording is available on the College’s YouTube channel. Highlights from the meeting follow. 

New Standards of Practice 

Two new Standards of Practice were approved by Council after consultations with the public and the profession: Prevention of Boundary Violations and Sexual Abuse, and Consent to Treatment. Dentists are expected to review these documents and incorporate them into practice. For further guidance and clarification, please see the associated FAQs and Case Scenarios: Standards, Guidelines and Advisories.

Foundations of Professionalism: Draft Document 

Council reviewed the Foundations of Professionalism draft document and approved releasing it for external consultation. The document was developed by a Working Group and it describes the core principles and duties of the profession. When finalized and approved by Council, this document will replace the Code of Ethics and serve as a foundation for all the RCDSO’s guidance for dentists, as set out in Standards of Practice and other resources. Commentary on the draft is welcome at Public Consultations

Registration Regulation: Professional Liability Program (PLP) divestment

The PLP divestment project continues, with the goal of allowing the program to continue to operate, under separate ownership. 

In March, Council approved consultation on draft amendments to the registration regulation to ensure registrants obtain and maintain liability coverage once PLP is divested. Additional changes were also proposed to streamline the registration processes and reduce registration barriers. Council reviewed responses to the survey which closed on March 25th and approved the amendments with no changes. There was minimal feedback so Council requested that the revised regulation be sent to the Ministry for their consultation and review. 

These proposed changes are not in effect and do not impact current coverage. Dentists should continue to contact PLP directly for advice or assistance.

Note: Council re-appointed public member, Jamie Colliver, to a two-year term as chair of the Professional Liability Program Committee.

Draft Guidance: Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has growing applications in dentistry. Almost 1,400 people attended the most recent RCDSO Connect session featuring Dr. Peter Fritz on the topic of AI in Dentistry (RCDSO Connect). The College has been working on guidance for the past year incorporating significant research, feedback from patients, dentists and the public as well as input from subject matter experts. The goal is to help dentists use AI responsibly and ethically in their practices. The result is a new draft guidance document now open for consultation here.

Practice Models in Corporate Dentistry 

Six draft options to help assure quality of care and enable the effective regulation of dentists in all practice models, including corporate dentistry, were presented to Council for discussion. Council supported further analysis of all six options. A report with recommended options will be shared with Council for its approval later this year. More information about the draft options and this strategic project is available at pages 103-127 of the 2025-03-27 Council Meeting materials

Voice of the Patient: Public Polling

The College and Council serve the public interest yet are often challenged to hear directly from the public. Council was presented with the results of public polling research commissioned by Pivotal

Research Inc. on the experiences of recent and non-recent patients. The research also reported on perceptions access to care, accepting new patients and awareness of the College. The Voice of the Patient dashboard is available here: RCDSO Reports and Publications

Next Meeting

The next meeting of Council will be virtual and held on June 19th, 2025 via Zoom. The meeting will also be livestreamed.