Episode Details

Restorative Dental Hygiene & the CE struggle in Canada | Tooth Or Dare Podcast with Toothlife.Irene

Episode 200 Published 16 hours ago

Description

I might get "speaker" cancelled for this, but I believe it would be a worthy cause and perhaps the right hill to die on for our profession.

Trying to register for a continuing education course shouldn't feel like repeatedly hitting a brick wall. But for many hygienists, it does.

Many have given up on fighting for it, sadly.

In this episode, Irene and Victoria talk about why quality restorative education is so hard to access in Canada, what happened when they tried to sign up for a course and got nowhere, and what they decided to do about it.

What we cover:

▫️ Why most high-quality restorative courses require you to travel far to attend

▫️ The registration process and the advocacy that came with it

▫️ How rigid CE systems end up discouraging the most motivated clinicians

▫️ What it looks like to stop waiting and build something yourself

▫️ How the Restorative Dental Hygiene Study Club came together, four meetings per year, virtual and in-person, with hands-on components. Now Pre-registering at RRDH.ca

The bigger picture:

The RRDH designation has existed in Ontario for 10 years, backed by George Brown College's post-graduate program, one of the only formal pathways to the designation in the country. It remains largely Ontario-specific. This episode is part of a larger conversation about what it would take for major Canadian conferences and regulatory bodies to open access, standardize registration, and formally recognize restorative dental hygiene as a designation across provinces.

There are real gaps in continuing education for dental hygienists. Limited access slows professional growth. Community-driven learning can fill those gaps, but someone has to build the community first.

Resources mentioned:

Ontario Dental Association Annual Spring Meeting

https://www.oda.ca/member-resources/events/event/annual-spring-meeting-2026/

Restorative Dental Hygiene Study Club

https://rrdh.ca/

George Brown College Restorative Dental Hygiene Program

https://www.georgebrown.ca/programs/restorative-dental-hygiene-program-postgraduate-s400

Southern Ontario Dental College Restorative Dental Hygiene Program

https://sodentalcollege.com/academics/restorative-dental-hygiene/

Canadian Academy of Dental Health Restorative Dental Hygiene Program

https://www.canadianacademyofdentalhygiene.ca/programs/restorative-dental-hygiene-diploma-program

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