Am I a member?
How is Dental Assisting organized in Canada?
There are three levels of dental assisting organizations:
- Provincial Organizations/Regulating bodies & Canadian Military Dental Services
- Local Organizations
- The Canadian Dental Assistant Association (CDAA)
Membership
How are dental assistants represented in Canada?
Dental assistants are represented via their provincial association. The provincial association provides individual services to dental assistants. Dental assistants in the military are represented via the Canadian Forces, Dental Service.
Through this arrangement, provincial associations who subscribe to CDAA are represented at the national level.
Who are the members of CDAA? Are individual dental assistants members of CDAA?
CDAA refers to its subscribed membership (the provincial bodies/Canadian Forces) as Organizational Members. CDAA membership is comprised solely of provincial/federal bodies.
Individual dental assistants are represented by virtue of their provincial body membership in CDAA or in the case of the armed forces, via the Canadian Forces Dental Services (CFDS).
Currently, CDAA has the following Organizational Members:
- The College of Alberta Dental Assistants
- Saskatchewan Dental Assistant Association
- Manitoba Dental Assistant Association
- Association des Assistant(es) Dentaires Du Québec
- New Brunswick Dental Assistant Association
- Nova Scotia Dental Assistant Association
- Newfoundland Dental Assistant Association
- The Canadian Forces Dental Services
What is the difference between the provincial associations and the CDAA?
Provincial organizations represent the individual dental assistants in their province. They provide direct services and representation to their members and in some cases, regulation. Direct member services can include communication on relevant issues, continuing education and other direct support initiatives.
CDAA is a federation that represents the provincial dental assistant organizations and the dental assistant arm of the Canadian military and it’s through this arrangement that CDAA speaks on behalf of the dental assistant profession nationally.
CDAA’s services to the profession include:
- Federal level advocacy
- National level representation
- Knowledge sourcing and sharing, of research into the profession of oral health
- Organization of the Annual General Meeting and award ceremony.
Does CDAA provide any services to individual dental assistants?
By virtue of their provincial association being a Organizational Member of CDAA, individual dental assistants are able to profit from group discounts on a variety of services. The current programs that CDAA facilitates for individual dental assistants are:
- Malpractice Insurance
- CDAA Benefits Program
- CDAA BMO MasterCard
CDAA currently hosts the Continuing Education courses for individual dental assistants on a temporary basis.
I am a dental assistant and my provincial body is not represented. Am I still part of CDAA?
At this current time you do not have national representation. Please contact your provincial body.
I am a dental assistant in the Territories or in PEI. Do I still have representation?
Currently there are no provincial or territorial bodies in any of the above. Please contact CDAA if you have an interest in forming a provincial/territorial body.
