The message below was shared with all oral health professionals regulated by BCCOHP on June 24, 2025.
A message from BCCOHP’s Registrar and CEO, Chris Hacker
Hi everyone,
I believe the most important role a regulator plays in meeting its mandate of public protection is in creating a framework where professionalism can flourish. Inspired by this belief and guided by our 2024-27 Strategic Plan, BCCOHP has been working hard to advance several transformative initiatives.
We’re taking meaningful steps towards launching modernized Professional Standards that provide clearly articulated expectations of the oral health professionals we regulate, engaging oral health professionals and the public in shaping our new, unified draft Quality Assurance Program Framework that supports our registrants in meeting those standards, and embedding equity and reconciliation in all we do.
You’ll find more details below. Each initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to a principles-based, inclusive future for oral health oversight—one that strengthens public trust, protects the people of British Columbia and supports the professionals we regulate in the provision of safe, effective team-based oral health care.
Warmly,
Chris Hacker, Registrar and CEO
New Professional Standards in effect June 30
On June 16, we announced to oral health professionals that BCCOHP’s new Professional Standards for the Oral Health Team will take effect on June 30, 2025. This two-week window is meant to support time for review and reflection before the standards come into force.
These modernized standards mark a significant step forward. They bring together existing professional expectations into a single, unified framework, written in plain language and organized by overarching principles. The standards are designed to support professional judgement, reflect today’s team-based care environments and provide greater clarity for both patients and professionals.
We’re grateful to everyone who contributed feedback during our winter 2024–25 consultation. Input from oral health professionals, the public and other partners helped us refine the draft. The final standards were approved by the BCCOHP Board in March 2025.
Clear, consistent expectations help patients understand what they can expect from their oral health team—and they support professionals in delivering safe, competent care.
Learn more about our work in this area and access resources via:
Note: Some legacy Practice Standards remain in force where specific aspects of care pose increased risk (e.g., Recordkeeping, IPAC, Sedation and GA Services). These are listed on the Practice Resources page of our website.
Reminder to share your feedback: proposed Quality Assurance Program Framework
We’re inviting oral health professionals to share their input on BCCOHP’s proposed Quality Assurance Program Framework. This is part of our ongoing work to modernize quality assurance and ensure professionals are supported to practise competently throughout their careers.
The consultation is open until 11:59 p.m. PT on August 5, 2025.
Check your inbox for an email from Pivotal Research, which includes your unique survey link. Can’t find it? Check your junk folder or contact us at communications@oralhealthbc.ca.
Note: The public and professional surveys are different—members of the public can access their version through our website.
Learn more about the framework and our consultation here>>
Anti-discrimination, health equity and reconciliation
At BCCOHP, we are committed to dismantling harm and discrimination, and advancing equity so the public can access safe, inclusive oral health care.
Informed by our 2024–27 Strategic Plan, we are working to:
- Prevent harm and discrimination to create equity in oral health care experiences, delivery and outcomes; and
- Uphold Indigenous rights and advance reconciliation through the regulation and delivery of oral health care.
This work is not only guided by our values—it is also embedded in law. As we move toward implementation of the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), these efforts reinforce our legal and ethical responsibility to foster a regulatory environment that is culturally safe, equitable and inclusive.
We are structuring this work through two key, complementary streams:
Anti-discrimination and health equity
This key area focuses on addressing systemic discrimination and equity barriers that affect all equity-deserving communities, including—but not limited to—racialized, disabled, LGBTQIA2S+ and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
At BCCOHP, we know that public protection means more than clinical safety—it means ensuring that oral health care is free from discrimination, accessible to all and grounded in equity. Through our Anti-Discrimination and Equity (ADE) programming—one of the two pillars of our ADER (Anti-Discrimination, Equity, and Reconciliation) initiative—we’re working to embed human rights, trauma-informed practice and systemic equity into every level of regulation.
Currently, we’re reviewing our internal and regulatory policies and processes to identify and remove systemic barriers, engaging diverse communities to shape inclusive approaches and developing resources to support oral health professionals in delivering equitable care. We’re also laying the groundwork for demographic data collection, recruitment and retention strategies for better representation, and organization-wide training frameworks.
Indigenous cultural safety, cultural humility, and anti-racism
We recognize that reconciliation is inseparable from public protection. Indigenous Peoples continue to experience harm in healthcare settings as a result of colonialism, racism and systemic inequities. That’s why we have made a deliberate and necessary decision to separate and prioritize our work in Indigenous-specific cultural safety, cultural humility and anti-racism as a distinct pillar within our ADER (Anti-Discrimination, Equity, and Reconciliation) initiative.
This stream of work acknowledges the unique rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples as Indigenous Peoples of this land, and the distinct histories, experiences, and solutions required to advance reconciliation and Indigenous anti-racism in health regulation. Combining this work with broader anti-discrimination efforts would risk erasing those distinctions and perpetuating the very inequities we are trying to address.
We are advancing this work by applying an Indigenous cultural safety lens across our regulatory processes, developing clear and respectful processes for engaging with Indigenous communities and knowledge holders in meaningful and accountable ways, and integrating Indigenous-led guidance into policies, training, and complaint-handling. We’re also developing long-term strategies that incorporate and honour Indigenous laws, protocols and governance.
What’s next
This is long-term, ongoing work—and while we are building a strong foundation, meaningful change requires sustained effort, reflection and collaboration. BCCOHP is committed to this journey, and we thank you for continuing to walk alongside us.
To learn more about our commitments and work in these areas, visit our:
- Indigenous Anti-racism, Cultural Safety and Humility webpage
- Anti-discrimination and Health Equity webpage
Health Professions and Occupations Act
We continue to prepare for the upcoming implementation of the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), which passed in BC’s legislature on November 24, 2022. When it comes into force, it will replace the current Health Professions Act.
While the HPOA will bring changes to health regulation at a systemic level, many of the processes and operational interactions that you have with BCCOHP will remain unchanged.
We are committed to updating oral health professionals on the HPOA transition as we prepare for its implementation. To stay updated on BCCOHP’s efforts to prepare for the HPOA, visit our new webpage >>
Bylaw development
Creating new bylaws that align with the HPOA is a current priority for BCCOHP. BC’s health regulators have collaborated on the development of model bylaws that health colleges can then customize to create their own bylaws.
Bylaws for BCCOHP under the new act are in development in order to be ready when the government announces the in-force date.
Related resources:
- HPOA news release (2022)
- Health Professions and Occupations Act
- Second Update on Health Profession Regulation Modernization
- Professional Regulation webpage (Ministry of Health)
Detailed information about the HPOA and what it will do for the public is available here >>