Last updated September 25, 2026
One of the three main ways BCCOHP protects the public is by ensuring that oral health professionals are able to practise competently throughout their careers. This work is carried out through our Quality Assurance Program (QAP).
Below are a set of frequently asked questions and answers about the program. The FAQs are organized in the following themes:
BCCOHP’s Standards for the Oral Health Team are the foundation of the modernized QAP. They guide how the program is designed and help ensure safe, ethical and responsible care across all professions and practice settings.
As part of the QAP, oral health professionals use these standards to reflect on their knowledge, skills and abilities, and identify where further learning would be helpful. The standards also support goal setting and help professionals choose continuing professional development activities that are most relevant to their practice context and learning needs.
Through Components A and B of the modernized QAP, along with Component C if indicated, oral health professionals engage in guided self-reflection, standards-linked learning activities and knowledge application. Together these components help reinforce a strong understanding of the BCCOHP standards and support their use in day-to-day practice.
The following resources have been created to support oral health professionals in understanding and completing key requirements of Component A.
Go here to view the documents above on the resources page.
See also: QAP Overview document
As oral health professionals complete Component B’s module-based learning activities related to the BCCOHP standards, they will be required to complete the knowledge checks included in each module. Participants are required to answer knowledge-check questions correctly before moving on to the next part of the activity.
Knowledge checks are designed to support learning and understanding. Knowledge checks:
The modules can be completed at your own pace. The examples and scenarios may vary to reflect different oral health professions, roles and practice settings.
See also: QAP Overview document
Component C provides individualized, supportive follow-up for oral health professionals who may benefit from additional guidance to demonstrate competence in alignment with BCCOHP standards. Component C may involve discussion, reflection and guidance related to learning needs connected to the BCCOHP standards. Successful completion is based on participation, reflective engagement and reasonable efforts to set goals and address identified gaps. The emphasis is on learning and applying knowledge in practice.
If further assistance is determined to be beneficial, an oral health professional may be assigned to a QA assessor.
See also: QAP Overview document
Quality Assurance (QA) assessors are trained oral health professionals who act as supportive peers in the QAP. They help oral health professionals understand the BCCOHP standards, reflect on their practice, set realistic goals and identify helpful next steps.
QAP participants may be referred to a QA assessor for:
QA assessors are selected using criteria set by BCCOHP under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA). Each assessor comes from the same profession as the oral health professionals they support, ensuring guidance is relevant, fair and profession specific.
The role of a QA assessor reflects the educational and supportive purpose of the modernized QAP. Their recommendations help guide next steps within Component C with a focus on learning and competence. Participation in QAP processes, including engagement with Component C when required, is a regulatory expectation.
QA assessors provide guidance and support; they do not conduct disciplinary investigations. If concerns arise, established regulatory processes apply. A QA assessor may notify a QA officer for consideration of further action in specific circumstances, including when an oral health professional:
In situations suggesting a potential public health hazard or patient safety risk, appropriate public health channels may be notified.
These steps reflect BCCOHP’s broader public protection responsibilities under the HPOA.
As part of the QAP, BCCOHP invites members of the public and oral health professionals to share their experience through anonymous patient/peer experience survey. Research shows that experience surveys offer helpful insights into areas that support safe and respectful care, such as communication, professionalism, teamwork, and cultural safety.
Patient and peer responses are anonymous and will only be shared with the oral health professional and BCCOHP in a way that cannot identify the respondent. Responses are combined with feedback from other patients and peers and reviewed collectively.
Review of survey results is optional and supports reflection and learning, not evaluation. BCCOHP sees only anonymized, aggregated survey data trends to support continuous improvements to the QAP.
The survey link is posted publicly on the BCCOHP website for patients/peers to complete at any time. Oral health professionals can also access their unique QR codes and links from their QAP dashboard to share with patients and/or peers for feedback.
Watch a training video to learn more about how the patient and peer experience survey collection works.
Yes. All oral health professionals complete the same QAP.
Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) (div.8), BCCOHP maintains a QAP that promotes ongoing competence of oral health professionals in the public interest. The modernized QAP meets this requirement by focusing on competent and ethical practice rather than counting credit hours or courses.
All oral health professionals complete the same QAP because it is built around BCCOHP’s Standards for the Oral Health Team, which apply across all professions and practice settings. This includes oral health professionals at all stages of their careers, such as new graduates and those newly licensed in British Columbia. While the QAP structure is consistent for all oral health professionals, each professional’s goals and learning activities reflect their own practice, experience and scope.
Together, the components of the modernized QAP create clear, consistent expectations for safe and competent care, while still allowing flexibility for meaningful, personalized professional development.
The QAP operates each year from April 1 to March 31.
All oral health professionals are required to complete the following annually:
Component C applies only to a select group of oral health professionals who are identified through the audit process or have been referred through another regulatory pathway.
On average, Component A and B together take approximately 8-10 hours annually. This is only an estimate as each oral health professional’s learning style varies. However, this estimate does not include time spent completing continuing professional development (CPD) activities that may arise from the guided self-reflections.
Component A: Approximately 4 hours (not including CPD)
Component B: Approximately 4-6 hours
Component C: Times will vary
There are no fees associated with participating in the QAP. However, oral health professionals are responsible for the costs of any continuing professional development (CPD) they choose or are advised to complete.
Oral health professionals who hold more than one licence must complete a self-inventory for each licence each year. Remaining mandatory program components only need to be completed once and are applied across licences, where appropriate.
When setting professional goals and selecting CPD activities, ensure they are relevant to the scope of practice and requirements of each of your licensed professions.
If you hold more than one BCCOHP licence, please contact the QA department at qualityassurance@oralhealthbc.ca to ensure your account is configured correctly and reflects your annual program requirements.
If you experience technical issues with the QAP dashboard, please refer to the QAP Tech 101 document for troubleshooting steps before contacting the Quality Assurance department.
Important: If the platform asks you to repeat an activity or module section you have already completed, do not repeat it. Contact the QA department at qualityassurance@oralhealthbc.ca so your progress can be reviewed.
CPD stands for continuing professional development. Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), CPD refers to activities or programs undertaken to ensure that professional knowledge, skills and abilities remain current. CPD includes continuing education, continuing competency and other learning that supports ongoing competence.
Yes. The modernized QAP still emphasizes ongoing professional learning. However, oral health professionals are not required to report a specific number of credits or hours.
CPD remains a core professional and ethical responsibility. BCCOHP Standard 2.7 requires all oral health professionals to maintain the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to provide safe and competent care throughout their careers, not just to meet QAP requirements.
Component A supports this requirement by allowing oral health professionals to select and participate in CPD that is relevant to their individual practice context and identified learning needs, rather than completing CPD simply to collect credits.
Conferences, courses, workshops and other learning opportunities remain valuable when they support professional goals and safe practice. When developing professional goals, oral health professionals should consider BCCOHP’s Standards for the Oral Health Team and use them to guide the identification of goals for ongoing professional learning.
To help you choose CPD activities that meaningfully support your goals and align with your practice context, please refer to the continuing professional development document.
Oral health professionals are responsible for keeping records that demonstrate completion of QAP requirements outside of the BCCOHP system, including CPD completed under Component A and, where applicable, individualized follow-up activities under Component C.
Oral health professionals should be prepared to provide these records to BCCOHP if requested.
Key requirements:
Privacy reminder: Patient-identifying information should not be unnecessarily included in QAP submissions. Any patient records used for Component C assessments must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and are not subject to the three-year QAP retention requirement.
Yes. Oral health professionals in BC may request an extension to complete their QAP requirements when circumstances affect their ability to participate within the QAP year.
Extensions may be considered for:
Extensions are limited to a maximum of one year.
To request an extension, contact the QA department at qualityassurance@oralhealthbc.ca to obtain a QAP Extension Request form and submit the completed form and relevant supporting documentation by email. To allow sufficient time for review, we encourage you to submit your extension request as early as possible. Requests submitted close to the end of the QAP year, March 31, may not allow enough time for a decision before QAP requirements are due.
Yes. Oral health professionals may request accommodation or support where they experience barriers that affect their ability to participate in the QAP. Accommodation requests are based on a current diagnosis or other protected grounds recognized under the BC Human Rights Code. Where appropriate, requests for accommodation may require supporting documentation.
Accommodations may include:
To request accommodation or accessibility supports, contact the QA department at qualityassurance@oralhealthbc.ca to obtain a QAP Accommodation Request form and submit the completed form and relevant supporting documentation by email. We encourage you to submit your request as early as possible to allow enough time for a decision to be made and accommodation provided before QAP requirements are due.
The QAP’s digital learning platform is designed with accessibility in mind. Inclusive technology practices help support participation regardless of location or learning needs.
Key accessibility considerations include:
These features aim to make the QAP equitable, user-friendly and adaptable to diverse professional and individual needs.
To learn more about the available features, please contact the QA department at qualityassurance@oralhealthbc.ca or 672-202-0448 ext. 5495.
BCCOHP modernized the Quality Assurance Program (QAP) to better support oral health professionals in staying competent and accountable throughout their careers. This work is part of BCCOHP’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan and is required under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) Part 3 Division 8. Modernizing the QAP helps us strengthen public protection and support all oral health professionals in maintaining safe, ethical and patient-centered care.
Upon amalgamation in 2022, BCCOHP inherited four different QAPs from the legacy colleges. Each program had its own requirements, which limited consistency, equity and transparency across the oral health team. These legacy programs heavily relied on collecting credits, included tools with limited regulatory defensibility, and contributed to confusion and disengagement with the programs. The modernized QAP replaced the four legacy programs with one consistent approach for all oral health professionals. It moved away from credit-based requirements and toward reflective, standards-linked and risk-informed learning, an approach that is supported by current research and emphasizes ongoing competence as a core aspect of public protection.
In developing the modernized QAP, BCCOHP drew on legislative requirements, evidence about what supports ongoing competence, and evolving public expectations for clear, consistent standards across professions and practice settings.
Through one modernized single QAP for all oral health professionals, BCCOHP aims to:
The QAP supports public protection by strengthening the connection between professional standards, ongoing learning and day-to-day practice.
The BCCOHP standards outline what safe, ethical and accountable care looks like. The QAP helps oral health professionals reflect on these standards, identify learning needs and apply their knowledge in practice. Research, including patient experience data and multisource feedback literature, shows that reflective practice, guided learning and standards-linked approaches are more effective at improving professional performance and patient experience than credit-based models.
The QAP also follows principles of right-touch, risk-informed regulation. This means requirements are proportionate and focused where the risk to the public is greatest.
The research phase of the project considered evidence which shaped the program’s underlying design, emphasizing:
During the research phase, BCCOHP engaged external subject matter experts and research to inform the approach toward building a modernized QAP. This evidence-informed foundation guided the draft framework that was shared for consultation with oral health professionals and the public, connecting research, regulatory requirements and the goal of patient-centred and competent care.
For an overview of how the evidence related to each of components A, B and C shows up, refer to the consultation materials (scroll down to the expandable accordion tab called “+Evidence-informed framework” under “supplementary materials”).
The research phase considered various quality assurance assessment methods. The Program framework only incorporated quality assurance assessment and activities identified through the research as most promising (Table 1). A notable change resulting from this approach is that certain longstanding components of legacy QAPs (such as quantified continuing professional development, currency and active practice hours) are not included in the Program.
Table 1: Most promising quality assurance assessments and activities
Assessment/Activity | Best use / description | Features |
Written quizzes | Follow online modules as “assessment for learning” for all oral health professionals |
|
Guided self-reflections and self-reports | Core reflection activity in Quality Assurance Program for all oral health professionals |
|
Continuing professional development annual self-reports | Link continuing professional development activities to professional goals and BCCOHP Professional and Practice Standards |
|
Dashboard | Provide oral health professionals with practice insights and trends |
|
Patient surveys | Individual or team assessment tool |
|
These findings formed the foundation for the QAP framework that was shared for consultation in 2025. The framework introduced three components designed to promote competence and patient safety across the oral health team:
See also: Section 1
Right-touch regulation means choosing regulatory actions that match the level of risk. It focuses on what is necessary to protect the public without adding extra requirements that could get in the way of delivering quality care.
This approach seeks to balance professional autonomy with regulatory oversight. It recognizes the expertise of health care professionals while stepping in when needed to address risks to the public. These principles guide BCCOHP’s approach to regulatory decision-making, including how the modernized QAP was designed.
All pre-existing program requirements and assessments ended on December 31, 2025.
For those whose QA cycle ended December 31, 2025, any outstanding requirements from the pre-existing programs had to be completed and submitted by March 31, 2026, in order to renew with BCCOHP by the annual deadline. Click here for more information about the winding down of pre-existing programs.
