The message below was shared with all oral health professionals regulated by BCCOHP on January 17, 2025.
A message from BCCOHP’s Registrar and CEO, Chris Hacker
As we begin a new year, I wanted to wish you all continued success, and bring you up to date on progress being made in three specific project areas that support BCCOHP’s mandate of public protection, and the Board’s current directed strategic priorities, namely:
- Professional Standards for the Oral Health Team (DRAFT)
- Design, development and implementation of a modernized quality assurance program
- Advancing cultural safety and humility in oral health care
As a health regulator, safeguarding the public from harm and discrimination is at the heart of our work. This informs every decision we make and reflects our commitment to promoting equity, reducing barriers to care, and fostering an environment of trust between patients and oral health professionals.
To meet our mandate, it is critical for us, as the regulator, to help support you in the provision of safe care that is patient-centred and free from discrimination. But we can’t ensure protection of the public without the professionalism and competence of the oral health professionals we oversee. Despite changes to traditional regulatory models flowing from modernization efforts here in BC (and around the world), you, as oral health professionals, self-regulate every day.
The draft Professional Standards for the Oral Health Team represent a significant step forward. By adopting a principles-based approach, these will allow for greater professional discretion and adaptability. Written in plain language and directly linked to clearly stated patient outcomes, they prioritize clarity and focus on what truly matters: delivering safe and competent patient care.
And while these draft standards may look different from what you’ve seen in the past, most of the content includes practices you already follow. Our goal is to support you by building out these standards for the entire oral health team and incorporating patient-focused content that aligns with our shared commitment of safe, effective oral health care for patients in BC.
As we enter the final days of our consultation, I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have contributed so far. Your input underscores the essential role oral health professionals play in shaping oral health care oversight in BC. Further information on the consultation and BCCOHP’s engagement efforts is detailed below. This is your opportunity to help refine these standards and ensure they meet the needs of both oral health professionals and the public we serve. This work reflects our commitment to meaningful consultation and collaboration.
Thank you for being an integral part of this journey. Together, we’re shaping the future of oral health regulation in British Columbia.
Warmest regards,
Chris Hacker
Developing new professional and practice standards
Since BCCOHP formed in 2022, we’ve been working to develop one cohesive set of professional standards for the oral health team. Professional standards are the minimum requirements for oral health professionals ethical and professional performance, conduct and behaviour.
Draft professional standards for the oral health team
Final reminder to complete the consultation by January 20
Oral health professionals are invited to provide feedback on the draft Professional Standards for the Oral Health Team. The consultation is open until January 20, 2025.
If you haven’t participated yet, there is still time—check your inbox for a reminder email from our research partner, Pivotal Research. The email contains a unique link for you to complete the survey. If you cannot find the email, please check your junk folder or email communications@oralhealthbc.ca.
Note: Survey content is intentionally structured to allow for high-level responses, while also offering the option to provide more detailed feedback.
Focused public engagement: BC Public Advisory Network
In December 2024, BCCOHP held a virtual session with members of the British Columbia Public Advisory Network to gather input on the draft professional standards. This session marked the second focused engagement with this group of public advisors on the draft standards. Additional details about this session will be shared as they become available.
Practice standards under development
Practice standards, which are additional requirements for high-risk areas of oral health care, such as sedation and infection prevention and control, are also being developed for higher risk areas. While this work is underway, individual practice standards remain in place to address specific areas of care that pose higher risk to patients.
In September 2024, we published a report summarizing findings from an initial survey which focused on existing sedation and general anesthesia standards. This survey was open to all sedation and general anesthesia providers, as well as clinical team members involved in sedation and/or general anesthesia.
Learn more about our work in this area on the BCCOHP Standards Project webpage.
Quality assurance program modernization enters design phase
Work to develop a modernized quality assurance program is well under way.
As part of this work, we have engaged expert consultants to develop a detailed research report to inform our approach.
As we move from the ‘ideas’ phase into the ‘design’ phase, BCCOHP’s Quality Assurance Committee directed two early changes to the existing QA program for dental hygienists. These changes are intended to begin building equity among existing programs, while continuing to prioritize patient safety. As we continue to build a new, modernized QA program, additional changes may be identified to ensure alignment with our overarching goals of equity and patient safety.
To learn more about our efforts to modernize BCCOHP’s quality assurance program, visit our webpage>>
Advancing cultural safety and humility in oral health care
Our commitment at BCCOHP is to protect the public from harm in the oral health system—and that includes harm from racism and discrimination.
Work to uphold Indigenous rights and promote reconciliation through the regulation and delivery of oral health care is underway.
An interim Indigenous consultation circle was created to provide guidance and input as we set a foundation for our initiatives in this area. We will soon begin recruitment for a permanent circle.
We were pleased to welcome Katy Carson as our Director of Cultural Safety and Humility in September last year. Katy brings leadership experience in cultural safety, humility and anti-racism work and has begun collaborative work to weave Indigenous anti-racism and cultural safety and humility principles into BCCOHP policies, practices and regulatory functions.
To learn more about our work in this area, visit our new Cultural Safety and Humility Project webpage.