Protecting Patient Access and the Future of Comprehensive Dental Care in Ontario
Submitted by: The Dagher Institute for Advanced Dental Education

To:
Council of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO)

We, the undersigned concerned dentists, respectfully submit this petition in response to the recently released Draft Standard of Practice: Implant Dentistry.

We fully support the College’s commitment to enhancing public protection and upholding the highest standards of care. However, as written, the proposed draft may have serious unintended consequences for Ontario’s patients, for general-practice dentists, and for the sustainability of high-quality implant education in this province.

1. Patient Access and Affordability

If implemented as proposed, the draft may: 

• Reduce access to care, especially in rural and underserved areas, where specialists are limited or unavailable.
• Increase treatment costs and extend wait times, making implant therapy unattainable for many Ontarians.
• Eliminate education-based programs that currently provide hundreds of affordable implant treatments each year, removing a vital source of accessible oral rehabilitation.
• These outcomes could directly harm the very patients this policy aims to protect.

2. Impact on General-Practice Dentists

The draft may also have sweeping implications for the general dental community by:

• Restricting procedures that thousands of well-trained general dentists have safely and competently provided for decades.
• Devaluing advanced continuing education and internationally recognized credentials
• Creating barriers to mentorship and professional growth that are essential for continuous improvement and safer outcomes.
• Threatening the viability of many general practices that rely on providing comprehensive, patient-centred treatment options.

3. A Precedent Beyond Implant Dentistry

This approach, if adopted, could set a precedent that extends beyond implant dentistry — potentially restricting general dentists from performing other established procedures in endodontics, orthodontics, periodontal and surgical care. Such fragmentation of clinical scope would erode continuity of care and the trusted dentist–patient relationship that underpins public confidence in our profession.

4. A Constructive, Patient-Centred Alternative

We believe there is a better, collaborative path forward:

• Implement a competency-based, tiered certification model where clinicians progress from straightforward to advanced cases only after meeting objective educational and clinical milestones.
• Emphasize education, mentorship, and outcome tracking, rather than limiting access by title or designation.
• Preserve affordable, supervised treatment programs that directly serve patients in need while improving clinician skill and accountability.
• This model enhances safety, ensures fairness, and maintains public access to care — aligning perfectly with the College’s mandate.

5. Our Request to Council

We respectfully call on the RCDSO Council to:

• Pause adoption of the current Draft Standard.
• Engage collaboratively with Ontario educators and practitioners to design a patient-centred, competency-based framework.
• Recognize and support existing CE and credentialing programs that have safely trained thousands of dentists in Canada and abroad.
• Ensure that any future standards protect both patient safety and patient access to implant care across Ontario.

In Summary

The Dagher Institute and the undersigned dentists share the College’s vision for a profession that upholds excellence, transparency, and public trust.

We simply believe the best way to achieve that vision is through education, mentorship, and competency-based certification — not restriction.

Our collective goal is clear:
To protect patients, preserve access, and ensure that implant dentistry in Ontario continues to thrive under the highest standards of care and integrity.

Sign the Petition

If you agree that Ontario’s patients deserve safe, accessible, and affordable implant care — and that regulation should strengthen, not divide, our profession — please add your name below.