College Initiatives

Governance

ACDH’s Council engaged The Regulator’s Practice to conduct an independent review of its governance policies and practices. Over the past several years, the ACDH has advanced its governance model considerably by becoming a focused, single-mandate public-interest regulator. It has changed its name to reflect this focus, increased public representation on Council, transitioned to a competency-based appointment process, and moved away from the Policy Governance Framework.

The assessment explored four areas of governance:

• role clarity;
• people, culture, and relationships;
• decision-making and meeting effectiveness; and
• oversight responsibilities.

A summary of key findings can be found on the ACDH website.

Council also engaged a risk management consultant to work with them and staff on Council and College risk tolerance. Setting a risk tolerance level is crucial for good governance and sound decision-making. It helps organizations define the boundaries of acceptable risk-taking in pursuit of long-term objectives, ensuring that risks are managed effectively without exceeding the organization’s capacity to absorb potential impacts. This process helped align Council’s and the College’s risk appetite with strategic and organizational goals.

Program Approvals and Reviews of Alberta Dental Hygiene Programs

ACDH’s Council assesses new programs against a set of standards. These standards include the Entry-to-Practice Canadian Competencies for Dental Hygienists as defined by the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada and meet the scope of practice in Alberta as defined in the Dental Hygienists Profession Regulation and the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation. With the support of other regulatory colleges in Alberta, the ACDH formalized a program review and approval process in alignment with Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Professions Act. This included Council approval of policies, procedures, education standards, a fee schedule, and establishing of an Education Program Review Committee.

Government Relations

Throughout the year, the ACDH actively engaged with provincial government ministers, members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), and government officials to strengthen relationships and enhance understanding of the regulatory role of the College. Several of these meetings were conducted collaboratively with the Dental Hygienists Association of Alberta (DHAA), providing an opportunity to clearly articulate the distinct yet complementary roles of the professional association and the regulatory college. These discussions supported informed decision-making by government and focused on emerging issues affecting the profession and the public (e.g., labour mobility and the oral health landscape in Alberta). Through these ongoing conversations, the ACDH continued to advocate for effective regulation in the public interest while contributing its expertise to policy discussions impacting the dental hygiene profession and the Albertans it serves.

Collaboration

The ACDH strengthened its relationships with other oral health regulators by hosting a joint council education session and exploring shared office space. In addition, the College launched an Artificial Intelligence guideline, developed jointly with the College of Dental Technologists of Alberta (CDTA) and the College of Alberta Denturists (CAD), to support registrants in understanding expectations for the use of AI in practice. The College also continued building its partnership with the University of Alberta by presenting to dental hygiene students on regulation, registration and renewal requirements, continuing competency, and professional conduct.