2024 Annual Report

REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE, CODE OF ETHICS, and GUIDELINES

The Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics provide direction to health professionals in the practice of their profession. Standards of Practice set the minimum levels of professional behaviour and conduct of regulated health professionals, and the Code of Ethics is a set of principles of professional conduct which guides all dental hygienists and establishes the expectations for dental hygienists in fulfilling duties to their clients, to the public, and to the profession. 

Guidelines are intended to complement professional decision-making and should be used in conjunction with a dental hygienist’s professional judgment. The College’s Guidelines do not describe how to perform dental hygiene services, but rather assist dental hygienists in meeting the Standards of Practice.

The following documents are approved and available on the College’s website:

ACDH Standards of Practice

  • ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL ANAESTHESIA
  • ADVERTISING
  • CLINICAL THERAPY
  • COLLABORATION
  • COMMUNICATION
  • CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
  • CONTINUING COMPETENCE
  • CONTINUITY OF CARE
  • DOCUMENTATION
  • DRUGS: GENERAL
  • DRUGS: PRESCRIBING SCHEDULE 1 DRUGS
  • DUTY TO REPORT
  • EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE
  • INFORMED CONSENT
  • IONIZING RADIATION
  • PATIENT-CENTRED APPROACH
  • PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
  • PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
  • PROTECTING PATIENTS FROM SEXUAL ABUSE AND MISCONDUCT
  • RECORD MANAGEMENT
  • RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES
  • SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
  • SUPERVISION OF RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES

ACDH Code of Ethics

  • CODE OF ETHICS
  • GUIDELINES FOR THE CODE OF ETHICS


ACDH Guidelines

  • ADVERTISING
  • ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
  • CLINICAL THERAPY
  • CONTINUITY OF CARE
  • DRUGS AND NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS
  • DUTY TO REPORT
  • FEES AND BILLING
  • INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
  • INFORMED CONSENT
  • NITROUS OXIDE/OXYGEN CONSCIOUS SEDATION
  • PRESCRIBING SCHEDULE 1 DRUGS
  • PREVENTING SEXUAL ABUSE AND SEXUAL MISCONDUCT TOWARDS PATIENTS
  • PRIVACY AND THE PATIENT RECORD
  • PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES

Regulatory Advisors

Regulatory Advisors have continued to play an important role in supporting the College’s regulatory mandate. They offer valuable regulatory guidance to the public, employers, organizations, and dental hygienists, helping them understand and access legislative documents and directing them to essential resources. 

In the 2023-2024 registration year, the Regulatory Advisors responded to over 353 inquiries either through phone or email communications. Most inquiries they have responded to are related to dental hygiene practice and compliance with regulatory requirements. Some common topics include Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Clinical Therapy, and Billing. Other common topics for inquiries include those related to the Continuing Competence Program, Renewal, and Practice Ownership. The data collected from these inquiries is highly valuable in helping the College develop and refine resources.

Please refer to the following table for a breakdown of the incoming calls and emails by topics and frequency for the registration year from November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024.

Topics of Incoming Calls and Emails

November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024

Regulatory Advisors also provide support to internal programs through routinely updating and developing Standards of Practice, Guidelines, and other online resources. Some key accomplishments in the 2023 – 2024 registration year include revising the Practice Owner IPC Manual templates and amending the IPC Guidelines, originally published in June 2022, to reflect updated best practices in IPC for oral healthcare.

Continuing Competence Program

Each registrant on the General Register must meet the Continuing Competence Program (CCP) requirements as set out in the College’s Continuing Competence Program Standard of Practice and Program Manual. A registrant must earn 45 CCP credits (One (1) credit = one (1) hour of learning activity) in each three-year reporting period. A registrant’s reporting period begins on November 1 following their initial date of registration with the ACDH.

The Continuing Competence Program includes mandatory education requirements, including the completion of CPR annually. Registrants self-report their credits in the Registrant Portal. Registrants must have evidence of obtaining 45 CCP credits in their three-year reporting period in order to renew their practice permit. At annual renewal, all applications are reviewed for compliance with the CCP. The Continuing Competence Program Manual is available on the College’s website.

The College has taken preliminary steps to begin the redesign of the program, and will work to redevelop the program in 2025 and 2026, with the intention of launching the redesigned program in 2027. Preliminary steps included extensive information gathering and environmental scans of continuing competence and quality assurance programs to better understand the landscape of others in similar jurisdictions, engaging consultants to support the redesign efforts, and planning a robust engagement process for 2025 with key stakeholders.

Entry-To-Practice Examinations

National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination

The National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination (NDHCE) is a written exam that tests the level of knowledge, judgment, and skills expected at the entry-to-practice level for dental hygienists in Canada and is administered by the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada (FDHRC). Successful completion of the NDHCE is a legislated requirement for registration with the ACDH. The examination is offered three times each year in multiple sites across Canada.  The ACDH is a member and director on the FDHRC Board and has shared oversight of the NDHCE with the other provinces.

Jurisprudence Exam

In order to become registered, all applicants with the ACDH are required to successfully complete the online Jurisprudence exam to increase their knowledge of relevant provincial legislation and ACDH Bylaws, Standards of Practice, Guidelines and Code of Ethics.

College staff piloted a new modernized Jurisprudence in March 2023 with University of Alberta students. The examination format transitioned to a modular structure to enhance learning outcomes, accompanied by a platform migration to Moodle.

Clinical Examinations or Assessments

To assist in determining whether the qualifications and competencies of an applicant for registration are substantially equivalent to those required for graduation from the Council-approved Alberta benchmark program at the University of Alberta, applicants for registration may be required to complete a performance exam, test or assessment.

The assessments that may be used to determine entry-level competence are the Canadian Performance Examination in Dental Hygiene (CPEDH) or the Clinical Competence Assessment (CCA). The CPEDH was developed through a partnership of the regulatory colleges of BC, Ontario, and Alberta and is now administered through the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada (FDHRC). The CCA was developed and is administered by the Continuing Dental Education, Mike Petryk School of Dentistry, at the University of Alberta.

The ACDH uses these assessments when required to ensure that applicants demonstrate the necessary competence and can provide dental hygiene services safely to the Alberta public. Those applying for registration under the labour mobility provisions of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) are generally not required to complete a performance exam, test, or assessment to demonstrate competence.