Dental Practice Reporter

The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) is pleased to announce the installation of its new president, Wendy Stewart, at its virtual annual general meeting on Saturday, October 16. Stewart is from Nova Scotia and joins president-elect Anne Marie Caissie (New Brunswick), past president Tiffany Ludwicki (Newfoundland and Labrador), and directors Rae McFarlane (British Columbia), Alexandra Sheppard (Alberta), Kaylen Anholt (Saskatchewan), Kathy Yerex (Manitoba), Jennifer Turner (Ontario), Francine Trudeau (Quebec), Lana Clow (Prince Edward Island), and Donna Lee (North) on CDHA’s board of directors for 2021‒2022.

Stewart graduated from Dalhousie University’s School of Dental Hygiene in 2001. For 18 years she has been working at Fall River Dental where she enjoys contributing to the community’s overall health by caring for her clients’ oral health. She also works as an instructor in the Dalhousie University School of Dental Hygiene, taking responsibility for second-year dental hygiene students at an outreach pediatric clinic located in an underserved area of her city.

As president of CDHA, Wendy looks forward to continuing her advocacy efforts with other healthcare professionals, the public, and policy makers, highlighting the essential nature of dental hygiene care, and the relationship between oral health and overall health.

“We now know that there are connections between poor oral health and chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, so we must shift our focus to prevention from intervention,” Stewart said in a statement. She also hopes to be able to meet with other members of the dental hygiene community to discuss their visions for the future of the profession.

CDHA is the collective national voice of more than 30,200 dental hygienists in Canada, directly representing 21,000 individual members, including students. Since 1963, CDHA has worked to advance the profession and promote the importance of oral health. Dental hygiene is the sixth largest regulated health profession in Canada with professionals working in a variety of settings, including independent dental hygiene practice, with people of all ages, addressing issues related to oral health. For more information on oral health, visit: www.dentalhygienecanada.ca.