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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
ANNUAL RENEWAL
QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT:
2023 ACCESS TO CARE
KEY FINDINGS
June 2023
BACKGROUND
Ontario dentists are required to renew their certicate
of registration with the College each year. The renewal
process includes a mandatory Annual Renewal (AR)
Questionnaire that dentists must complete. The AR
can also be used to collect additional information
about the membership to inform policy decisions and
improve College programs and initiatives.
Beginning in 2021, the AR expanded to include
questions focused on Access to Care. The questions
are intended to better understand member activities
related to Access to Care, inform RCDSO initiatives, and
support strategic objectives to advance Access to Care.
The following report provides a summary of registrants’
responses to Section 5 of the 2023 ARP (Access to
Care) and is divided into four sections:
• Section 1: Summary of Findings
• Section 2: Patient Forms of Payment
• Section 3: Accepting New Patients on Government
Sponsored Programs
• Section 4: Volunteering
DATA AND LIMITATIONS
The following analysis provides a summary of the AR
data collected related to Access to Care during the
2022 calendar year. The report includes data from
all registered members (N=10,694) as responses were
mandatory. 94.7% of dentists in Ontario reported that
they treat patients within a clinical capacity.
Data presented within the report is preliminary, and
requires further analysis and validation. Limitations that
may impact the accuracy of results include that data
are self-reported. Additionally, some questions have
asked registrants to provide estimates, which may
further impact accuracy.
AR results require consideration against external data
on access to oral health care in Ontario. RCDSO staff
will continue to collect and analyze data to form a
clear picture of issues related to access to care in
Ontario. Council will be apprised of any further analysis
of the information that has been collected to date.
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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
•
SECTION 1
2023 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The following bullets summarize key ndings from
the questionnaire.
•
Dentis ts report that most of their patients (58%)
pay for services using private insurance, while
13% pay using government sponsored dental plans.
•
The m ajority of dentists (75%) report that their
primary practice accepts new patients on
government sponsored dental plans.
•
Dentis ts report that there is variation in which
government programs are accepted among their
primary practices. For example, dentists reported
that nearly 68% of the primary practices where they
work accept new patients on Healthy Smiles Ontario,
yet only 50% of practices accept new patients on
Ontario Works. Detailed ndings about specic
government sponsored programs can be found
on page 5.
Dentis ts also reported information about volunteer
activities. Reponses indicate that 15% of registrants
provide volunteer dentistry services. Of the members
that volunteer, 12% do so in their local communities.
This initial analysis suggests that the majority of
dentists accept new patients on government sponsored
dental plans. Additional inquiry is needed to better
understand the rationale for practices that do not,
and the impact on patient experience, particularly for
marginalized and/or low-income Ontarians reliant on
government sponsored programs. Further analysis is
also needed to reconcile this data against other data
sources that indicate challenges in patients accessing
care.
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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
SECTION 2
PATIENT FORMS OF PAYMENT
The AR inquired about the ways in which patients
pay for treatment. Dentists were asked to provide an
estimate of the percentage of patients treated that fall
within the following categories:
•
P ay Using Private Insurance
•
P ay Using Public Insurance (government sponsored
programs)
•
P ay Out-of-Pocket (without insurance)
The average percentage of patients treated within
each category was calculated based on the estimates
provided by registrants (N=10,694). Key ndings
include:
•
Dentis ts report that on average, the majority of their
patients (58%) pay using private insurance.
•
Dentis ts report that on average, 13% of their patients
pay a government sponsored dental plan.
•
Dentis ts report that on average, 18% of their patients
pay out-of-pocket (without Insurance).
Fig: 1: Patient Forms of Payment
How many patients (estimated percentage) are treated within the
following categories?
58%
Pay Using Private
Insurance
13%
Pay Using Public
Insurance
18%
Pay Out-of-Pocket
(without insurance)
All dentists in Ontario
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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
•
0 10 20 30
40 50 60
70 80
SECTION 3
ACCEPTING PATIENTS
ON PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Dentists in Ontario were asked if they accept payments from patients on government-sponsored dental plans (N=10,694).
Fig: 2: Accepting Patients on Public Programs
Does the primary practice where you work accept payment from patients
on government sponsored dental plans?
Ye s
74.9%
Not Applicable
10.2%
No
14.9%
Note: Not Applicable refers to members of the profession who do not treat patients in a clinical capacity.
Responses indicate that 75% of dentists self-report
that their primary practice accepts patients on
government sponsored programs.
Members of the profession were also asked if the
primary practice where they work accepts payments
from new patients who rely on the following
government-sponsored dental plans: Healthy Smiles
Ontario (HSO), Ontario Disability Support Program
(ODSP), Non-Insured Health Benets for Indigenous
and Inuit People (NIHB), Ontario Works (OW) and
the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP).
Highlights from the 2023 Annual Renewal include:
•
Half (50%) of dentists report that their primary
practice accepts new patients on OW (Fig. 4).
•
Members report that 60% of their primary practices
accept new patients who rely on NIHB to access
treatment (Fig. 3).
•
32.6% of respondents stated that the primary clinic
where they work accepts new patients on OSDCP
(Fig.5), the lowest number compared to other
government sponsored programs captured within
the AR.
Detailed ndings from the 2023 AR can be seen
below:
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Fig. 3: Does the primary practice where
you work accept new patients who rely
on Healthy Smiles Ontario (HSO)?
No
10.7%
Not Applicable
21.6%
Yes
67.7%
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Not Applicable (Fig. 3-7) refers to members of the profession who work within a non-clinical dentistry capacity.
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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
Fig. 4: Does the primary practice where
you work accept new patients who rely
on Ontario Disability Support Program
(ODSP)?
• •
No
14.2%
Not Applicable
21.0%
Yes
64.9%
Fig. 5: Does the primary practice where
you work accept new patients who rely
on Non-Insured Health Benets for First
Nations and Inuit (NIHB)?
No
14.7%
Not Applicable
25.1%
Yes
60.3%
Fig. 6: Does the primary practice where
you work accept new patients who rely
on Ontario Works (OW)?
No
26.1%
Not Applicable
23.6%
Yes
50.3%
Fig. 7: Does the primary practice where
you work accept new patients who rely
on Ontario Senior Dental Care Program
(OSDC)?
No
31.9%
Not Applicable
35.4%
Yes
32.7%
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
Registrants were asked for information regarding additional programs their primary practice accepts for new
patients. A sample of responses include:
Ontario Health Insurance Plan
•
Ontario Cleft Lip and Palate/Craniofacial Dental Program
•
Children’s Aid Services
•
Interim Canada Dental Plan
•
The Canadian Armed Forces Dental Plan
Green Door Project (Green Shield Canada)
•
Federal Interim Health Benet Program
•
Thames Valley Children’s Center
•
Essential Health and Social Supports Program
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ANNUAL RENEWAL QUESTIONNAIRE REPORT: 2023 ACCESS TO CARE KEY FINDINGSRCDSO
11/23_5485
SECTION 4
VOLUNTEERING
Dentists were asked about the provision of volunteer
dentistry services. Key ndings include:
•
15% of dentists in Ontario report that they provide
volunteer services. Of the dentists that report
providing volunteer services:
– 12% do so in their local communities.
– 1.7% r eport volunteering outside of their local
communities within Ontario.
– 0.5% v olunteer outside of their local communities
within Canada.
– 4% r eport volunteering internationally.
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Dentists may volunteer in more than one location.