Recent health advisory draws attention to state of dental equipment in N.W.T.

A dentist who travels to N.W.T. communities for work says the territory needs to do a better job maintaining its equipment in those communities. 

A recent advisory of possible infection from dental visits in the Beaufort Delta linked the situation to equipment that "was not properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized as per standard procedures." 

While the risk of infection remains "very low," the office of the chief public health officer recommends patients who received dental care at certain clinics and on certain dates last spring get tested for HIV, hep B and C. Those who received services where no dental instruments were used are not considered to be at risk.

It's not clear whether the incident stems from an equipment malfunction or user error. The office of the chief public health officer declined to comment, saying there was an ongoing investigation. 

No dental contracts, but 'one-off' visits 

Dr. Pirjo Friedman works for Adam Dental, based in Yellowknife, and has travelled to offer dental service to N.W.T. communities for 13 years. 

She says sterilization is crucial to carrying out dental services in the communities. Instruments are sterilized after every procedure, she said. Most of the communities she visits in the Dehcho and Sahtu have sterilizers, but she's previously had to bring her own. 

"If ever there was a problem, we'd get another one by flight," she said. "If that was not possible, we'd simply have to leave." 

CBC News has asked the Department of Health and Social Services whether the communities mentioned in the advisory have sterilizers. 

Friedman says other equipment issues are outstanding and one of the factors contributing to difficulties getting consistent dental services in the communities. 

"To have better equipment, better maintenance — that would probably be easier to get dentists to go there," she said. 

The availability of dental services got worse during the pandemic and when the contracts for dental services in the regions expired. 

While there have been no formal contracts to offer dental services in communities this year, there have still been visits. 

"On a few occasions over the past year, we have requested that a dental clinic visit a community to provide services to alleviate backlog," wrote Andrew Wind, manager of communications for the Department of Health and Social Services, in an email. "These trips were completed under the terms of the expired contracts. These are considered one-offs, only occurring on a case-by-case basis." 

Without regular visits, Friedman says she's noticed "there is quite a deterioration with the condition of the teeth." 

Maintenance and repairs coming

The territory is working to address that situation.

In July, it issued a tender to assess and repair dental equipment in the Dehcho, Sahtu and Beaufort Delta regions. 

According to OpenNWT, the territory issued two contracts in September for maintenance and repairs, to Advanced Medical Solutions and Henry Schein Canada, for $279,760 and $151,800, respectively. 

Dental care visits in remote N.W.T. communities are funded by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and administered by the territorial government. 

"We are working closely with ISC to better equip the community dental rooms, and more clearly defining contract clauses to allow more flexibility to the dental providers," said Wind. 

He also said the department would issue new dental service contracts once the equipment maintenance and repairs are complete.