N.W.T. dental patients who may have been exposed to infections want to see improved care

Dental patients in the Beaufort Delta who may have been exposed to infection by visiting dental teams last spring say they deserve access to better care.

Joshua Oliktoak is the mayor of Ulukhaktok and one of several people in the community who were advised to get tested for several infectious diseases last week.

Oliktoak said the hamlet of over 400 people receives dental visits once every two to three months. But it can be difficult to get a spot, as appointments tend to fill up very fast.

He said he and his two grandchildren saw a dentist in the spring. He said it seemed like a regular dental visit — until they received the health advisory recommending testing.

"We had to get blood work done," he said. "[We are] trying not to worry about it until we get the results."

Last week, the territory's chief public health officer advised some people in the Beaufort Delta to get tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C because dental equipment used in the spring across the region was not properly sanitized.

Along with Ulukhaktok, some patients from the communities of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour also received the advisory. These individuals accessed dental care in March or April.

Public health said in its advisory that "the risk of exposure to infections is very low," and that an investigation is underway. 

But Oliktoak said that dental teams should undergo better screenings before treating patients so incidents like this don't happen.

Dental conditions need to be fixed across the Delta

Fort McPherson resident Jessica Francis is also among those affected by the infection notice. She said it's just one example of the subpar dental service she and her family have experienced over the last few years. 

Francis and her three children were seen by a dental team that visited the community in April. It was the first time they were able to see a dentist in almost four years.

"We hadn't been seen since 2020. Any time the dental team was in the community, we had to be put on a waitlist, and then never got called," she explained.

She said the team that served her this spring seemed disorganized.

"Their [dental] light wasn't working, so they had to use their phone lights as flashlights to look in the mouth," she said. 

Francis says she is also frustrated about the communication around the advisory, as she learned about the dental advisory through social media posts. Her family wasn't directly notified of the risk of infection by staff at her local health centre until Thursday — two days after the official notice went out.

"The dental conditions need to be fixed across the Delta," she said.

CBC News reached out to N.W.T. Health Minister Lesa Semmler to ask how the government is working to incentivize and attract dentists to cater to smaller communities effectively. She was not available for an interview by deadline.