Pratyusha Kondath landed in Toronto this summer season from India as a foreign-trained dentist by the Federal Expert Employee (FSW) program underneath the Categorical Entry system. She is likely one of the 865 dental professionals Canada welcomed from January to August this yr, in keeping with figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The overall contains dentists, dental hygienists, and therapists. Nonetheless, dentists make up the most important share of this group, as demand for dental professionals is predicted to rise. Between 2022 and 2031, Canada is projected to have 13,500 job openings for dentists, whereas solely 10,500 job seekers are anticipated (from faculty leavers, immigration, and mobility). Job openings are anticipated to come up from retirements (44%) and employment development (43%).
The Canadian Occupational Projections System (COPS) predicts that dentists will face labour shortages on the nationwide degree over the subsequent decade.
Thus far this yr, IRCC has reported that 740 immigrant dentists arrived in Canada by July, marking a greater than 60 per cent enhance from final yr’s consumption.
“Presently, I’m working in an orthodontic clinic to achieve priceless expertise and familiarize myself with the native healthcare system earlier than starting the licensing course of,” Kondath stated. “I additionally write about matters associated to dentistry and healthcare.”
Pathways for immigration
Kondath thought of a number of choices earlier than deciding to immigrate. She in the end dominated out approaching a scholar visa and likewise dismissed making use of by the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
There are numerous methods for foreign-trained dentists to immigrate to Canada. Apart from the FSW program, which permits immigrants to dwell and work wherever in Canada, dentists can apply by the PNP, which targets expert employees who can contribute to a selected province or territory’s financial system. An alternative choice is the Canadian Expertise Class (CEC), which is good for these with current Canadian work expertise who want to search everlasting residence.
Dentists may apply by the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), which is designed to assist smaller communities by offering a pathway to everlasting residence for expert employees prepared to dwell and work in taking part communities corresponding to North Bay, Sudbury, Moose Jaw, or Vernon.
Document development in PNP: Ontario attracts extra dentists
In 2024, a file variety of 115 dentists immigrated to Canada by the PNP by July. Knowledge from Ontario signifies that the province has welcomed 120 dentists this yr, a pointy enhance in comparison with 45 dentists in 2023, 15 in 2022, and simply 5 in 2021.
“I used to be open to each the PNP and Categorical Entry, however Categorical Entry labored out for me. It was much less time-consuming and aligned higher with my {qualifications} {and professional} background,” Kondath stated.
Dental hygienists and therapists
In distinction to the inflow of dentists, there was no vital enhance within the variety of dental hygienists and therapists immigrating to Canada. From 2019, when about 40 dental hygienists and therapists arrived, to 2024, solely 25 have immigrated as of August.
IRCC defined that dental hygienists will not be eligible for the healthcare class since this occupation has not been recognized as experiencing a structural scarcity from 2022 to 2031 in keeping with COPS.
Do the numbers replicate a booming dental sector?
The upper consumption of foreign-trained dentists and different dental professionals is an indication of Canada’s booming dental sector, which has even surpassed pre-pandemic ranges. In early October, Statistics Canada reported that the dental sector had grown by $851 million in comparison with 2019, a yr when the worldwide financial system confronted vital challenges.
Regardless of this development, not all provinces have benefitted equally. In 2020, all provinces noticed declines in job ranges, however by 2023, provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador (+21.4%), Alberta (+13.7%), and Ontario (+13.1%) reported vital will increase in dental workplace jobs. In the meantime, Nunavut (-22.6%) and the Northwest Territories (-11.8%) proceed to wrestle.
These modifications replicate Canada’s evolving labour market. In 2023, IRCC launched category-based choice for Categorical Entry to raised align with the nation’s altering financial wants. The classes embody Science, Expertise, Engineering, and Math (STEM), French-language proficiency, healthcare occupations, commerce occupations, transport occupations, and agriculture and agri-food sectors.
“Since category-based choice launched in 2023, the healthcare class has prioritized persistent labour shortages by enabling IRCC to ship invites to candidates with work expertise in eligible occupations,” IRCC stated.
Choices relating to classes are based mostly on a labour market evaluation.
Notice to readers: Oral Well being Group acquired two datasets from IRCC. One highlighted the overall variety of dental professionals who arrived in Canada by July 2024, together with their immigration pathways. The second dataset detailed immigration traits throughout provinces, revealing that Ontario had the best Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) consumption at 120. Nonetheless, no additional provincial comparisons have been made to keep away from potential inaccuracies.
