As of Monday Quebec dentists opted out of the provincial health plan and began charging fees to their patients on social assistance and children under ten. The dentists are asking the government for a 48.5% increase in the fees they collect from the provincial government, saying that at the moment the fees they collect don’t even cover their costs for providing the treatments.

Dentists in Quebec earn on average $125,000 per year. Some representatives asked about the action last week say it’s not just motivated by the fact that the health plan only allows them to recover 60% of what they would charge a private health or dental plan; it’s a matter of professional respect. With them asking for almost 50% more than they are earning now, I am led to wonder whether respect and remuneration are listed as synonyms in the dictionary of dental terminology.

Ontario dentists also participate in a similar subsidized health plan. While Quebec dentists find 60% fee recovery offensive, their Ontario counterparts receive only 56%. Still, the average annual salary of an Ontario dentist is $132,000. “[S]ome observers have wondered whether Quebec dentists are trying to use the public system to reach income parity with their Ontario colleagues,” says Gazette health reporter Aaron Derfel.

As of today a government decree is in place forcing dentists to accept the existing government compensation, but negotiations continue. Perhaps Health Minister Couillard should also be examining who sets the private fees for dentists. Conflict of interest may be the polite way to describe the fact that a hand picked committee of dentists sets the norms for dental fees. A mere 60% coverage may be more a problem of fees set too high for even private plans to make dental care affordable - a problem that could easily be remedied by making objective third parties responsible for setting standards, and lowering the rates themselves.

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