About the College of Denturists of Ontario

RHPA(1991) - Denturism Act(1991) - Bylaws
Mission Statement
Mandate and Objectives
Governance Policy
Discipline Hearings
Council Meetings
Council Members
History of the College of Denturists of Ontario

RHPA(1991) - Denturism Act(1991) - Bylaws

 Click on the following links to view the documents:

Regulated Health Professions Act - 1991

Denturism Act - 1991

College of Denturists of Ontario's By-Laws

Mission Statement

"The mission of the College of Denturists of Ontario is to regulate, govern and develop the profession while serving the public interest."

Mandate and Objectives

Under the Regulated Health Professions Act, the duty of each College is to serve and protect the public interest by following the objects of the legislation. The objects of the College of Denturists are:

1. To regulate the practice of Denturism and to govern the members in accordance with the Health Professions Act, this Code, the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, and the regulations and bylaws.
2. To develop, establish and maintain programs and standards of qualifications for persons to be issued certificates of registration.
3. To develop, establish and maintain programs and standards of practice to assure the quality of the practice of the profession.
4. To develop, establish and maintain standards of knowledge and skill and programs to promote continuing competence among the members.
5. To develop, establish and maintain standards of professional ethics for the members.
6. To develop, establish and maintain programs to assist individuals to exercise their rights under the Code, and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
7. To administer the Denturism Act, 1991, and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, as it relates to the profession and to perform the other duties and exercise the other powers that are imposed or conferred on the College.
8. To consider any other objects relating to human health care that the Council considers desirable.

Governance Policy

 The Governance Policy Manual has been prepared based on the Carver Policy Governance Model for non-profit organizations. It has been adapted to recognize those aspects of the Council’s role which legislation requires it to fulfill directly and the aspects of the day to day operations of the College that it delegates to the Registrar.

Click here to view the Governance Policy Manual

In approving the Governance Policy, Council recognizes that it is not yet in full compliance with the policies set out here. It plans to work hard to bring itself into compliance.

Discipline Hearings

Discipline Hearing dates and locations will be posted as they are scheduled. Please check back for upcoming information.

Council Meetings

The Council meets three to four times per year to fulfill the mandate of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, (RHPA). Such meetings are open to the public, as are the Council meetings of all other regulated health professions.

Upcoming Council Meetings:

56th Meeting of Council
Friday June 19th, 2009
9:00 a.m.


57th Meeting of Council
Friday September 18th, 2009
9:00 a.m.


58th Meeting of Council
Friday December 11th, 2009
9:00 a.m.

If you wish to attend a meeting of the Council, please advise the CDO office (416) 925-6331 / toll-free 1-888-236-4326 / email:info@denturists-cdo.com to reserve space.

The College of Denturists of Ontario is a member of the Federation of Regulatory Health Colleges of Ontario.

The Council receives reports from the Statutory Committees and ratifies the decisions taken by the Executive Committee between Council Meetings.

Council Members

As required by the legislation, the Council is composed of at least twelve members, at least five but no more than seven persons, whom are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Elections to Council and the various committees of the College are conducted at the Annual General Meeting in June of each year.

The current composition of the Council is as follows:

History of the College of Denturists of Ontario

The College of Denturists of Ontario is the regulatory body which governs the profession of denturism in the province, confirms that Denturism is a recognized, self-governing and independent health profession, regulated by the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Denturism Act, 1991. Denturists are one of 21 health care professions recognized as self-regulating in the province of Ontario.

The College of Denturists of Ontario, formerly known as the Governing Board of Denture Therapists, is the regulatory body that oversees the profession of Denturism in the Province of Ontario.

Denture Therapy was originally recognized as a health profession in Ontario in 1974. At that time the Governing Board was established in order to carry out many of the tasks that the Draft Health Practitioners Bill, 1998 sets out as the duties of the Councils created therein.

In 1991, the government of Ontario passed the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) which sought to unify the governance of the self-regulated health professionals, to better define the scope of practice and to ensure public representation on the boards charged with protecting the public interest.

When the government of Ontario introduced this legislation, over 100 health professions sought to be included in the regulations. For this reason, the controlled act model was introduced. The risk of harm by the professional activity and the benefit to the patient by performance of the same were assessed in order to identify which of the professions should be covered by the legislation. When the RHPA was passed, 21 health professions, including Dentistry, Denturism, Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology, were cited for inclusion.

Dentistry, Denturism and Dental Hygiene share some controlled acts yet the government recognized that each profession should be treated independently and that each College should govern their members autonomously according to the defined scope of practice of the profession.

Amongst other things, the spirit of the RHPA promotes a patient's right to choose the appropriate health care provider and ensures that this choice can be made from qualified and accountable professionals. The Act is designed to ensure professional development and continued competence in order to improve access to health care for all Ontarians.

Since 1974, the profession of Denturism has experienced a tremendous evolution. The knowledge, skill and judgment of the professional Denturist have permitted patients the opportunity to receive quality treatment from denture specialists, thereby ensuring higher levels of patient satisfaction, quality of care and fair and reasonable access to that care.