Stress and misfortune are ubiquitous and, at some point, everyone experiences feelings related to unhappiness.

Many people experience transient depression when they have difficulties or problems in their lives, and may undergo temporary feelings of self-blame, guilt, sadness, disappointment, and emptiness.

These outcomes are normal, and they usually pass after a short time. This is not the case with depressive illness.

Epidemiology of depression

Depression is recognized by a depressed mood and or lack of interest in most things, along with other symptoms (all lasting at least two weeks). These symptoms include lethargy, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, problems focusing or concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, and/or suicidal ideation.

Depression is often implicated as the key emotion behind suicide, and over 60 per cent of persons who commit suicide are identified as having major depression.

According to both Health Canada and Statistics Canada, approximately 8 per cent of adult Canadians will experience major depression or anxiety at some point in their lives, and around 5 per cent will do so in a given year. This mental health illness persists and is one of Canada’s fastest-rising diagnoses. Between 1994 and 2004, visits for depression and anxiety made to office-based doctors almost doubled.

Currently, most health professionals consider depression a chronic illness that requires long-term treatment, much like diabetes or high blood pressure.

Furthermore, they are able to recognize signs of depression in different populations, including children and adults. Some researchers, such as Aaron Beck, have classified depression into three stages of severity: mild, moderate, and severe.

Types of depression

In mild cases, the depression varies; the individual may indicate that some of the joy or zest in their life has disappeared. However, they can function and overcome the feelings of depression through some or much of the day. There may be an increased tendency to cry.

While some individuals experience one episode of depression, most have more than one depressive episode throughout their life. Effective diagnosis and treatment can help curb the number of episodes.

In moderate cases, the depression is more persistent. The individual enjoys fewer things and there is a decreased enjoyment of normal activities or satisfaction within activities.

The individual may state that they feel bored most of the time and experience feelings of self-doubt and self-reproach (i.e., the feeling that one has failed and let others down).

With moderate depression, the person may feel a broad sense of being ?blue,? and they may cry easily or much of the time.

In severe depression, the person may be totally immobilized. In these cases, the person may stop eating or engaging in normal activities of daily living. They may withdraw to bed and refuse to leave their room. Moreover, the depression often needs immediate medical attention because this immobility can lead to death.

Hopelessness and rigidity

There are other emotional and cognitive factors that compose an emotional profile for depression. For example, diminished self-esteem most often leads to hopelessness. In addition, not only is the person in a condition that seems uncorrectable, they may also have a chronic illness (e.g., arthritis, multiple sclerosis).

Rigidity is often demonstrated in the thinking of suicidal individuals. Often, others view the person contemplating suicide as relatively inflexible and unable to shift roles. The individual may view their participation in activities in terms of success or failure, not in terms of enjoying the process or the opportunities for socialization.

No single factor causes depression and the etiology of depression is poorly understood. However, the following factors may make some people more prone than others to react to a loss or failure with clinical depression: specific, distressing life events; a biological imbalance in the brain (i.e., serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters); and psychological factors, like a negative or pessimistic view of life.

For more information on depression, visit the Canadian Mental Health Association.

In fact, It’s estimated that depression will rank second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020.

Economic losses associated with worker depression include absence from work, short-term disability costs, workers? compensation claims, safety incidents, employee turnover, and on-the-job impairment.

Various researchers have attempted to estimate absence costs associated with depression, and some have found that persons with depression were absent more and experienced significant work cutback when compared to individuals with no psychiatric problems.

These findings also determined that workers with depression experienced between 1.5 and 2.3 more short-term disability days than workers without depression over a 30-day period.

Mental illness is widely acknowledged to be a leading cause of workplace absenteeism and a significant factor of general work-related illness. In 2000 alone, it is estimated that depressive disorders ranked second among the most common reasons for visiting a physician in Canada, after high blood pressure.

Studies that have measured improvements in psychosocial constraints at the workplace have noted steep declines of between 9 per cent and 55 per cent in symptoms related to mental health and illness absences.

Several factors have been identified as barriers to return-to-work after a mental illness, including individual and organizational barriers to care.

At the individual level, stigma, lack of motivation to seek care, ignorance about treatment, lack of confidence with their physicians, deficiencies in primary care physicians training, and health care system shortcomings have been identified as barriers.

In terms of physician training, some general practitioners may lack the necessary interviewing skills to diagnose and treat depression, while many others may lack the time to fully evaluate and respond to depression with injured workers. Some physicians may not feel comfortable dealing with mental health issues and are more comfortable treating the medical aspects of the individual’s complaints. Moreover, their focus for treatment may be directed at physical conditions.

Maintaining productivity at work and home is the main difficulty that a depressed person faces, and the challenges facing health care professionals are to sort through the many factors underlying a person’s illness, identify the patient’s needs, and develop a treatment and return to work (RTW) plan accordingly.

For more information on mental health and work, visit Mental Health Works or the Canadian Mental Health Association website.

In Canada, chiropractic is one of the largest health care professions. Practitioners utilize a manual approach to health care that allows for patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.

Specifically, chiropractors assess patients for disorders related to the central and peripheral nervous systems, pelvis, joints of the upper and lower limbs, and spinal cord.

Like other health professionals, chiropractors also take a social and physical history of their patients and are able to provide a diagnosis for the patient’s presenting condition(s) and implement a thorough treatment plan.

In addition, chiropractors are trained to ?recommend therapeutic exercise, to utilize other non-invasive therapies, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary, and lifestyle counselling.?

Approximately 6,000 chiropractors practice across the country and four and a half million Canadians use the services of a chiropractor each year.

Education and training

Chiropractic is a regulated health profession recognized by jurisdictions in all Canadian provinces. There are two accredited chiropractic educational facilities in Canada: the chiropractic program at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and the chiropractic program at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) in Toronto. Each year, approximately 200 graduates matriculate from these schools. In addition, there are 16 schools in the United States.

In addition to courses and academic preparation, chiropractic education requires clinical, hands-on training and experience under the supervision of licensed practitioners. This experience includes taking patient histories, diagnosis, treatment, and familiarization with the referral protocols.

The multi-disciplinary faculties at both Canadian schools offer a wide range of clinical opportunities and engage students with other experts in the fields of health sciences, medicine, psychology, and chiropractic.

Admission requirements

According to the Canadian Chiropractic Association, approximately 90 per cent of students entering chiropractic school in Canada have completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree. There are no course requirements for admission at the CMCC; however, students are encouraged to take courses in biology, psychology, anatomy, physical education, and chemistry.

At CMCC, the minimum academic requirement for admission is a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 grade point average scale from at least three full years (15 full-year courses or 90 credit hours) of undergraduate university study in Canada.

Where do chiropractors work?

Chiropractors may work in primary care dealing with patients that have low back pain. Furthermore, they may work with patients that have other medical conditions and chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by placing emphasis on the musculoskeletal aspects associated with the condition.

Some chiropractors work in a palliative setting, providing relief to patients with chronic conditions. By focusing on and attempting to treat the physical elements of chronic ailments, the aim of chiropractic may be to improve the general well-being of the patient.

Salaries and demographic information

Median salary per annum (2008)

Source: Adapted from Payscale

For more information regarding naturopathic medicine, please visit the Canadian Chiropractic Association website.

Naturopathic doctors are primary care practitioners in North America. They are trained in the basic and medical sciences and able to diagnosis and treat patients using natural therapeutics.

According to the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, it is mixture of the art and science of treating and preventing diseases using natural therapies, including clinical nutrition, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and botanical medicine.

Education and training

Currently, four Canadian provinces have formal licensing and educational requirements: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Regulation is pending in Alberta and Nova Scotia and expected to be finalized in 2009. The remaining provinces are also pursing regulation.

In these provinces, naturopathic doctors must pass boards as set by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners and after having fulfilled their academic and clinical training at a school approved by the council on Naturopathic Medical Education.

Admission requirements

Currently, only the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto is accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME).

The remaining accredited schools are in the United States, including The National College of Natural Medicine (Portland, OR); Bastyr University (Seattle, WA); the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine (Bridgeport, CT); and Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (Tempe, AZ).

The Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster, BC has been given candidacy for accreditation by the CNME.

According to the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine website, applicants will be considered for the Naturopathic Medicine (ND) program if they have completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

Students applying to the ND program will require six credits of general biology, three credits of biochemistry, six credits of general chemistry with a laboratory component, three credits of organic chemistry with a laboratory component, and six credits of introductory psychology and humanities electives (i.e., anthropology, women’s studies, literature, sociology, etc.) respectively.

The average cumulative GPA of accepted students has been 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

Where do naturopathic doctors work?

Many NDs set up private practices of their own or join clinics with other health care practitioners. Alternatively, some NDs work in research, are employed by public or private organizations, or work in areas of policy or for the government.

As with other health professions, practitioners of naturopathy establish rapport with their patients and their success depends on individual ability and experience.

Salaries and demographic information

The median salary of naturopathic doctors tends to fall in the range of family physicians, and those having a busy practice can make between $80,000 and $90,000 per year. In Alberta, incomes for naturopathic doctors may vary considerably but, in general, are comparable to those of other family doctors.

For more information regarding naturopathic medicine, please visit The Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors website.

Worldwide, brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability. Each year, at least 1.5 million Americans sustain a TBI; this means an average of more than 4,000 individuals daily.

While one million of those patients are treated and released annually from hospital emergency rooms, more than 80,000 are left with lifelong disabilities, and TBI also claims more than 50,000 lives.

Although it seems society is more safety-conscious than ever, the number of TBIs among children may surprise you. For those less than 17 years of age, there are over 50,000 traumatic brain injury-associated hospitalizations in the United States each year. And among children under 14, over 2,500 deaths and over 400,000 emergency department visits occur annually.

In Canada, TBI is the leading cause of death and disability for people under the age of 45, and the Ontario Brain Injury Association reports that every year over 3,000 Ontario children sustain a TBI. In Toronto alone, over 1,700 children are hospitalized annually. Accordingly, annual hospital costs related to TBI admissions in Ontario are $164.4 million.

Although TBI in children and adolescents is common, they are less likely to be admitted to rehabilitation centers as in-patients compared to adults. Still, around 25 per cent of children and youth who sustain brain injury require rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

Causes of TBI

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the leading causes of TBI are falls (28 per cent); motor vehicle collisions (20 per cent); struck by or against events (19 per cent), and assaults (11 per cent).

Disease sequlae

Anatomical changes from head injury may or may not be visible to the naked eye, depending on the exact mechanism and forces involved. Clinical symptoms vary greatly and in severity, making treatment difficult.

TBI injuries are typically classified as open or closed. Open injuries involve intrusion of the skull and underlying tissue in the brain (for example, bullets or knife punctures are considered open injuries). Conversely, closed injuries happen when the head is struck, strikes an object, or is shaken violently, causing rapid brain acceleration and deceleration. Nerves, blood vessels, and brain tissue can shear or be torn. This can cause concussions, contusions, intracerebral or subarachnoid bleeding, or hemorrhaging.

Memory and communication problems are also variable across children; the problems depend on an individual’s coping strategies, pre-injury ability, and the extent of the brain injury.

The effects of the TBI are generally greatest immediately following the injury. As brain swelling decreases, contusions may cause temporary damage. These types of damage are usually temporary and function is normally restored. Scientists and research tends to have difficulty accurately predicting the extent of long-term problems in the first weeks following traumatic brain injury.

One positive aspect of treating pediatric TBI is that children’s brains are more malleable than those of adults and therefore have greater flexibility. Consequently, children who suffer TBI have a better prognosis than adults with similar damage.

Part of this process may include writing a letter of intent, or purpose letter. The following is an introductory guide to writing this crucial letter, the admission committee’s window into your achievements, experiences, and personality.

In fact, some schools state that this is the most important part of the application process, so you should place a considerable amount of effort into perfecting your letter.

First, as a potential graduate student in the program, be sure to indicate your goals, purpose, or career plans. This indicates to the selection committee and your supervisor that you have thought about this thoroughly and extensively.

Once you have an idea of what you’d like to do, you should specify your area of interest. For example, if you are applying for graduate work in psychology, It’s a good idea to state your preferences using the language of the field.

Next, you might like to take the opportunity to explain how your experiences (i.e., school, work, extracurricular activities) demonstrate your preparation to enter a specific program. For instance, a student applying for a doctoral studies program in molecular biology may wish to highlight their previous academic courses, theses, as well as their relevant work experience.

Similar to vetting applicants for a job, committee members want students who demonstrate a genuine interest in their school and can describe how their particular skills are mutually inclusive.

Overall, It’s very important to stress how your experiences have helped you prepare for graduate school because, unlike undergraduate studies where students are trained to take in information, graduate students contribute original research.

Conclude your letter with why you want to attend a particular school and why it fits well with your research and professional goals as a graduate student and beyond. Program directors and admission personnel want to hear about your goals for after You’re done your studies, and this gives you an excellent opportunity to illustrate that you have been thinking seriously about your future career.

Equally important is that you frame a research question, or at the very least have an idea of the type of research you are interested in pursuing. To help with this, you could look at faculty profiles or even meet with those interested in graduate supervision. Such mentorship can provide great insight and feedback for your letter and strengthen your overall application.

Once you have a draft completed, have a friend read it and provide you with some comments. It’s important that your letter is organized and chronological. Using creative language is appropriate and can help you stand out; however, exercise caution if you are going to use humour, or use it very sparingly.

Overall, the letter of intent is your tool to show potential schools of your relevant experiences and interest in starting graduate school. Having a well-prepared and coherent letter exhibits not only your serious commitment to the program, but also to your future career.

There are numerous websites and professional services that provide students with feedback regarding their letter, and two guides you may find useful are from the universities of Concordia and Waterloo.

For more information on graduate programs at AU, check out the online calendar here.

This rapid proliferation of cells from one cell to a growing mass of cancer cells is often called a tumour. Under normal conditions, the growth and division of normal cells is tightly controlled by the activity of certain genes. However, when these genes are faulty or when the mechanisms controlling the activity of these genes is damaged, this balance is compromised.

Moreover, this results in uncontrollable growth and division of cells; in other words, these mutated cells become cancerous. Cancer is caused by mutations in two broad classes of genes: oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes.

These two classes of genes are very important in controlling the cell cycle. The genes themselves do not cause cancer; in contrast, when the genes function normally, genes prevent cancer. It is when some genes become damaged that they can malfunction and cause cancer.

In some tumours, the tumour cells stay in the same place and the tumour stops growing before it becomes very large, often because it simply runs out of space to grow. These are called benign tumours. Under normal conditions, benign tumours are not dangerous. We all have benign tumours, such as moles and warts.

Conversely, some cells are able to invade the surrounding tissue and spread into nearby organs, where they can cause serious and eventually fatal damage. These are called malignant tumours. In many malignant tumours, as the cells spread, they cross blood vessels and may metastasize.

For instance, if they spread into the blood vessel, they get carried around the body and may eventually get lodged in a smaller blood vessel in another part of the body. As a result, the tumour divides and grows again eventually forming a new tumour, called secondary tumours.

Angiogenesis is another characteristic of cancer. Angiogenesis is the establishment of new blood vessels to provide vasculature for the tumour. This provides the tumour with more oxygen and nutrients so that it is able to support its rapid growth. Several therapeutic approaches are targeting the cessation of cell growth by cutting off the nutritional supply to tumour cells. Conventional methods include chemotherapy and this currently plays a significant role in cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy has played a major role in cancer treatment for over 50 years. The cure for cancer is elusive, but chemotherapy has the capacity to slow the progression of cancer, hence prolonging survival and enhancing the quality of life.

Chemotherapy is the treatment for cancer with cytotoxic (or cell killing) drugs. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent, or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms. Ultimately, chemotherapeutic modalities work by impeding cell division of rapidly proliferating cancer cells.

One of the main advantages of chemotherapy is that, unlike radiation therapy, which treats only the area of the body exposed to the radiation, chemotherapy treats the entire body. As a result, any cells that have escaped from the original cancer are treated.

Chemotherapy is useful in treating leukemia and lymphoma that are not confined to one part of the body. Other forms of cancer that can be treated fairly effectively with chemotherapy include colorectal, lung, and breast cancer.

In addition, chemotherapeutic drugs are very effective in slowing down the spread of cancer. Chemotherapy is also inexpensive and provides affordable treatment for cancer patients in need of long-term chemotherapeutic medications. Cancer cells become resistant to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs over time, and drug resistance is a significant challenge to researchers in developing successful treatment chemotherapy approaches to treating cancer.

For more information on cancer and treatments, visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s website.

This universal coverage is provided to all Canadians by their provincial health insurance plans. The costs are shared between the provincial and territorial governments and their federal counterpart.

The stage for a publicly funded health care system in Canada was set at the end of the Second World War and realized in 1966 (a period spanning some 20 years) with the implementation of the Medical Care Act. Prior to the creation of a public national health care system, the Canadian federal government, being weary of the political and financial ramifications of a full-scale socialized system, delayed its rollout.

The public health care system’s history can be traced back to Saskatchewan and its then premier, Tommy Douglas. Under his leadership, Saskatchewan introduced the Saskatchewan Hospitalization Act in 1947. This legislation established the foundation of creating public health care in the province and the country.

Tommy Douglas’s driving force in creating such a system was his belief that finances should not be an obstacle to accessing health services. Other provinces followed suit in the coming years, introducing similar proposals for a publicly funded health care system. By 1957, the Federal government had enacted the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act to provide funding to provinces to cover specified hospital and diagnostic services.

By the end of the 1960s, what was once argued as a distant possibility had become reality. Through a collaborative effort, the federal government worked with all provinces and various organizations to establish a public health insurance system. In a progression of steps that spanned more than 20 years, the blueprints of a financially sustainable and universally accessible system were established.

Over time, the Canada Health Act was created to replace older legislation and reaffirm the principles of Medicare. The Act’s principles represent the requirements for a nationally funded public health care system and reflect the values of Canadians.

The history of the foundation of Medicare is one of a long struggle. Medicare was created by avoiding financial insolvency, appeasing opposing interests, countless compromises, respecting public opinion for a single-payer insurance plan, and manoeuvring through political jurisdictions and boundaries.

Public health care was created at a time in history when both the public and providers united to provide a single payer system to all Canadians. Its fundamental principles, basic framework of organization, and financing have remained the same over time. Remarkably, this health care system, developed over the past 40 years, has responded both to significant changes, including external pressures for privatization, and to the changing needs and possibilities of health care services themselves.

Currently, the system is facing a crisis in public confidence over its financial sustainability and service delivery. Declining federal health care transfers and decreased provincial spending have placed additional burdens on the public system.

Opponents continue to argue that a publicly funded health care system is not financially feasible and that a two-tier private undertaking should be established to better meet the needs of individuals. Others disagree, arguing that a publicly funded health system with a single payer has proven to be cost-efficient and has allowed Canada’s health outcomes to be among the world’s best. Moreover, some believe that the current Medicare system is envied and admired worldwide as well as being relied upon by Canadians.

Medicare was founded on the ideas of inclusion, equality, universality, accessibility, and the goal that financial barriers would not be an obstacle to medical care. It represents a distinctive Canadian example of nationalism and social justice, and some in this country consider Medicare to be the most valued and important social program in Canada today.

Feminism is dynamic and about change, about a reorganization of power, confronting stereotypes and challenging the status quo.

In WMST 266, explains course tutor Dr. Arlene Young, ?Students learn how women have been excluded, or written out, of almost every human activity and learn possibly for the first time about many of the contributions women have made.?

Often, students may enter the course with the idea that feminists are misandrists. Contrary to this belief, Dr. Young states, feminism is more ?than the media tends to portray, and working toward social equity for the genders remains important in Canada and around the world.?

Thinking from Women’s Lives: An Introduction to Women’s Studies (WMST 266) is offered through AU’s Centre for Work and Community Studies, a collection of varying humanities and social science disciplines.

This 3-credit junior-level course is required for students enroled in the University Certificate in Counselling Women, BA Women’s Studies Concentration, and the Women’s Studies Major.

Dr. Young began tutoring the course five years ago and explains that she enjoys the course because she and her students learn a great deal. She explains that ?I learn about women’s and men’s visions for society and their own lives. I also learn about some of their accomplishments, their struggles, and the context of their lives. My understanding grows richer because of them.?

Dr. Young provides timely assistance and advice to students as they tackle complex theoretical topics and vocabulary. Course textbooks include Introducing Women’s Studies and Canadian Woman Studies: An Introductory Reader.

The topics that are introduced and examined by students include feminist theory and research methodology, sexuality, the representation of women in literature, and the media and popular culture.

Other topics include the discourse of violence, power, and social inequity between genders. As scholar Gloria Steinem argues, ?Feminism is, of course, simply the belief in the full social-political equality of human beings, which means that men can be feminists, too.? Supporting social justice and equity is a vision that feminists, and hopefully students of this course, believe is espoused by both women and men.

The course is organized into two major sections. In part one, students learn about women by critically examining the discourse surrounding important issues to women (e.g., sexuality, social inequality, violence and male power) through six units. Moreover, the readings present background information on these topics and place debated topics for discussion.

In part two, students take a closer look at the social construction of gender. There are 11 units in total, and for each unit, students are presented with learning objectives, readings, questions, and a list of recommended readings to supplement their learning.

The course evaluation is composed of two oral quizzes (5% respectively), a short essay test (20%), a research project (35%), and a final essay (35%). The quizzes are based on the readings and enhance the students? understanding of the material and can be helpful in writing the research paper. The course also offers a glossary, a resource that can help with the readings as they present debates regarding this complex topic.

For more information on WMST 266, visit the course homepage here.

Dental hygienists remove deposits from teeth, educate patients on techniques to healthy oral hygiene, and provide preventative and health promotion strategies regarding dental care.

According to the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario, a dental hygienist is an oral health professional who is a registered member of a governing body.

Their responsibilities include clinical therapy, education, administration, and research. Dental hygienists are part of the dental health care team and often work with dentists, dental assistants, and other health care members.

Education and training

Like many health professions, dental hygiene is governed by a provincial regulatory body. Prospective dental hygienists must graduate from a recognized dental hygiene diploma or baccalaureate program in Canada.

Furthermore, they must register with their appropriate provincial licensing body. The law requires dental hygienists practice safely and ethically, and promote the safety and well-being of their patients.

Admission requirements

College Program

Diploma programs are found in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. For a complete listing, visit the CDHA website.

University programs

The following schools have degree programs in dental hygiene: University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and Dalhousie University.

Dalhousie University’s program is a one-year degree completion program.

Students take courses that emphasize and examine oral and clinical science, public health (health promotion), radiography theory and laboratory, human anatomy and physiology, theory of dental hygiene practice, health status assessment, oral histology and pathology, and effective communication. Clinical practical opportunities allow students to apply what they learn from the classroom in a clinical setting.

Students that matriculate at a school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) are permitted to sit for the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board exam.

Conversely, those who graduate from a non-accredited school must first submit their curriculum of study to the CDAC in order to ensure they meet the Commission’s standards, and the student is then allowed to write the national examination.

In both cases, upon successful completion of the examination, applicants can register with their respective provincial licensing college.

Where do dental hygienists work?

Generally, dental hygienists work alongside dentists (general practitioners or specialists) in providing oral care to their patients. With experience and additional training, they may also conduct screening procedures of patients including assessment of oral health conditions, review their oral health history, examine for oral cancer, and perform dental charting.

Dental hygienists are responsible for cleaning teeth (e.g., removing stains and plaque) and the application of fluoride.

They also take and develop radiographs or X-rays, provide oral education to patients, and provide diet and healthy nutritional counselling.

Salaries and demographic information

Dental hygienists earn an average of $24.88 per hour in Canada (Technical Occupations in Dental Health Care, according to the National Occupational Classification), which is above the national average of $18.07.

The employment outlook in this field is considered good and the majority of dental hygienists are women.

In Alberta, their average salary was $69,900 in 2004, while part-time or full-time workers overall earned between $31,800 to $122,200 per year.

For more information regarding a career in dental hygiene, please visit The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association website.