Dene National Chief George Mackenzie, shown in 2024, said children in particular face challenges in their education due to dental pain.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Leaders of two prominent Indigenous organizations in the Northwest Territories are urging the federal and territorial governments to restore and bolster dental care, an essential service that has become far less accessible for people in remote communities in recent years.
Dene National Chief George Mackenzie said in an interview that many of the people he represents are suffering from untreated dental issues, leading to chronic pain, infection and loss of productivity.
“Children in particular face challenges in their education due to dental pain, and overall community health indicators have deteriorated,” said Mr. Mackenzie, who is also the Northwest Territories Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations.
“We are calling for immediate action from the federal government and the territorial government to improve access to dental care.”
His comments follow a Globe and Mail story last month that documented an erosion of dental-care access in the territory. Seven remote communities of the 32 outside of Yellowknife have not had a dentist visit in six years or more. Another seven haven’t had an in-community dental clinic in more than two years. Residents in fly-in communities are having to travel thousands of kilometres for appointments. Others, particularly elders or parents with child-care pressures, can’t travel and have gone for years without access.
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Before the pandemic, most of the 23,000 residents outside of the territory’s capital had some access to care closer to home. In recent years, however, dentists, who used to visit communities on a regular basis, have stopped bidding on contracts. And clinics that once operated in regional hubs – such as in Norman Wells and Inuvik – have closed.
Erwin Elias, the leader of an Inuvik-based organization that represents about 7,500 Inuvialuit (the Inuit of the Western Arctic), said the impacts from a lack of access to dental care are affecting people’s overall well-being and trust in the health system.
“Access to dental care remains a significant challenge for Inuvialuit, particularly in remote communities where service is not provided and is dependent on independent providers,” Mr. Elias, chair and chief executive officer of the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. (IRC), said in an e-mailed statement. Gaps in local service, he said, can create barriers related to continuity of care and trust.
IRC said in a statement that its staff member who helps people navigate the health care system regularly hears concerns from people requiring denture care, “including teeth being removed and dentures fitted during a single medical travel visit, with limited opportunity for healing time or follow‑up adjustments.”
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Governments have been wrangling over responsibilities in dental care. The federal government, under its non-insured health benefits (NIHB) program, provides dental coverage for eligible First Nations and Inuit clients. This includes paying dental providers for services during community visits, and covering travel costs for those who need treatment. The territory co-ordinates the logistics of travel and visiting clinics.
An NIHB agreement between the federal and territorial governments had expired in March, 2025. Indigenous Services Canada, the federal department that works with partners on programs for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, said a new one was signed last month. ISC said the new agreement doesn’t include details on dental coverage or services. It said discussions with the NWT over the provision of dental services are “ongoing.”
ISC spent $11.1-million on NWT dental travel in the fiscal year ending in 2025 – up nearly tenfold from six years earlier.
The Globe’s reporting has found a system under pressure. According to dentists in the territory, key issues include lower dental fee rates in the NIHB program, and inadequate or poorly maintained equipment, along with a lack of dental spaces in communities.
Dental clinics in several regional hubs, such as Inuvik, have closed in recent years. As a result, people must spend days travelling to capital cities such as Yellowknife, or further to Edmonton or Whitehorse for treatment.
This month, the Inuvik Public Health Centre, which offers health information and referrals, said staffing issues mean it needs to cut some services. In a Facebook post, it said it doesn’t have the capacity to do dental referrals, and that people should book appointments in Yellowknife or Whitehorse directly.
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The territory said in a statement that part of the new agreement supports travel and accommodation costs to allow dentists to access NWT communities. It said it continues to work with ISC on issues related to dental-services delivery.
In the e-mailed statement, the territory’s Health Minister, Lesa Semmler, said she hopes to see “continued federal investment in dental services in small and remote communities, including supports that help those communities maintain the equipment and infrastructure needed to deliver care.”
ISC said it is working with the territory and that one key challenge is a shortage of dentists. In an e-mail, ISC spokesperson Jennifer Cooper said it “recognizes the challenges many people face because of limited in-community dental services in recent years.”
Ms. Cooper said ISC is supporting the territory to establish community inventories of dental equipment and has provided direct funding for a dental consultant to help with the resumption of in-community services. ISC doesn’t have a time frame for when these services will resume.
She also said that the funding of dental equipment, infrastructure and maintenance of this “are not eligible NIHB expenses.” (In previous years, the federal government has on occasion funded new equipment.)
Dentists have proposed solutions to improve access, such as aligning NIHB dental fee rates with other plans. They say investing in new equipment and dental spaces in communities, to bring care closer to home, is better for patients and more cost effective for governments.
In Inuvik, the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. said it is currently working on longer-term improvements to dental access. Inuvik, the NWT’s second-largest community by population, is the hub for the Beaufort Delta region.
A recent feasibility study by IRC recommended establishing a clinic in the town that should include a travel dental team, IRC said.
Mr. Mackenzie, who works in Yellowknife, said growth in international tourism, related to aurora viewing, is putting further strain on the system. Hotels at capacity mean some residents who travel for medical and dental reasons have nowhere to stay. “It’s causing a major problem for our dental care,” he said. “In some cases, the patient has to cancel because there’s no availability of hotels in Yellowknife.”
He is advocating for more dental professionals in communities, re-establishing travelling clinics, bolstering both preventative and restorative services and ensuring children have better access to routine check-ups and emergency dental care.