Islands Dentist Closes Doors

The Archipelago dental clinic, Clinique Dentaire de l’Archipel, will be closed for an undetermined length of time because the clinic has been unable to recruit a permanent dentist to work on the islands. The Magdalen Islands is an isolated, desolated region of Canada..., there is no doubt of that.

This year will be the first where the ferry between Grindstone and Prince Edward Island, will not be laid up for the two worst months of winter. It will make the twelve hour round trip, twice a week. In keeping the ferry running, the government now will have the right to say the islands are no longer isolated and will probably declare us a class ‘C’ state and remove our isolation pay. Of course in removing that credit, professionals will have even less of a reason to stay on the islands more that six months.

Dental hygienist, Micheline Martel, who is also the administrative management of the clinic which belongs to orthodontist, Sonia Lapointe, explained that the clinic has run it’s course over the past five years with temporary dentists. The last on the long list of dentists to quit was Jessica Kerwin, who left her position in July.

Ms Martel has lodged a request to the Minister of Health and Social Services, for permission to dispense her services as dental hygienist in the absence of a dentist. However, the province is in a state of an electoral campaign and her request has gone unheard. The clinic has approximately 2000 clients on their accounts. Without a dentist, Ms Martel must refer the clinic’s emergency patients to another dental clinic which resides in the area or the regions only hospital.