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When º£½ÇÉçÇø dentistry students Mac Chaisson and Japji Randhawa learned about the school’s Access For All (A4A) Initiative — a student-led elective that provides in-community dental care to Métis communities across Alberta — they saw it as an opportunity not just to gain experience providing dental care in rural settings, but to expand their cultural knowledge as well.

“We don't get a lot of exposure and opportunity to really provide dental care to the Indigenous community, to really go into the communities and have direct experiences and interactions with the people from those communities,” says Randhawa. “I think it's really meaningful to our education as dental professionals.”

“There are so many programs available to you when you get into dental school, but I really liked the mission of this program,” says Chaisson. “Also just the opportunity to really get some hands-on experience, helping people and delivering dentistry for free.”

Each year through Access for All, dentistry and dental hygiene students run three, five-day clinics in rural communities across Alberta. At each clinic, they provide care for up to 100 patients and deliver roughly $50,000 in dental services.

The students who take part in the program come from a wide range of backgrounds and lived experiences, explains Paulette Dahlseide, Program Lead with the Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program. What’s most important, she says, is their openness to learning.

The initiative was created in 2019, when a group of dentistry students sought to increase access to care in rural Northern Canadian communities. Today, it’s run in partnership with the Otpemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta (MNA), providing dental care to underserved communities.

Although A4A is still student-led and organized, the focus of the initiative shifted in 2022, thanks to the vision of three Métis health professionals: dental hygienist Paulette Dahlseide (MSc ‘24, DH ‘94), dentist Dr. Suzanne Depledge (BSc, DMD 2000, MBA 2018) and Reagan Bartel (BScN ‘04, MPH ‘19), director of health for the MNA. The women identified an opportunity for joining with the student initiative to better support Métis oral health needs and priorities.

“Many patients in rural Indigenous communities lack access to care for many reasons,” says Depledge, who, in addition to acting as a project lead for A4A, serves as the associate chair for learner advocacy and well-being in the º£½ÇÉçÇø Mike Petryk School of Dentistry.

In general, Depledge explains, there is a huge need for dental care in rural areas. But for Métis citizens — who don’t receive coverage under the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program — the need is even greater.

“This is actually filling a gap that is not really well known or recognized,” she says, adding that many of the patients A4A serves have gone years without dental care, and may feel intimidated about getting back in the dentist’s chair.

A big part of creating that safe space involves building trust and relationships with the communities A4A serves. By working directly with the MNA to coordinate clinic locations and dates, the students provide a truly community-focused experience.

“For Métis people, our government has long held that Métis self determination is directly linked to improved Métis health outcomes; this approach views self-determination not just as an inherent, sovereign Indigenous and political right, but as a critical determinant of health,” says Dahlseide.

“The co-creative genius of a community based, clinical and cultural elective that is grounded in Métis community values, knowledge, and priorities, being both Métis government and student-led, is transforming oral healthcare experiential education and improving the face of culturally safe oral healthcare for tomorrow.”

Although the student-led A4A community clinics run for five days each, the work that goes into each clinic expands well beyond that timeframe, starting with care and relationship-building. As a result, the impact of each clinic also extends well after.

“When we go into a community, it’s never just about setting up a clinic. Care begins long before the first patient arrives — with conversations, friendships, and the trust that comes from being invited in,” says Depledge.

“Our success comes from those relationships. Over eight programs, word spread from family to family that this was a place where people felt welcome. The feedback we hear isn’t just about dental care — it’s about being part of something built together with our partners.”

The need for high quality care is only one half of the objectives of this partnership, explains Bartel, “Through our partnership with A4A we’re not only meeting the needs of Métis families, we’re also shaping the next generation of oral health professionals. By grounding their learning in trauma-informed, person-centered care with cultural humility, students leave better prepared and more compassionate, setting them up to better serve all communities.”

Bartel continues highlighting that “equity in oral health care means more than access to services. It means preparing providers to meet people where they are, with humility and respect. By engaging students in community programs, we ensure they understand self-determination and culturally grounded care, creating a more equitable system for Métis Citizens and all Albertans.”

During a five-day trip, students set up a functional dental office in a community space, such as a gymnasium or hall. They begin with an opening circle and join in community meals and cultural activities like nature walks or jigging — experiences that build both cultural awareness and trust with community members.

“Earning that trust was a really neat process, because sometimes you'll have a patient that you'll do one thing on early in the week and then there's way more work to do, so you'll work on them throughout the week,” says Chaisson.

“Seeing how grateful patients are and how much more comfortable they are with you at the end of the week, gives me hope that maybe after our program is done, our patients will go see somebody else because they feel more comfortable now.”

After attending their first A4A outreach trips in the 2024/25 school year, Chaisson and Randhawa are eagerly anticipating the trips they’re helping to organize this year, as senior co-chairs on the student executive team.

“I feel like Access for All has been one of the most incredible parts of my dental education in the last 4 years. I've learned so many great lessons from the individuals I've had the opportunity to interact with,” says Randhawa. “The biggest thing that I've learned is providing that culturally sensitive care, being respectful and really taking the time to listen and establish that trust with patients who may necessarily not have had the best experience with dentists in the past.”

“It's nice that you get to give back to somebody and that there's no expectation for them to give anything back to you other than just chatting with them. I really love that,” adds Chaisson.

The Access for All program is made possible through the partnership between the º£½ÇÉçÇø and The Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta, as well as recent funding from Health Canada.