We have a little bit of a different perspective on this. Certainly it's not a human health resources numbers issue with dental hygiene. As I said, there are 26,000 dental hygienists in Canada, so there are a lot of dental hygienists who wish to practise in all different areas.
The issue for dental hygiene has been awareness of what we do and what we can do, and with the rise of self-regulation, meaning dental hygienists are self-regulated, we have the opportunity now to work interprofessionally, and we want to work interprofessionally in public health, in hospitals, and in interprofessional groups.
The issue is informing the people who are the decision-makers that we are a great group to include in these programs. What I outlined in my oral presentation had to do with family violence, because 50% of injuries associated with family violence occur in the head, neck, and face. Who better to recognize something than your trusted dental hygienist, who you see on a friendly basis in more cases than not?
As I said, we are very proud to have been invited to the minister's round table.