Membership Frequently Asked Questions

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For a complete listing of CDHA membership types, please click on the link: Types of CDHA Membership. If you need further assistance deciding, please contact CDHA at 1-800-267-5235.

Membership fees depend on your province of residence and current license/registration status. For a complete listing of CDHA membership fees, please click on the link: CDHA Membership Pricing & Details.

In many provinces, CDHA membership is a dual association membership (includes both national and provincial association fees). CDHA fees remain the same across the country; the difference in price comes from varying provincial association fees.

You can renew your membership by signing in to your CDHA profile at cdha.ca/renew, by mailing or faxing your application directly to CDHA or by calling CDHA at 1-800-267-5235

You can also sign up to have your membership autorenew on an annual basis. You can select a one-time payment (September 20) or a two monthly installment payment (August 20 and September 20). Just set it and forget it! If you’d like to enroll, simply update your online profile at cdha.ca/profile or call CDHA at 1-800-267-5235.

You can join CDHA online, by phone, mail or fax in your application to CDHA directly. Join or Renew Your CDHA Membership Today.

The complimentary Graduated Student membership category is available to current CDHA Student members who have either a) recently passed the National Dental Hygiene Certification Exam (NDHCE) within the current calendar year; or b) graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program in Quebec within the current calendar year and are registering for licensure with OHDQ. If you passed the NDHCE or graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program in Quebec in the previous calendar year, you are no longer eligible for the Graduated Student membership so please contact CDHA by email at info@cdha.ca or by phone at 1-800-267-5235 to upgrade your account to Active (Practising).

Go to cdha.ca/profile. Your Student membership must be current in order to upgrade to this complimentary membership category. If your membership has expired, select "RENEW NOW". Once your membership is active, select "Convert to Graduated Student". You will need your NDHCB Candidate ID #, the number used to write your exam and verify your account, to finalize the upgrade process. If you have not renewed your Student membership, you will be prompted to renew it first and will then be able to proceed to upgrade to this membership category using the steps above.

If you graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program in Quebec and will be registering for licensure with OHDQ, to upgrade your CDHA Student membership to Graduated Student membership please send an email request to info@cdha.ca and include the following information: CDHA member #, first/last name, and your telephone number. CDHA will process your upgrade within 2 business days and you will receive email confirmation once it has been completed.

Yes. At CDHA, we have a Retired membership category. Click here for more information.

The membership year runs from November 1 to October 31. If your membership includes professional liability insurance, the policy runs from January 1 to December 31.

If you pay mid-year, no matter your province/territory, your insurance policy start date will be your purchase date.

You should renew your membership by October 31. Renewals can be processed early starting in August.

Fees may differ from one province/territory to another. Please contact CDHA at 1-800-267-5235 for more information or assistance.

If you plan on maintaining an active licence with your regulatory body (CDHO, CDHM etc.), you are required to provide proof of Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) regardless of whether you will actually be practising or not. This insurance is included with Active (practising) CDHA membership. If you do not plan on maintaining an active (practising) licence with your regulatory body, you can either renew as a Support member to maintain your CDHA membership benefits (excluding Professional Liability Insurance) or wait until you go back to work to renew as an Active member. Please contact your provincial regulatory body to see what the requirements are if you decide not to renew a practising licence.

Membership fees are non-refundable, non-transferable, and are not pro-rated.

Your membership documents will be emailed within 2 business days after your payment has been processed. If you do not receive them, please check your spam or junk folder.

You can download your membership card, receipt, and professional liability insurance certificate (if applicable) from your online profile at cdha.ca/profile. The system will also automatically generate the corresponding documents and you will receive them via email within 2 business days of joining or renewing your membership.

You can update your address through your online profile. If you prefer, send in your change of address by mail to the CDHA office, or by email to info@cdha.ca. You may also contact us by phone at 1-800-267-5235.

Please submit your name change documentation by email to info@cdha.ca or by mail (CDHA, 1122 Wellington St W., Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Y7)
It is important that you maintain your membership with CDHA with the same name that you maintain your license. 

If you have been a member in the past, we still have your profile in our system. If your email address or other contact information has changed, please call CDHA at 1-800-267-5235 or email info@cdha.ca to have your account updated.

A membership number is assigned to every member of CDHA. This unique number helps us identify you as a member and quickly locate you in our database.

One of the benefits of the CDHA Active (practising) or Graduated Student membership category is access to professional liability insurance policy for registered Dental Hygienists. This policy provides coverage for dental hygienists who are domiciled in Canada. The professional liability insurance (PLI) policy is not available to members domiciled outside of Canada.

If you have any insurance-related questions, including about the eligibility requirements for coverage, please contact BMS at 1-855-318-6557 or cdha.insurance@bmsgroup.com

As an Active (practising), or Graduated Student member of CDHA, you receive $2,000,000 per claim/$5,000,000 per policy period in Professional Liability Insurance. You have the option to upgrade your insurance coverage at an additional cost.

CDHA's PLI program is designed specifically for dental hygienists. The PLI includes regulatory legal defence coverage, criminal defence costs reimbursement, loss-of-earnings and more. View more insurance program details.

For an additional cost, you can increase your PLI limit from $2,000,000 per claim to $3,000,000 or $5,000,000 per claim. View full insurance program details.

Some employers, contracts, or certain courses require the additional amount of coverage. Please contact BMS at 1-855-318-6557 or cdha.insurance@bmsgroup.com to learn more.

A mental health issue, an illness or an accident could mean not being able to work for quite a while. What would you do without that income? Bills won't wait. In fact, you could even have extra expenses while you're recovering. CDHA long-term disability (LTD) insurance for dental hygienists is a safety net to ensure your long-term financial plan stays healthy by replacing your income while you are recovering. Securian Canada offers LTD insurance, as well as other personal insurance products for CDHA members, at a group rate. Click here for more information.

Professional liability insurance (PLI) is automatically included with CDHA Active (Practising) membership and protects against claims alleging malpractice, error or omission in providing or failing to provide dental hygiene services. CDHA’s PLI program is provided through our broker, BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd. (BMS). Click here for more information.

Good news! As of January 1, 2024, the Territorial Limit of the PLI policy for CDHA members is now worldwide. This means that your PLI policy will extend to cover you for insured claims based on services you deliver as a dental hygienist when working or volunteering outside of Canada, where these claims are brought forward against you and defended in Canada. Please note that for coverage to apply, you must abide by the regulatory requirements in all relevant jurisdictions, including the regulatory licensing requirements in the jurisdiction where you will be delivering your services, if there are specific requirements governing the practice of dental hygiene in that area. BMS also recommends that you determine if there are any local insurance requirements where you are delivering your services. Your professional liability insurance policy under the CDHA program may not meet these and it may be advisable to purchase local insurance coverage. If you have any questions, please contact our broker, BMS at cdha.insurance@bmsgroup.com

The CDHA PLI automatically includes Extended Reporting Period Coverage (ERP). This is for PLI claims that are first discovered and filed after you have retired and/or discontinued practice with respect to acts, errors and omissions alleged or committed while you were actively practicing and prior to the expiry of your last active policy.

Please refer to the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials’ website for information regarding the registration process for dental hygienists in Canada.

Some content above has been developed in partnership with CDHA’s insurance broker, BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd. (BMS). It is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute broker advice. Please speak with a broker at BMS if you have any questions about your insurance coverage or your specific insurance needs.