Mandatory Reporting

Mandatory reporting legally requires a dentist to provide information about themselves, another dentist or another regulated health professional to the RCDSO, other relevant regulators or authorities. It is in the interest of public safety that this critical information is brought forward as soon as possible. Dentists must comply with their legal, professional and ethical reporting obligations.

The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) sets out a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a corporation for failure to make certain types of mandatory reports.

What are dentists legally required to report?

Sexual abuse of patients

If you have reasonable grounds, obtained in the course of practising the profession, to believe that another regulated health practitioner has sexually abused a patient, you must:

• File a report with the registrar of the practitioner’s regulatory college. You can find contact information for Ontario's health regulatory Colleges here.
• File a report within 30 days, or immediately if you reasonably believe that the other practitioner will continue to sexually abuse the patient or will sexually abuse other patients.
• Make reasonable efforts to advise the patient of your duty to report. You may only disclose the patient’s name with the patient’s written consent.
• Include your name and an explanation of the alleged sexual abuse in the report. It cannot be anonymous.

Self-reporting

Dentists are required to disclose to RCDSO:

• Findings of professional negligence or malpractice
• Findings of guilt for any offences
• Charges for any offences
• Bail conditions or restrictions and any subsequent variations
• Professional disciplinary, professional misconduct, or incompetence findings by another regulatory or licensing body in any jurisdiction

When must you disclose these findings to the College?

• As soon as possible
• Do not wait until filling out the College’s online annual licence renewal form to disclose this information
• Send the applicable information to mandatoryreport@rcdso.org

Professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity

Dentists who terminate the employment or revoke, suspend or impose restrictions on the privileges of a regulated health professional for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity must:

• File a written report with the registrar of that practitioner’s regulatory college within 30 days. You can find contact information for Ontario's health regulatory Colleges here.
• Include the name of the informant, the practitioner and a summary of the concern.

This required duty to report professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity also:

• Applies to a partnership, associateship or health professional corporation that is dissolved for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity.
• Exists even if the regulated health professional resigns before their employment is terminated or they voluntarily relinquish their privileges.

Child Abuse and Neglect

• Dentists have a duty to immediately report to a children's aid society suspected abuse or risk of harm to a child .
• The definition of child abuse under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) includes:
  • Physical or emotional harm arising from neglect;
  • Abandonment;
  • Failure to supervise and protect;
  • Sexual exploitation and molestation; and
  • Failure to obtain required medical or other treatment.

  Reportable Diseases

  Dentists are legally obligated to report a suspected or confirmed case of a reportable communicable disease to their local medical officer of health.

  • Must be submitted as soon as possible after the initial suspicion
  • Must contain the patient’s:
    • name and address;
    • date of birth and sex; and
    • the onset date of their symptoms.

    The Health Protection and Promotion Act's list of reportable diseases include:

    • Hepatitis;
    • Tuberculosis; and
    • Whooping cough.

    Long-term Care and Retirement Homes

    A dentist must immediately report any of the following suspicions related to a resident of a nursing home or retirement home facility:

    • Improper or incompetent treatment or care
    • Abuse or neglect
    • Unlawful conduct
    • Misuse or misappropriation of a resident’s money or of funding provided to a licensee

    You must immediately report the suspicion and related information to:

    • The long-term care facility’s director; or
    • The registrar of the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority

    Controlled Drugs and Substances

    If a dentist finds out that a controlled substance has been lost or stolen from their office, they must:

    • Report the loss or theft to the Office of Controlled Substances, Federal Minister of Health , within 10 days.

    Concerns About Risk of Serious Bodily Harm or Death

    Health professionals, including dentists, are permitted to disclose personal health information of patients where they believe it is necessary to eliminate or reduce the risk of serious bodily harm to someone or death. This could be to prevent risk of harm or death to the patient or to other people.

    If dentists share personal health information to eliminate or reduce a risk of bodily harm or death, they are protected from legal liability provided they have acted reasonably and in good faith.

    Whether a dentist decides to disclose personal health information in order to reduce a risk of harm is a matter of the dentist’s professional judgment in light of the specific circumstances. The College recommends that dentists consult legal counsel when faced with this decision. For more information on this type of disclosure, please see the guidance published by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

    Serious Adverse Events (Tier I/Tier II)

    All dentists providing sedation or general anesthesia must monitor and report any serious adverse event (Tier One Event) or other incident (Tier Two Event) to the RCDSO

    Privacy Breaches

    Privacy breach refers to any unauthorized collection, use, disclosure, retention or disposal of personal health information. Under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) health information custodians, including dentists, must report certain privacy breaches to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC). The IPC Guidelines specify seven categories of breaches that must be reported to the IPC.

    As of January 1, 2018, health information custodians are also required to provide the IPC with an annual report that tracks privacy breach statistics. More information can be found here.

    As of January 1, 2024, the IPC has the discretion to issue monetary penalties as part of its enforcement powers for violations of PHIPA.

    Penalties are up to a maximum of $50,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations. More information can be found here.

    Education

    Oral Healthcare Professionals and Mandatory Reporting

    We partnered with the regulatory colleges representing dental hygienists, denturists and dental technologists to create an interactive learning module outlining your legal and professional duty to report certain concerns about other healthcare professionals.