Saskatchewan · College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan

How to respond to a CDSS complaint

A complaint to the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan is not a hearing and not a finding — it is the start of a process under The Dental Disciplines Act, 1997, run by the Professional Conduct Committee. The single most useful thing to know is that most complaints are resolved by that committee without ever reaching a discipline hearing, and how you respond in the first few weeks does more to shape the outcome than almost anything that follows.

Who regulates you, and under what law

In Saskatchewan, dentists are regulated by the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CDSS) under The Dental Disciplines Act, 1997 — the same Act that also governs dental hygienists, assistants, therapists, technicians and denturists through their own bodies. The College licenses dentists and, in the public interest, investigates and disciplines them.

Complaints are handled by the College’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC), which investigates every complaint, and — where a matter is serious — the separate Discipline Committee, which holds hearings. Unlike British Columbia, Saskatchewan has not replaced its statute: the Act and this two-committee structure remain in force.

Who can complain, and how a matter starts

A complaint may come from a member of the public, an employer, another health professional, another College, or another dentist — and concerns raised by third-party payers or insurers are handled through the same process. Complaints are made in writing to the Registrar.

It is worth knowing what actually generates complaints in Saskatchewan. In CDSS’s own reporting, the single largest category is advertising violations, ahead of clinical-care concerns — a reminder that a dentist can attract a complaint through the business of practice, not only the dentistry itself. The College can also proceed against a former member, provided a complaint reaches the PCC within two years of the dentist ceasing to be licensed in the province.

What happens after a complaint is filed

The Registrar refers the complaint to the Professional Conduct Committee, which investigates. You will be told of the complaint and given the opportunity to respond. The PCC gathers the relevant material — the dental record, radiographs, correspondence, and, where relevant, advertising — and forms a view on how the matter should be resolved.

Under section 29(3) of the Act, the PCC then chooses from a defined menu: recommend to the Discipline Committee that it hear a formal complaint; recommend no further action; refer the matter to mediation (only where it concerns only the complainant and you, and you both agree); require you to appear before the PCC; or resolve it by a Consent to Conditions Agreement. Most complaints end here, not at a hearing.

How your response is read

A response to the Professional Conduct Committee is not a formality and it is not a chat. It becomes part of the record, it can shape whether a formal complaint is recommended, and it is read for one thing above all: whether you understand the concern.

The responses that go badly are defensive, blame the patient or the complainant, or minimise the issue. The responses that go well are factual, grounded in the record as it was written at the time, and show genuine insight. And a specific warning for Saskatchewan: the case law here is blunt that failing to engage with the PCC is itself professional misconduct — a dentist has been found guilty on that ground alone, quite apart from the original concern.

The Consent to Conditions Agreement

Saskatchewan has a distinctive and valuable resolution tool: the Consent to Conditions Agreement (CCA). It allows a matter to be resolved by agreement between you and the PCC, on terms that may include undertakings, education, or conditions on your practice, without a discipline hearing.

Two features make it important. First, a CCA is confidential — the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has confirmed that a CCA is protected by settlement privilege and cannot be compelled into a civil lawsuit against you. Second, the details of a CCA or of the PCC’s investigation are deliberately kept out of the written report to the Discipline Committee, so that a resolution attempt cannot prejudice a later hearing panel if the matter does not settle. Whether a CCA is right for you is a legal judgement to make with counsel.

What can happen to your licence meanwhile

In most cases you continue to practise while a complaint is dealt with. But the Act contains an interim power: under section 32, your licence can be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation where that is necessary to protect the public, before any hearing has taken place.

That step is reserved for the more serious matters — typically those touching patient safety, impairment, or sexual boundaries. If you receive notice of a proposed suspension, treat it as urgent and get legal representation the same day.

What to do this week

Contact your professional liability insurer and instruct a regulatory lawyer before you write anything. Diarise the deadline in the Registrar’s letter. Preserve the dental record exactly as it stands — retrospective changes are detectable and convert a clinical concern into an honesty concern. Say nothing to the complainant.

Then start the work that actually helps: an honest account of what happened, and targeted learning in the area of concern — begun now rather than after conditions are proposed. It guarantees nothing, but the PCC’s own tools, including the Consent to Conditions Agreement, are built around exactly this kind of demonstrated change.

This guide is general information for dentists in Saskatchewan and is not legal advice. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan. Regulatory processes change and every case turns on its own facts — contact your professional liability insurer and a regulatory lawyer about your own matter, and confirm current requirements with CDSS. No course or programme can guarantee the outcome of a regulatory process. Last updated July 14, 2026.