The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) has opened a public consultation on a draft Standard of Practice for Managing New Patient Requests, with a feedback deadline of June 21, 2026. The proposed standard defines dentists' legal, professional, and ethical obligations when individuals seek to become new patients — in both emergency and non-emergency situations — and marks a significant step in Ontario's broader Access to Care initiative.
As of June 2026, every dentist licensed in Ontario faces a pressing question: under what circumstances can you accept or decline a new patient, and what obligations do you have when someone contacts your practice seeking care? The RCDSO's draft standard provides the clearest framework yet for answering these questions, and the College is actively seeking feedback from the profession before finalizing the rules.
What the Draft Standard Covers
The proposed Managing New Patient Requests Standard addresses two core areas that affect every dental practice in Ontario.
1. Providing Information to Prospective Patients
The draft sets out what information dentists must share when individuals are evaluating whether a practice is right for them. This goes beyond simply answering the phone — it establishes a baseline obligation to provide prospective patients with enough detail to make informed decisions about where to seek dental care.
For practices in Toronto and across the Greater Toronto Area, where patients routinely comparison-shop among dozens of providers within a short radius, this provision formalizes what many practices already do informally. The difference is that under the proposed standard, providing this information would become a professional obligation rather than a marketing choice.
2. Dentist Decision-Making on Patient Acceptance
The more consequential section addresses how dentists make decisions about accepting or declining individuals as patients. Under the draft standard, dentists retain the right to decline new patients in non-emergency situations for legitimate reasons related to their scope of practice or the capacity of the practice — but this discretion operates within defined boundaries.
The standard is designed to balance two competing interests: the professional autonomy of dentists to manage their practice populations and caseloads, and the public's right to access dental care without encountering arbitrary or discriminatory barriers. In practical terms, a specialist practice declining a patient whose needs fall outside its scope would be acceptable. Declining a patient based on a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code would not.
Pro Tip: Review your practice's current intake policies now — before the standard is finalized. If you use screening questions or waitlists, ensure your criteria are documented, applied consistently, and defensible under both the draft standard and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Emergency Care Obligations
The draft standard makes a clear distinction between emergency and non-emergency situations. When someone presents with a dental emergency, the framework for declining care narrows considerably. This aligns with existing professional obligations under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) and the RCDSO's current Code of Ethics, which already establish that dentists have duties to provide emergency care when they are competent to do so.
For GTA practices that receive walk-in emergency requests — particularly those in high-traffic areas of downtown Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, and Scarborough — the proposed standard provides clearer guidance on when refusing emergency care could constitute a breach of professional obligations.
Why This Standard Was Developed Now
The draft standard emerged from the RCDSO's Access to Care Strategic Project, developed by a Working Group that included RCDSO Council members, representatives from each Ontario faculty of dentistry, and subject matter experts. The timing is not coincidental.
Several converging factors have made new patient access a regulatory priority in Ontario:
- Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) expansion: With the CDCP now open to all eligible Canadians regardless of age, millions of previously uninsured individuals are seeking dental care for the first time. Practices must navigate how to handle this influx without discriminating based on insurance type.
- Workforce capacity constraints: The ongoing dental hygienist and assistant shortage across the GTA means many practices are genuinely at capacity, making the distinction between legitimate capacity limitations and arbitrary patient selection more important than ever.
- Demographic shifts: Ontario's population growth, driven by immigration and internal migration, has created pockets of intense demand — particularly in Brampton, Markham, and Vaughan — where patient access to dental care is a growing public concern.
Pro Tip: If your practice is genuinely at capacity, document it. Maintain records of your patient load, appointment availability, and staffing levels. Under the proposed standard, "capacity of the practice" is a legitimate reason to decline new patients — but you should be able to substantiate the claim if ever questioned by the RCDSO.
How to Submit Feedback Before June 21
The RCDSO is accepting feedback from dentists, dental professionals, patients, and the public through a SurveyMonkey questionnaire linked from the RCDSO's Public Consultations page at rcdso.org/en-ca/public-consultations. The College has also published a FAQ document that addresses common questions about the consultation process and the proposed standard's intent.
Ontario dentists — particularly practice owners and those in leadership roles within organized dentistry — are strongly encouraged to review the draft standard in full and provide feedback. Standards of practice carry regulatory weight: once finalized, they define the benchmark against which complaints and disciplinary proceedings are assessed. The time to influence the language is now, not after it takes effect.
The Ontario Dental Association (ODA) has historically provided its membership with analysis and guidance when major RCDSO standards are proposed. Dentists who are ODA members should watch for any advisory the association issues regarding this consultation.
What Happens After the Consultation Closes
After the June 21 deadline, the RCDSO's Working Group will review submitted feedback, potentially revise the draft, and present the final standard to RCDSO Council for approval. Once approved, the standard becomes binding on all Ontario dentists and enforceable through the College's complaints and discipline process.
For practices across Ontario — from solo practitioners in North York to multi-dentist groups in Etobicoke — the practical impact will depend on the final language. But the direction is clear: patient access to dental care is becoming a more explicitly regulated dimension of professional practice in Ontario, and dentists who understand these obligations early will be better positioned to comply without disrupting their operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can Ontario dentists still decline to accept new patients under the proposed RCDSO standard?
Yes. The draft standard enables dentists to decline new patients in non-emergency situations for legitimate reasons related to their scope of practice or the capacity of the practice. However, decisions to decline patients must not be based on discriminatory grounds prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code, and emergency care obligations remain in effect regardless of patient status.
Q: How does the CDCP expansion affect the new patient management standard?
The Canadian Dental Care Plan's expansion to all eligible Canadians regardless of age means millions of newly insured individuals are seeking dental care. The proposed standard provides a framework for managing this increased demand while ensuring that practices do not decline patients solely because they carry CDCP coverage. Insurance type alone would not constitute a legitimate reason for declining a patient under the proposed standard.
Q: What should Ontario dental practices do right now to prepare for this standard?
Review the full draft standard on the RCDSO's Public Consultations page, submit feedback through the SurveyMonkey questionnaire before June 21, 2026, audit your current intake and screening policies for consistency and compliance, and document your practice's capacity constraints if you maintain waitlists or limit new patient acceptance. Proactive preparation now will make compliance straightforward once the standard takes effect.
EBIKO Dental will continue monitoring RCDSO regulatory developments and their implications for Ontario dental practices.