The NSDA’s Suggested Fee Guide for Dental Practitioners is one of the association’s most popular and referred-to resources. Published annually, this spiral-bound booklet lists the technical codes and suggested fees for more than 1,400 commonly performed dental services, providing Nova Scotia’s dentists with a comprehensive suggested framework of procedure costs. The resource is designed to promote fairness, transparency, confidence, and predictability for patients and dentists.

Producing this document (and its sister publication, the Suggested Fee Guide for Dental Specialists) requires significant time and careful attention. The association’s Fee Guide Committee, chaired by former NSDA President, Dr. Nada Haidar, works tirelessly to ensure the information included in each guide is current, thorough, and accurate.

“The committee members are all very devoted and have a lot to offer,” Dr. Haidar tells Nova Scotia Dentist. “Without the hard work of this committee and the NSDA staff, the much-needed Fee Guide would look very different.”

Compiling the information needed for this resource is definitely a group effort! Each year, financial specialists with Impact Economic Consultants survey NSDA members across the province. These surveys are conducted on behalf of the association to gather background information on dental practices in Nova Scotia, which helps determine annual revisions to the Suggested Fee Guide.

Dr. Haidar and fellow Fee Guide Committee members — Drs. Maria Haddad, Scott MacLean, Mark Sutherland, Marco Chiarot, and Stuart MacDonald — then review the collected data on dental practice costs, which determines the suggested increase percentage reflected in the updated guides.

“The resource is generated using the financial data provided from our member dentists who take part in surveys every year,” Dr. Haidar says. “We work with economists who understand the economic climate of our province and who use our dentists’ data. Often, new codes are added and old unused codes are removed.”

When determining adjustments and updates to the guide, the committee relies heavily on the data provided by member dentists. In this way, the guide truly is a cross-province effort, and the Fee Guide Committee could not be more appreciative of Nova Scotia’s dentists.

“Compared to other provinces, we have the best participation in the financial surveys,” Dr. Haidar says. “We are all very grateful that dentists in Nova Scotia take the time to provide their data.”

Unlocking doors with volunteering

A Dalhousie Dentistry alumnus, Dr. Haidar joined the Fee Guide Committee with a longstanding appreciation for her dental colleagues in Nova Scotia. She has been practising in Halifax for 27 years — and has been volunteering with the NSDA for almost that long, too!

“I started volunteering with the NSDA about 26 years ago,” she says. “I appeared on Breakfast Television during Oral Health Month and did the ‘fluoride and the egg’ experiment on television. I was very shy and would not have volunteered, but the dentist I practiced with at the time encouraged me to do it. That started my relationship with the NSDA and I’ve been involved ever since.”

Indeed, this exciting ‘trip outside of the comfort zone’ inspired Dr. Haidar to continue giving back to the dental community, which has proved to be rewarding in many different ways.

“I always say the NSDA connected me with my peers on such an important level,” she says. “I met other dentists, and, with that group and the NSDA staff, I created the best support network a dentist could ever ask for.”

While volunteering is a lot of hard work, in Dr. Haidar’s experience, it has also been a wonderful way to connect with colleagues and expand her personal and professional network.

“My opportunities with the NSDA led me to a presidency in 2019, which opened doors to the dental world outside of Nova Scotia,” she says. “I met many dentists from across Canada and worked with a wonderful Governing Council at the time.”

“If you had asked me 27 years ago, I never would have thought I would ever be an NSDA president,” Dr. Haidar adds. “Being shy, the association is invaluable in getting me out to meetings and social events. I could not have had the rich career I have without it.”