Starting and running a small business comes with both exciting opportunities and unique challenges. This session will provide practical strategies for laying a strong foundation through thoughtful planning and effective structuring. Participants will gain insights into key considerations for business setup, creating a roadmap for sustainable growth, and setting realistic expectations for success. Designed for professionals considering incorporating a new dental hygiene practice or looking to strengthen an existing practice, this presentation will help align their vision with actionable steps for long-term impact.

Clemens Rettich CMP MBA PDP BMus

Clemens is an organizational consultant living on Vancouver Island and working across Canada. As a partner in the CPA advisory firm of Beaton Rettich Waters he focuses on aligning and integrating people, processes, and systems to realize improvements in organizational performance. Areas of core practice include organizational design, organizational behaviour, Lean management, and communication.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Gustavson School of Business in the University of Victoria, Clemens lectures on leadership and organisational behaviour.

Clemens has over 25 years of experience working in and for private business, municipal, First Nations and not-for-profit organizations.

As an active volunteer in the community, Clemens is a director with the board of Thrive Victoria, and has been a mentor in the University of Victoria mentorship programme for many years. He is also a director on the board of the Kosapsum Development Corporation of the Esquimalt Nation.

Clemens’ private obsessions are languages (including music), behaviours (human and systems), books (science fiction, philosophy, history, poetry), walking, and the perfect Martini.

High-performing organizations are built on strong teams, engaged employees, and transparent operations. This session explores proven practices to strengthen workplace culture and drive sustainable results. Possible areas of focus include the foundations of healthy teams—such as psychological safety, candor, and agency—as well as effective conflict management and feedback strategies. We will also examine the role of onboarding, coaching, and operational transparency in creating a thriving work environment, along with frameworks like the Good Jobs Strategy. Participants will leave with practical tools to improve collaboration, enhance employee satisfaction, and boost overall productivity.

Please join us for this interactive seminar designed to review oral lesions and dental therapeutics that oral care providers commonly encounter in a community practice. This seminar will reinforce the chair-side techniques for head & neck and intra-oral examinations. Techniques for written and photo documentation of oral lesions will also be discussed. The visual presentation and hands-on demonstrations of adjunctive evaluation tools will definitely make these topics interesting and educational.

Topics include common benign oral lesions, the uncommon but need-to-know lesions, and microbial infections other than yeast.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn to consolidate the clinical technique of performing an extra-oral and intra-oral soft tissue examination.
• Learn to diagnose and treat non-odontogenic oral lesions commonly identified in a community setting.
• Recognize oral lesions/entities that should be red flagged and discuss proper initial management.
• Improve your record keeping for both patient care and integrity of your work.

Samson Ng, BSc(Pharm), DMD, MSc, FRCD(C), FDSRCSEd, Dip. ABOM., Dip. ABOMP is a Canadian and American Board certified oral medicine specialist and oral & maxillofacial pathologist. He is currently appointed as clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, and staff at the Department of Dentistry, and research clinician at the Department of Otolaryngology of Vancouver General Hospital.

Dr. Ng also operates a private practice providing comprehensive oral medicine and pathology consultations, with a special interest in oral mucosal diseases, temporomandibular joint disorders, and advanced diagnostic imaging.

90 Minute Practical Session

A hands-on refresher designed to reinforce core skills and best practices in infection prevention and safety protocols.