Our results indicate that dental caries and ECC are highly prevalent in this population, with ECC cases having 6.7 more dmft than non-cases.

This study assessed links between racism and oral health outcomes among pregnant Canadian Aboriginal women. Baseline data were analyzed for 541 First Nations (94.6%) and Métis (5.4%) women in an early childhood caries preventive trial conducted in urban and on-reserve communities in Ontario and Manitoba. One-third of participants experienced racism in the past year determined by the Measure of Indigenous Racism Experience. In logistic regressions, outcomes significantly associated with incidents of racism included: wearing dentures, off-reserve dental care, asked to pay for dental services, perceived need for preventive care, flossing more than once daily, having fewer than 21 natural teeth, fear of going to dentist, never received orthodontic treatment and perceived impact of oral conditions on quality of life. In the context of dental care, racism experienced by Aboriginal women can be a barrier to accessing services. Programs and policies should address racism's insidious effects on both mothers' and children's oral health outcomes.

The research confirmed the important role played by dental hygienists in reducing oral health disparities in Canada. However, due to the fragmentation of dental hygiene practice across Canada, a unified voice and cohesive action plan is needed in order for the profession to fully embrace their role.

The Baby Teeth Talk Study (BTT) is a partnership-based research project looking at interventions to prevent early childhood caries (ECC) in First Nations populations in Canada. Community-based researchers (CBRs) conducted preventive and behavioral interventions that targeted expectant mothers and their newborns, over a 3-year period. The work of the CBRs requires a great deal of training and skills to administer the interventions. It also requires a broad set of strategies to meaningfully engage participants to make health-promoting changes in their behavior to prevent ECC in their children. After implementing the intervention, BTT CBRs participated in interviews to explore the strategies they employed to engage participants in the prevention of ECC. CBRs perceived two key strategies as essential for meaningful engagement with BTT participants. First, CBRs indicated that their shared experiences through motherhood, First Nations identity, age, and childhood experience provided a positive foundation for dialog with participants that lead to build trust and rapport. Second, supportive interpersonal and culturally based communication skills of the CBR provided further foundation to engage with participants from a strength-based approach. For example, the CBRs knew how to effectively communicate in ways such as being gentle, non-intrusive, and avoiding any perception of judgment when discussing oral health behavior. In First Nations health research, CBRs can provide an essential link in engaging participants and the community for improvements in health. Researchers should carefully consider characteristics such as shared experience and ability to understand cultural communication styles when hiring CBRs in order to build a solid foundation of trust with research participants.

Many interrelated factors affect the formation of Metis identity including cultural, historical, socio-economic, and political processes (Dunn n.d.). Giraud's work Le Metis canadien: son role dans I'histoire des provinces de I'Ouest, published in 1945, was the first comprehensive scholarly history of the Metis people of western Canada. Eurocentric sentiments influenced the early studies of Metis identity and often assessed Metis social evolution with reference to European societies (Miller 1985). This paper examines Metis identity from the eighteenth century, when the Great Lakes Metis were described as a "people in the process of becoming" (Peterson 1985), to more recently, as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples brings Aboriginal views into perspective, and emphasizes the importance of culture as a defining aspect of a community. The human processes associated with the formation and recognition of Metis identity are dynamic and unique to each community. The literature demonstrates that Metis identity has usually been defined and assigned by non-Metis people and agencies. Originally serving to identify French speaking, mixed descent individuals of the Red River Settlement, this term has evolved to define the descendants of Metis parents residing in very diverse communities throughout Canada today.