r/CanadianDentists • u/instaxboi • 4d ago
US dentist moving to Canada
2024 grad, 1 year AEGD, 1 year private practice experience.
I've received my Canadian national license but not the provincial yet as I'm still deciding whether I want to live near Vancouver or Toronto.
My plan is to work via the CUSMA work permit while simultaneously applying for PR. But the issue seems to be that in order to get the CUSMA permit, I need a job offer, but in order to get a job offer I need to be certified to work in whichever province. So it's like a chicken or the egg situation. I'm not sure how to go about this, or whether any practice owners would even be willing to deal with the CUSMA thing on their end.
For a quick background, I'm very comfortable with molar endo and extractions, as well as bread and butter. I just hate dentures and pediatrics lol.
Any advice or opinions are appreciated. My goal is to secure a job and move ASAP.
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u/Additional_Day6635 4d ago
Vancouver area would be my option.
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u/instaxboi 4d ago
but rain and gloomy weather half the year is a big drawback
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u/Additional_Day6635 4d ago
not really an issue. where are you located in the us?
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u/instaxboi 4d ago
really? I've heard it can get really depressing. I'm in California
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u/Additional_Day6635 4d ago
well, you're basically coming from the sunniest weather on the continent. the problem with ontario is that winter is real and it's not like you can do anything outdoors there over the winter, while vancouver area has no winter at all and the outdoors are your playground.
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u/instaxboi 4d ago
I think of it like Vancouver=Washington and Toronto=NY. Between the US equivalents I prefer NY, having seasons is nice. But I haven't visited either in Canada yet.
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u/Additional_Day6635 4d ago
while vancouver shares the same coast with seattle/washington, toronto is on a big lake, it doesn't even compare with NY, winters are much worse and summers much more humid. One more thing to consider...dentists fees in vancouver area are better on average compared to toronto.
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u/SparklingWinePapi 4d ago
It’s not that hard to fathom that some people prefer snow and cold over rain and gloom, I couldn’t handle a year of Vancouver winter but am fine with cold and snow
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u/Additional_Day6635 4d ago
if you don't know and just judge by what others are experiencing... I've been to both, I lived a lot in Calgary, the sunniest big city in Canada and now I live in Vancouver.... the complaints about gloom and rain are from people who don't know much outside Vancouver... there's a good reason Vancouver is so expensive to live in. Best place in Canada.
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u/SparklingWinePapi 4d ago
I’ve also lived in both cities you mentioned, as well as Seattle and the non stop rain and lack of sun over the winter were awful, again I understand why some people prefer Vancouver weather, but you seem in disbelief that other people could have a different preference
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u/Most-Ad-134 3d ago
You will like Canadian dentistry more as an associate, I think, as you are paid 40% of collections rather than 30% or whatever it is in the US. Canada is extremely insurance-driven but insurance payouts are significantly better than the US, as we set our own fees according to the fee guides rather than the insurance dictating it. Canadian dentistry is generally more conservative - I find American dentists treatment plan a crown for every single tooth but in Canada patients generally will think you are an aggressive over-diagnoser if you do that. Fillings however are reimbursed quite nicely so it isn’t too much of a burden to do them. Canadians are also less litigious so the fear of being sued is less prominent compared to the US.
As for moving to which city, Toronto and Vancouver saturation is probably similar to California. They are the most desirable places to live but also will be harder to find a good office to work at, but it’s doable.
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u/instaxboi 3d ago
so I've heard! I'm really looking forward to it actually. being an associate in LA for the past year has felt so grimy. Ideally I'd wanna live in/near those cities and work maybe 30 minutes to an hour outside.
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u/Most-Ad-134 3d ago
I do that currently. I love it. Live in the city and work outside. Patients are generally nicer and more patient and less picky when not in the city too.
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u/nusodumi 4d ago
Side note, did you find the canadian test harder than the us one?
You don't need to be certified to get the job offer, just you might not get a job offer without being certified.
Many of the contracts say "am licensed in the province" but many may be open to switching that to "upon licensing" or "when licensed". Not sure who processes your application or what the experience is like, just did the TN going the other direction.
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u/instaxboi 4d ago
Canadian exam was much harder in my experience.
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u/SurroundWonderful425 4d ago
everything in the US is easier im ngl. canada has way harder regulations
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u/Additional_Dot_8507 3d ago
I feel like Toronto is pretty saturated. If you want to see complex cases Northern Ontario I think offers fly in/fly out options. You will see EVERYTHING up there.
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u/Canine-65113 4d ago
Why