Just over a month after Inuvik Dental Clinic’s much anticipated re-opening, the lone clinic in Inuvik has shut down.
A message on the clinic’s answering service says the clinic is closed “until further notice” and apologizes for the inconvenience. It advises people with emergencies to visit the hospital.
To be able to arrange a medical travel flight to Yellowknife for dental services, Inuvialuit and Gwich’in residents are advised to get a referral through the Non-Insured Health Benefits at the Public Health Building on Veteran’s Way. Others will need to rely on extended coverage.
The co-owner of the clinic, Viktor Dorokhine, is also the principal of the Hay River Dental Clinic. He has sat on the Canadian Dental Association’s board of directors as a representative for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.
NNSL Media has reached out to both the Western Arctic Dental Group and the Hay River Dental Clinic to connect with Dorokhine.
Health Minister Lesa Semmler told NNSL a new Extended Health Benefits program which would cover medical travel for dental is expected to come online in September and will be open to anyone who lives in the NWT and is not able to access NIHB or Metis Health benefits. The program will begin taking applications in June.