Rooting for rural

Daron Baxter [DMD/13] is a champion for rural dentistry.

Whether she’s mentoring dental students or representing Manitoba on the board of the Canadian Dental Association, the Dauphin, Man.-based dentist cultivates a sense of community wherever she goes.

Raised in Winnipeg’s St. Vital neighbourhood, Baxter didn’t have a plan after graduating from UM’s dental school. That was until she met Darrin Schramke [DMD/2000]. He invited Baxter to visit his clinic, just down the street from Dauphin’s historic train station.

“I saw how things ran, and thought, ‘This is a great place for me to start.’ It was a supportive learning environment. That’s what got me to try it out, and 13 years later I’m still here,” Baxter says.

The community of more than 8,300 people, about 316 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was also a draw.

“It’s a beautiful area, and I fell in love with Dauphin. I love the outdoor recreation, with Riding Mountain National Park just south of us,” says Baxter, who earned her bachelor of science from the Collège Universitaire de Saint-Boniface.

A voice for rural dentists

Being a rural dentist also opened up the world of organized dentistry for Baxter. The Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) was looking for someone in 2019 to be a voice for rural practitioners in the organization’s northern district, and she volunteered to be a board member.

Baxter spent seven years on the MDA board before being elected its 100th president in 2024. One of the main areas she focused on during her one-year term was the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).

“I had opportunities to give our perspectives and make suggestions to the federal government on what could work for patients and for practitioners so the CDCP could reach the people who are most in need. It was an interesting introduction to government relations for me,” Baxter says.

Serving as MDA president led to the opportunity to represent Manitoba on the board of the Canadian Dental Association, which she began in the spring. One issue she will work on at the national level is addressing the shortage of dentists in rural areas.

Baxter and her three dental office partners in Dauphin have been working on that problem. For the past two years, they’ve welcomed four Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry students each fall for week-long rotations at their clinic.

“We’ve been so impressed by how enthusiastic the students have been and how caring they are towards our patients,” she says.

Baxter tells the students about the joys of working rurally. She shares that with the lower cost of living, they can save money to travel the world in their free time. She also explains that they will really get to know their patients and can do all sorts of dental procedures that a dentist in Winnipeg might refer to a
specialist.

“Mentorship is the name of the game for me,” Baxter says. “Dentistry is about helping the next generation. At the University of Manitoba, it was taught to us as the right way to approach the profession and to be part of the community.”