Saskatoon dentist finds joy in serving northern Saskatchewan communities

Dr. David Climenhaga (DMD’13) is passionate about enhancing the oral health and overall wellness of the patients he serves in northern Saskatchewan.

Since graduating from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Dentistry in 2013, Climenhaga has regularly travelled from Saskatoon to the province’s northern region—including the communities of Cumberland House Cree Nation, Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation, Prince Albert, Red Earth Cree Nation, Sturgeon Lake First Nation, and Shoal Lake Cree Nation—to provide dental services. Currently, Climenhaga and his wife, Michelle, who assists with the trips to the North, are focused on serving patients in Stanley Mission, a community located about 80 kilometres northeast of La Ronge, as well as Cumberland House Cree Nation and Sturgeon Lake First Nation.

“We feel like we’re a part of the community,” he said. 

Climenhaga, a member of Peepeekisis Cree Nation who grew up in Delisle, Sask., began travelling to Indigenous communities in the North soon after he completed his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree at USask.

“I was approached in late 2013 to go work in some northern communities, since I’m First Nations; I’m Treaty. So, Health Canada asked me to come and work in some northern communities,” he said. “I owned a solo practice in downtown Saskatoon, so I could go (to the communities) on my own. I would just close my doors for a couple of days. . . So, since January of 2014, I’ve been going up north—I’m in my 11th year of going to the communities.”

In 2015, Climenhaga—who continues to live in Saskatoon with Michelle—sold his Saskatoon-based dental practice to focus on serving the North. The couple now travels as a team, along with a dental therapist, to provide dental services.

The Climenhagas say they have been warmly welcomed into Stanley Mission, and they have appreciated the kindness, generosity, and hospitality of the residents there. As a result, they have been inspired to give back to northern Saskatchewan, which they consider to be their home away from home.

“We’ve done clothing drives where we get clothing donations or blankets or feminine products. We’ve done that historically once a year and just pick one of the communities and just truck it all up there,” Climenhaga said. “Sometimes we’d have over 100 boxes of clothing.”

The Climenhagas have also given back to residents in Stanley Mission by arranging community hampers at Christmastime for families in need. Michelle Climenhaga said an issue of concern for many people living in the North is being able to purchase healthy grocery items, as there are barriers due to affordability, accessibility, and product quality.

In late 2024, for example, media reports emerged about 27 cases of scurvy identified in La Ronge. The disease, which is typically caused by a serious vitamin C deficiency due to a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, can cause oral health issues, including swollen, bleeding gums and loosened teeth. The cases of scurvy in the North have subsequently raised concerns about grocery prices, access to fresh food, and income inequality among Saskatchewan residents. David Climenhaga said he has noticed the price differences between grocery stores in northern communities compared to other parts of the province.

“You can buy a three-pound bag of mandarin oranges down here (in Saskatoon) for $4.99. Well, up there (in Stanley Mission), they’d be triple (the price),” he said.

Climenhaga said his dental team works closely with the registered nurses and nurse practitioners in Stanley Mission. When patients are referred to Climenhaga for dental services, some are experiencing mobile teeth due to a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diets.

“It all comes back to affordability and accessibility,” he said.

These systemic food issues have inspired the Climenhagas to join with their friends and family members—including Michelle’s sister-in-law, Darlene Blanch—to bring fresh fruit to Stanley Mission. Since late 2024, Blanch has held sound-bath fundraisers for the initiative through her business, Kula Embodied Healing. Meanwhile, a Saskatoon restaurant, D’Lish by Tish Cafe, has also supported the dental team’s efforts, enabling them to bring the first shipment of donated fruit to Stanley Mission in December of last year.

“All the money from the sound baths goes straight toward purchasing the fruit, and then we get other smaller donations,” Michelle Climenhaga said. “The grocery store that’s close to where we live, they give us a little bit of a discount.”

Michelle Climenhaga said the goal is to send 800 pieces of fruit a week to Keethanow Elementary School in Stanley Mission, where there are just under 400 students. That gives each student two pieces of fresh fruit each week. The Climenhagas plan to continue organizing the fruit deliveries until the school year ends in June.

Keethanow Elementary School has expressed its gratitude to the visiting dental team. In a Facebook post on Jan. 16, 2025, the school noted that “another fruit donation was delivered last night. Thank you to Michelle Climenhaga and Darlene Blanch. We greatly appreciate your generous donation of fresh fruit to our school.”

Michelle Climenhaga said she and Blanch would love to keep the fruit donations going to Stanley Mission beyond the 2024-25 school year and well into the future, but it will depend on resources. However, she is pleased to be making a difference in the children’s lives. She said the school’s principal told her the students are excited to receive the fruit and are happy to be eating it at school, she said.

“They’re very, very appreciative—the whole community is. It’s a really good community,” she said.

In a Dec. 9, 2024, Facebook post, Keethanow Elementary School thanked Michelle Climenhaga and Blanch for the donations of fresh fruit, noting that the “contribution will not only provide our students with nutritious snacks, but also support our efforts to promote healthy eating habits and a positive learning environment.”

For the Climenhagas, giving back to the community is important. They are pleased to be a part of the fabric of Stanley Mission and David Climenhaga is happy to build his dental career there. Climenhaga became a dentist because he wanted to take on a new challenge and subsequently enrolled in the College of Dentistry in his 30s, following a nine-year career with Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services in fire communications.

“I just took the plunge and went back to school and applied to dentistry and got in on my first try—and the rest is history,” he said.

David Climenhaga said it’s important to him to serve communities like Stanley Mission, which has an “access-to-care barrier.” He noted that some of the patients he interacts with have previously had negative experiences with health-care professionals in the past, and he is working hard to build relationships based on trust and mutual respect.

“The community’s really accepted me,” he said, adding that “everyone receives the same care and the same time and the same compassion and respect—and then we get respect in return.”

Michelle Climenhaga said community members often bring the dental team gifts of thanks, such as bannock, and invite them to social gatherings. David Climenhaga said he feels he has a “reciprocal relationship” with the residents of Stanley Mission, who call him “David” rather than “Dr. Climenhaga.”

“It’s great,” he said, adding that he plans to continue serving the residents of Stanley Mission for as long as he can.

“I’ll do this until I retire.”