Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has made people more conscious about their overall health. It is a good moment to discuss tobacco smoking cessation with our patients. Tobacco smoking has overall devastating effects on health. It continues to be the number one cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. An estimated 45,000 Canadians die each … Read more
Local anesthetics are used by dentists extensively and when used erroneously, such as intravenously or above the maximum dose, life-threatening local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) can result. The signs and symptoms of LAST can appear immediately after injection if injected directly into a blood vessel or delayed if the anesthetic is absorbed from the tissue … Read more
Viewpoint: Introduction On August 26th, 2020 Professor Mark Woodhouse, a senior scientific advisor to the UK Government stated the following, “We couldn’t think of anything better to do. Lockdown was a panic measure and I believe history will see that trying to control Covid-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale, the … Read more
Are there limits to the convenience culture? In a world where a click of an app can keep you well read, well fed and cozy in bed, all without leaving the house, consumers have come to not just prefer just-in-time service, but they expect it. Dentistry is not exempt from this sea change in customer … Read more
Abstract When difficulty in obtaining adequate mandibular anesthesia is encountered a systematic approach incorporating the evaluation of patient factors and operator technique will substantially improve outcomes. Even for the most experienced dental practitioners, consistent, profound mandibular anesthesia remains difficult to achieve 100 percent of the time. This can be stressful for both dentist and patient … Read more
The Cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana, is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide, with roughly 35 million people using marijuana each month in the United States. 1 Other than alcohol, cannabis is the most commonly used drug in the United States. Data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 2012-2013 National … Read more
Introduction The goal of modern dentistry is to restore the patient’s oral health to normal contour, function, aesthetics and speech. 1 The era of dental implants have ushered in a new treatment concept where the patients no longer have to use removable dentures, or sacrifice healthy adjacent teeth. The success and predictability of osseointegrated implants … Read more
You are about to begin dental treatment on your healthy 65-year-old male patient when he suddenly develops severe chest pain. You suspect he is having an acute myocardial infarction and immediately call 911. You then refer back to the treatment algorithm, MONA, an acronym (morphine, oxygen, nitroglycerin and aspirin) used in the management of patients … Read more
(adapted from the tune sung by Julie Andrews in A Sound of Music) Caps on incisors and people who listen And brush all their teeth till they sparkle and glisten. Children who don’t even flinch when it stings, These are a few of my favourite things. Ladies who floss and have good solid fillings, … Read more
“Gotta hit the club/Like you hit them hit them hit them angles” – Nice For What (clean version), Drake On November 15, 2018, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario accepted a new revision of the Standard of Practice for the “Use of Sedation and General Anesthesia in Dental Practice”. This made Ontario the … Read more
The Arizona dental board rejected calls from Governor Doug Ducey to take stronger action against a dentist facing criminal charges for falsifying his anesthesia credentials. At a public meeting Friday, board members defiantly called on the Governor’s Office to produce evidence that Dr. Pankaj Goyal presents a danger to the public. “If there’s anything in … Read more
Governor Doug Ducey is demanding immediate answers and action from Arizona’s Dental Board after an ABC15 investigation revealed a Valley dentist obtained a general anesthesia permit using documents multiple people and organizations said are fake and fraudulent. In a letter sent Monday, Ducey directed the board’s executive director, Elaine Hugunin, to respond to his questions … Read more
The theme of the 10th Annual Sedation Safety Week, which runs today through Friday, is “Awareness.” Sedation Safety Week (SSW) programs and activities are free and open to all oral health professionals. Details are available at www.SedationSafetyWeek.com. As it has each spring since March 2009, SSW – hosted by DOCS Education – aims to remind oral health professionals … Read more
What better way to learn how to be successful than through the experiences of your peers and colleagues. Throughout our lives, we draw from our own experiences to make decisions and conclusions. Making informed decisions is a quality that will help you lead the life you want and more importantly, become as successful as you … Read more
Honesty is such a lonely word – Billy Joel Bias and integrity are strange bedfellows. They are two qualities that we speak of in absolute terms although there is no absolute measure for them. Both qualities force us to look at ourselves critically, an exercise often avoided because all too often we end up not … Read more
The Alberta Dental Association and College (ADA&C) has permanently suspended single operator sedation. The motion was passed at a meeting on May 24, which states that registered dentists in Alberta can no longer “simultaneously provide deep sedation or general anesthesia and dental treatment.” The motion also requires the ADA&C council to adopt the American Society of … Read more
Congratulations for lunching AT THE ROOT in your January 2017 edition! The column promises to maintain and enhance Oral Health relevance. Over the years, the journal has maintained an effective balance between the business and the scientific sides of dentistry. The January 2017 editorial by Drs. Titley and Sigal is a fine example of scientific … Read more
Introduction Ludwig’s angina was first reported by Wilhelm Frederick von Ludwig in 1836. It is a severe and quickly spreading cellulitis characterized by significant involvement of the submandibular, sublingual and occasionally submental space. This condition is potentially fatal if not treated aggressively and promptly due to the cellulitis leading to airway compromise. 1,2 Prior to … Read more
Caleb Sears was a healthy six-year-old boy in California that went to his oral surgeon’s office for a routine extraction under general anaesthesia (GA). Unfortunately, Caleb did not survive the procedure. He suffered hypoxic brain damage and he was not able to be resuscitated. Caleb’s death lead to the introduction of Caleb’s Law which was … Read more
Dental anaesthesiologists are dental specialists who administer deep sedation or general anaesthesia (DS/GA) to patients in order to facilitate dental treatment. The indications for DS/GA in dentistry are vast and include, but are not limited to: anxiety associated with dental treatment, pre-cooperative age, traumatic or extensive dental procedures, as well as patients with cognitive impairment … Read more