Despite making full restitution to the five insurance providers she defrauded, a former Calgary dentist was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for insurance fraud, the Calgary Herald reported. Justice Gord Wong rejected a defence request for a community-based conditional sentence, saying the guilty plea did not reflect genuine remorse. “I don’t see the … Read more
American Dental Association (ADA) says new data from its Health Policy Institute (HPI) show U.S. dental practices remain under sustained financial pressure, driven by softening demand for care and rising operating costs. The Q4 2025 analysis combines dentist survey data with federal economic indicators to track confidence, patient demand, staffing trends, reimbursement and investment intentions … Read more
An artificial saliva developed from a sugarcane protein could help protect teeth in patients treated for head and neck cancer, a group at high risk of severe oral complications following radiotherapy. Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Bauru School of Dentistry have developed a saliva substitute containing CANECPI-5, a protein extracted from sugarcane and … Read more
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO — Representatives for the region’s municipalities are throwing their support behind new provincial rules they say can help fill needed labour gaps. The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, or NOMA, is backing new “as-of-right” rules the Ford government said went into effect at the beginning of the new year. They aim to speed up … Read more
When Julian Martino was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in December 2023, he didn’t put his life on hold—he doubled down on helping others. While undergoing dialysis, the now 25-year-old completed a nursing degree and works as a hemodialysis nurse, caring for patients living with the same illness. “While many people in this position struggle … Read more
Dentsply Sirona reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability on Wednesday, announcing its goal to make all packaging recyclable by 2030. “Sustainable packaging is an environmental imperative – one we have taken fully on board with our ambitious goal to strive to make our packaging, including plastic parts, recyclable by 2030,” says Tony Johnson, senior vice-president, … Read more
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Vogt was always going to be at the U.S. Open this week. The man who likes to plan had it all planned out. He and his wife, Hilary, and their 15-month-old daughter, Charlotte, and their dogs would make the nearly six-hour drive from the Indianapolis suburbs and then crash at his … Read more
Canadian media on Monday spotlighted a Calgary dentist who defrauded two insurance companies — Sun Life and Blue Cross — of more than $126,000 in false claims, primarily for root canals. Dr. Alena Smadych, former owner of All About Family Dental on Elbow Drive S.W., pleaded guilty to fraud on what was scheduled to be … Read more
Dr. Matthew Burton, DDS, is a seasoned dentist with extensive experience in chairside practice. Frustrated with the limitations of existing Class II matrix systems, he collaborated with Garrison to develop the Quad Matrix System, a novel approach to simplifying and improving the efficiency of complex restorations. This innovative system, born from his years of practical … Read more
Dental Olympics is back for a second year at SmileCon® 2023. Students from dental schools in Florida and Puerto Rico will go head-to-head in a series of competitive events that will take place on Oct. 6 and 7 during SmileCon in Orlando, Florida, at the Orange County Convention Center. Opening this year’s Dental Olympics … Read more
For families struggling to make ends meet during a challenging economic climate, routine dental care may seem like a luxury that is out of their reach. More low-income families can access the dental care they need to be healthy through nonprofit dental clinics in their communities. Unfortunately, rising inflation also affects the safety-net clinics they … Read more
Lower-income workers across Ontario have lower rates of employer-provided dental insurance, according to a new report by the Toronto Foundation. In addition, the community foundation found the problem is more pronounced in Toronto. For example, 53 per cent of employees earning under $20,000 annually have workplace dental insurance in the rest of Ontario, while the same … Read more
A lack of insurance coverage is forcing more than a third of people in Canada’s largest city to go without dental care, a new report says. About 35 per cent of residents don’t have dental insurance, forcing many to avoid the dentist altogether due to the cost, according to the report from the Toronto Foundation, an organization … Read more
As summer is nearing an end, now is the time of year to ask the following question about your year over year status. Are you on a decline that won’t seem to stop? Is the practice surviving with a flat-line plateau or did you have at least 10-15% growth over last year? Decline means DO SOMETHING. … Read more
The demand for dental treatments is rising with an increasingly aging population, but the competition is also growing at a similar pace. In an Internet and mobile centric world, marketing has become affordable, accessible and more effective for an average dental practitioner. Those who are able to capitalize on the strengths of online dental marketing … Read more
A new study in the Journal of the American Dental Association shows that dentistry’s share of antibiotic use in healthcare has grown significantly. In 1996, dentistry accounted for 6.7% of antibiotic use. By 2013, its share was 11.3%. This results from both a decline of antibiotic use in medicine and a real growth in dentistry. … Read more
DOWNTIME: What happens when patients cancel or just fail to show up? This is especially a problem in hygiene (which patients often skip because, after all to them, “It’s just a cleaning”), but it affects the whole practice. Think of Downtime as a Percentage: Downtime is the share of non-productive time your practice incurs each day. … Read more
Dental hygienists and therapists have been empowered by legislators in Canada, the UK and increasingly in the US to deliver dental services outside of the dental practice. There has been a boom in independent hygiene and this will only grow as patients seek more affordable preventive care. In the UK, for example, the reformed National … Read more
Three news items crossed my desk in the past month. All seem to point to a future for dentistry which features more specialization around managing the cause of poor oral health. One news item was a video interview with a number of dental opinion leaders in Minnesota, about the emerging role of dental therapists. Dental … Read more
Imagine if you shopped at Walmart and there was only one size of sweater, one variety of milk, or when you went to buy cereal, all it carried was Corn Flakes.And you grumbled to yourself that you would like some prices more in keeping with your family’s budget and needs.That is the approach taken, by … Read more