In 2023 I celebrate my 30th year in dentistry. After graduating from dental school in 1993, I pursued a year of general practice residency, followed by 12 years as a general dentist. Subsequently, I spent three years in post-graduate studies, specializing in prosthodontics, which I have been practising for the last 14 years. Throughout my … Read more
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has ushered in an era of transformative technological advances that are rewriting the rules in almost every sphere, dentistry included. The real question for Canadian dentists is not whether to adopt but how to integrate these changes meaningfully into practice while being conscious of ethical and practical considerations. This edition … Read more
We have all been there – hitting snooze for the 2nd time, reaching for that 3rd cup of coffee, or scouring the lunchroom for any leftover treats that the sales rep dropped off yesterday because we are tired and our brains are looking for that quick sugar/dopamine hit. Working in dental hygiene, we are used … Read more
Passion is defined as an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. On a recent trip to Naples, Italy, I visited the sartoria of master tailor Orazio Luciano. What impressed me was his continued excitement for his craft at the age of 80. He took pride in showing me the details of his jackets: hand-sewn buttonholes … Read more
As dentists, when considering tooth replacement for our patients, dental implants are top of mind. They are a stable and durable treatment modality, considered the gold standard for tooth replacement. Dental implants have come a long way since the Toronto Conference in 1982 and the initial work of Dr. Brånemark. The variety in modalities, be … Read more
Six thousand seven hundred and eighty-three; the number of miles from Lahore, Pakistan, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. It’s the journey I took in September of 2009 to embark on a new challenge in my professional career as an OMFS. Accompanying me was a wide and diverse repertoire of clinical and surgical skills gained, accumulated, and refined … Read more
Over the decades, cleaning the root canal system has been considered the pivotal step in endodontic treatment. The clinical recommendations have been to adequately enlarge the canal to uphold effective irrigation with bleach and obturation of the root canals with sealers and gutta-percha. However, as the importance of preserving natural tooth structure continues to evolve, … Read more
Wow… How time flies when you’re truly having fun! It’s so hard for me to believe that this is my 7th issue of the Aesthetics edition of Oral Health for so many reasons. By the time this issue hits the press, I will have just returned from my 3rd IDS show in Cologne, Germany. I … Read more
News flash! There is no such thing as the “perfect” dental practice. Despite our best efforts, “stuff” happens, and these “pop-up” situations can temporarily keep us from having a practice that is fun, fulfilling, and financially successful. Good news? The S.O.A.P. format we learned in dental school to diagnose “patient dental problems” can be used … Read more
Ralph Ellison’s 1952 masterpiece novel, Invisible Man, compares and contrasts being black in America in the South and the North. Towards the end of the story, the protagonist asks, “Whence all this passion toward conformity anyway? – diversity is the word. Let man keep his many parts and you’ll have no tyrant states.”1 Fast forward … Read more
When I returned from my first trip over seas since 2019, I realized the true price of what we do for a living. After spending ten days in Italy drinking wine and travelling through the beautiful countryside, I realized that I was tired from how hard I had been working over the last two and … Read more
During the last two-and-a-half years, we have lived a huge sociological experiment that will be studied for decades to come. The impact of the COVID measures will be discussed and dissected ad nauseum, with no clear consensus likely as the outcome. What we do know is what we missed the most – the joy of … Read more
If your dental fairy godmother popped out of your compressor room tomorrow and granted you three dental hygiene-related wishes, what would they be? New instruments? An air-polishing device? Paid vacation time? Let’s assume the fairy godmother doesn’t exist, but those needs are still very significant to you. What would you do for them? Or would … Read more
It was once said by Albert Einstein, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Hence, throughout history, we as human beings all continually strive to research and acquire knowledge. Likewise in dentistry, scientists and researchers at universities will perform bench top experiments, followed by animal studies, which … Read more
It is truly an honour to introduce this special technology issue of Oral Health. Throughout my life, technology has guided me on a bullet-train journey of opportunity and discovery. It all started when I left my orthodontic practice in Boston to join a dental Internet company in Washington, DC, at a time when 56K was … Read more
Much has been discussed recently about the challenges of finding new team members and retaining current ones. The pandemic has shifted perspectives, and what teams needed in the past has now changed. Among the top stressors reported during the pandemic are finances, social isolation, and the health of family members. In any given year, 1 … Read more
A rainbow has arrived – no more fallow time! For years, dentistry has weathered the pandemic storm (“Hurricane”) of shut-down, isolation, cabin fever, new normal and re-build. It experienced waves of shock, fear, worry, paralysis, confusion, conflict, loss and change. It demanded us to work together, seek help and lead like never before, regardless of … Read more
There are times when tradition is to be embraced – a marriage ceremony, a parade or a graduation. And there are times when doing things the way they have always been done just doesn’t cut it. If you are a practising or retired dentist in Canada, there is good chance you are familiar with the … Read more
The opportunity to learn many lessons has been hurled upon us over the last two and a half years. We have seen storms come and go and temperatures rise to new limits. We have also witnessed almost every aspect of our lives be disrupted by an infectious agent so small it cannot be seen by … Read more
Even the best of us can lose our way in all the noise and hubbub of the day-to-day stresses. Establishing a code of commitments for the practice will help the entire team keep on track – even in stressful situations when the wheels fall off. A code of commitments is about having a preplanned game … Read more