Features
Leaders in Practice Awards – Voting Now Open!
Voting for the winners of the first annual Leaders in Practice awards is now open to the public. Leaders in Practice is a national awards program designed to recognize dental health practitioners who are passionate about providing optimal patient care and making a difference in the lives of Canadians. With over 500 nominations submitted from … Read more
Office Design: A Smart Smile
The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is a place where life slows down. A Smart Smile is a family owned business and is located in Gibson’s BC just a short ferry ride from Vancouver. There is a certain blanket of relaxation that hugs this community. Dr. Bland wanted the coastal life to shine through their … Read more
Boost Your Social Media Results
Whether you have been on social media for years, or are just getting started, chances are you’d like to increase your effectiveness. By “effectiveness” I mean, get more likes or followers, expand your visibility, increase interaction, and of course attract new patients. We’ve seen great results for all of these objectives with social media advertising … Read more
Meet Dr. James Yacyshyn – Oral Health’s New Practice Management Expert
When asked to write the editorial for the January issue of Oral Health Office, I wondered what direction to take. There’s so much going on in dentistry, so many changes one could talk about, so many challenges, and yet, opportunity. Whether it’s growth in the services provided, the efficiency in the provision of those services, … Read more
Attracting & Hiring A-Players: A Win-Win Strategy for Recruitment Success
The most important task your office will ever undertake is the hiring of great team members to join you in growing your practice and serving your patients. Hiring new team members is an exciting opportunity but it also often comes with big challenges; especially if you are wanting to attract the A-Players everyone wants. Finding … Read more
The Dollars Are In The Details: Boosting Production Through Data Analytics
Practicing dentistry in 2019 is different than practicing dentistry even five years ago. Perhaps one of the biggest differences is how corporate (or big box) dentistry is impacting the dental profession. Established doctors are selling their practices to these organizations for the dollars and the reduction in operating responsibilities. Further, group practices are enticing new … Read more
Good News for Dentists: 2018 Economic Outlook
Tax and Business Measures Federal Accelerated Investment Incentive – Dentists will be allowed to write-off capital assets (i.e. equipment, leaseholds, computers, software etc.) faster for purchases made after November 20, 2018. Provincial Proposed new Low-Income Individuals and Families Tax Credit (LIFT) to eliminate provincial personal income tax for low income taxpayers with employment income starting … Read more
6 Exercises All Dentists Should Regularly Do To Stay Healthy
The dental profession is one that can wreak havoc on your back and cause postural issues if not addressed with appropriate exercises. For all of my clients working in this profession, I begin by talking to them about what their set up is like when treating a patient. I find it is usually a similar … Read more
Surveillance: The Foundation of Effective Infection Prevention and Control
Introduction In 1980 the results of the SENIC Project (Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control) were published. For the first time this showed that preventing or controlling health care acquired infections was dependent on a thorough understanding of the infections. 1 This was emphasized by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America which … Read more
Current Guidelines, Considerations, and Challenges of Informed Consent in Paediatric Dentistry
Paediatric Dentistry and Informed Consent Informed consent is a dynamic process involving a discussion between healthcare provider and patient regarding a proposed treatment. The main goal of this discussion is to confirm that the patient understands the information necessary to make an informed decision regarding his or her treatment. With any dental procedure, there is … Read more
A Structured Approach to the New Patient Exam in Pediatric Dentistry
When a child is scheduled to be seen by a dentist, it is important to remember that this visit will likely involve at least two individuals: the child and his or her parents. Today, parents want to play an active role in their child’s healthcare, and will report to the dental office with certain expectations … Read more
Paediatric Restorative Materials for Your 21st Century General Practice
In today’s fast paced world where information is available with only a few keystrokes, we must be ready to embrace new ideas, adapt and learn. As dental professionals, we live in an ever-changing discipline of new materials and techniques. Even after we have completed our formal educations, our lives continue in a constant state of … Read more
Letter to the Editor: The Severely Worn Dentition
RE: The Severely Worn Dentition by Dr. Oliver Pin-Henry – November 2018 Oral Health My thanks go to Dr. Pin-Henry for the timely article: The Severely Worn Dentition. As practicing dentists, we do see cases of worn-down dentitions very frequently. These are not always easy cases to treat mainly because unless we address the possible … Read more
Take Care of Yourself!
Practicing in a profession where our primary focus is the well-being of others, we often don’t take the time we need for ourselves. When I was applying to dental school I repeatedly heard the comment that dentists had the highest suicide rate of any profession and was cautioned by others. Although I don’t believe this … Read more
Running a Successful Practice: Industry’s Top Challenges
On behalf of the Oral Health Group, I’d like to thank Dr. Bobby Chagger, Dr. Effrat Habsha, Dr. Mark Lin, Dr. Kevork Manoukian, Dr. Jordan Soll and Dr. James Yacyshyn for participating in our first-ever roundtable for our Data Driven Dentistry series. This comprehensive study was a new creative project for Oral Health, which focused … Read more
Medical Treatment of Dental Caries With a New 25% Xylitol Formulation
Background Even with the declining prevalence of dental caries in industrialized countries during the past decades, predominately due to fluoride use, 1 dental caries is still a major problem in most industrialized countries, affecting 60% to 90% of children, and the vast majority of adults. 2 Also, there is mounting international evidence that this decline … Read more
Glass Ionomer Fissure Sealants for Proactive Intervention
Occlusal decay and its consequences have a major impact on the dental health of our patients. It is the single most common chronic childhood disease world-wide 1 and its results affect our patients throughout their lives. Molars and premolars are vulnerable, especially during their eruption phase. Deep pits and fissures provide an ideal environment for … Read more
Clinical Uses for Silver Diamine Fluoride
I first began using silver diamine fluoride (SDF) in my private pediatric dental practice in 2015. Minimally Invasive Dentistry is a topic near and dear to my heart as a mother and advocate for improving children’s oral health and safety. My own daughter having surgery under general anesthesia at just nine months coupled with experiencing … Read more
Silver Diamine Fluoride Unstained and Liberated
The concept of using amputation to treat an infectious disease was last used by the medical profession to treat gangrene in the late 1800s. The pharmacological management of dental caries aims to leave most caries in situ, killing the bacteria and enabling infected dentin to heal as arrested caries. A way of achieving this is … Read more