Introduction Local anesthesia forms the backbone of pain control techniques in dentistry. Local anesthetics represent the safest (when used properly) and most effective drugs for the prevention and management of perioperative and post-operative pain. The first known injection of a local anesthetic (1885) was an inferior alveolar nerve block administered by the famed medical surgeon … Read more
Performing minimal oral (enteral) conscious sedation on a healthy adult patient with a benzodiazepine is a safe, cost-effective way to treat certain patients with dental anxiety. Go through the ten statements below with the intent of determining whether each presented statement is fact or fiction. NOTE: While many of the answers below make reference to … Read more
The term “creative destruction” was coined by Joseph Schumpeter in 1942.1 Schumpeter was an economist who was commenting on how capitalism evolves. Creative destruction in its original form refers to industrial mutations that revolutionize economic structures from within, creating a new structure. Put another way, it is the free market’s way of delivering progress.2 This … Read more
We have to register for a lot of things in Canada. We’re at the point where if we are asked to register for anything else, there is a good possibility that we will object. Take the recent debates about long-gun registration and long-form censuses as examples. The need for various professions and disciplines to be … Read more
Introduction For terminal dentition patients, the concept of a removable provisional prosthesis can cause a great deal of anxiety and even cause deferral of treatment. Traditional healing phases in implant dentistry can be several months, and up to a year depending on the various procedures that are required — such as soft tissue grafting, hard … Read more
The following is a summary of the use if oral sedatives for pediatric dentistry. This information is not intended to present a comprehensive review, the reader is therefore encouraged to seek additional and confirmatory information. Sedation is used to increase the cooperation of children during treatment. When behaviour management techniques such as tell-show-do, voice control, … Read more
Introduction Congenital granular cell epulis (CE) is a rare benign tumor occurring exclusively in neonates. The term “epulis” derives from the Greek word meaning “on the gingiva”.1 It was first described by Neumann in 1871, and is sometimes referred to as Neumann’s tumor or congenital epulis of the newborn.1 Approximately 200 cases have been documented … Read more
When talking with my colleagues it is astonishing how often the topic of how to deal with difficult parents in the office comes up. It appears that dentists who treat the pediatric population are having more and more challenges dealing with the expectations of the parents than treating the child themselves. Why is that? Although … Read more
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) have confounded the health care profession for a great length of time. A deadly and costly disease, the profession is still struggling with the ability to identify the disease in its earliest stages, when intervention is more likely to result in a … Read more
Abstract Understanding the hard and soft tissue changes of post-extraction sockets and the condition of the anatomy of the future implant site is essential for clinicians in deciding when and where future implants should be placed. This report provides a simplified decision making protocol that will help guide clinicians on the timing of implant placement. … Read more
The implant restoration is an essential everyday treatment to replace missing teeth, advance function and enhance esthetics for patients in the general dental practice. An understanding of implant hardware design and placement for optimum clinical results is common knowledge for the dental practitioner. This is not the case when it comes to the understanding of … Read more
With the prevalence of periodontal disease in our population, today’s dental clinician is continually challenged to employ critical thinking and evidencebased decision making on the selection of adjunctive treatment options to complement nonsurgical therapeutic modalities. How prevalent is periodontal disease in today’s population? The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) initiated a population-based surveillance to study … Read more
The ideal dental cement should possess several characteristics. It should be non-irritating to the dental tissues, possess a low film thickness, be insoluble in oral fluids, have the ability to close gaps that are present at the margins of restorations, be simple to use, be easy to clean up, possess good adhesion to a variety … Read more
For the last six years, I have been successfully using Biodentine® Dentine Replacement Material (by Septodont®) for direct and indirect pulp caps. I have developed some insights and techniques on its use that I believe would be helpful for my peers. In an effort to share and build on my experiences I am presenting this … Read more
Introduction Dentin hypersensitivity, also known as tooth sensitivity, root sensitivity, or just sensitivity, is a common patient complaint in most dental offices. Dentin hypersensitivity is defined as “a brief, severe pain arising from exposed dentin in response to stimuli which cannot be attributed to any other form of dental defect or pathology.”1 Clinicians see dentin … Read more
Dr. Rollin Matsui passed away in November 2015. He was born in Toronto in 1954. In 1972 he graduated from Jarvis Collegiate Institute, where he was active in sports, President of Students’ Council, and an Ontario Scholar. In 1975, he received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Science, Victoria College. … Read more
What A Wonder Nature Is! When things go wrong, or require a reboot, there is a plan, a system, a structure to get things back on track. Regeneration is “the natural ability of living organisms to replace worn out parts, or renew damaged or lost parts of the body, or even reconstitute the whole body … Read more
Treatment planning for highly esthetic implant restorations can be a difficult challenge even for the most experienced implant surgeon and restorative dentist. This article will attempt to highlight many of the treatment planning considerations and the requisite conditions to create highly esthetic implant restorations. Among the most important requirements in esthetic dentistry is the presence … Read more
ABSTRACT: Implant rehabilitation of the severely atrophic maxilla presents a surgical and prosthetic challenge to even the most experienced clinician. The “graft-less” approach with the use of zygomatic implants is gaining acceptance. The purpose of this case series is to present the successful protocols employed in our Toronto clinic for the management of severe maxillary … Read more
ABSTRACT This article attempts to elucidate, using two case examples, the key factors that should be considered when deciding between restoring a maxillary incisor with a veneer or with a crown. Relevant literature, providing the scientific basis of the opinions presented, is reviewed to help guide clinical judgement. Long-term predictable bonding can only be achieved … Read more