Patients often present with complaints that are not directly related to structures in the oral cavity, but rather to those around it. The salivary glands are examples of peri-oral structures that are sometimes at the root of a dental patient’s chief complaint. There are many disorders of the salivary glands, but the most common conditions … Read more
In October 2013, the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) released a very thorough and comprehensive report entitled: Treatment of Preventable Dental Cavities in Preschoolers: A focus on day surgery under general anaesthesia. The report states that every year in Canada there is approximately 19,000 day-surgeries to treat early childhood caries (ECC) in children under … Read more
CASE A post-orthodontic panoramic radiograph was acquired on a 27-year-old female patient. On this panoramic radiograph, an altered bone pattern with a mixed radiolucent/radiopaque density was noted in the periapical region of the right mandibular premolar and molar teeth. A periapical radiograph and a posterior mandibular standard occlusal radiograph were acquired to further characterize the … Read more
The 2014 Pacific Dental Conference will once again be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, West Building. We’re excited to see the consistent growth of the conference over the past years with a new record of 12,200 participants in attendance at the 2013 PDC. Partnering with valued exhibitors such as yourself is important to our … Read more
It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon on the Thanksgiving weekend. The crisp, cold air creates an unfiltered view of the colors of autumn. The colors are so pure and versatile on the canvas of the beautiful nature that one cannot deny the deep sense of gratitude within. As I reflect on the significance of the … Read more
It’s late on a Friday afternoon, the start of a long weekend, and in through the door of your dental practice rushes a frantic parent with a distraught three-year-old who fell while playing and knocked out a front tooth. We’ve all been there. The purpose of this review article is to demystify the most common … Read more
WHAT IS CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY?Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT),1 unlike medical CT, uses a cone beam instead of a fan beam (Fig. 1). Since the cone irradiates a larger volume in a single rotation (nowadays with as little as 180 degree arc.) the radiation dose imparted is much lower than that by a fan beam, which … Read more
It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that nutrition is an integral component of oral health”.1 Dental caries is recognized as one of the most prevalent, yet preventable, chronic diseases in North America, particularly among two to five-year-olds.2 Collaborative partnerships including healthcare professionals, educators, researchers, and others, can help improve and … Read more
INTRODUCTIONWhether you’re a solo practitioner, or starting or joining a group practice, you must know where you are heading and what the end game is. Everything has a beginning and an end. If you visualize how you want your dental practice to end, shaping the journey is more likely. Practice transitioning includes many phases from … Read more
One of the most common ‘parent questions’ that I hear in my private practice is “when will my child’s adult teeth come in?” More specifically, my parents are enquiring about anterior teeth. My parents and my children are very aware of the development of their peers. They are very quick to compare and contrast their … Read more
INTRODUCTIONEverything old is new again is an intriguing euphemism as demonstrated by the fact that rotary instrumentation based upon shape memory alloys is not a modern era concept; it was introduced in the late 19th century.1 Everything works, everything fails, another euphemism, reflects an interesting facet of endodontic therapy; however, as Figure 1 suggests, the … Read more
As busy practicing dentists we are bombarded with information on new products and techniques daily: email blasts, snail mail flyers, company reps with brochures and samples, new features at conventions, and the list goes on. How do we know what works, why it works or how it works? Some of us rush out and buy … Read more
Dear Randy, Thank you so much for writing this elucidating article regarding the extraction of wisdom teeth post orthodontic treatment. For the past several years, I have been shaking my head regarding the rapidity and frequency of removal of “impacted” third molars after orthodontic treatment. Most of the eights I’ve seen extracted these days don’t … Read more
Inflammation has been studied since ancient times. It was observed that as a result of irritation, injury or infection, tissues throughout the body react by increased redness (rubor), swelling (tumor), heat (calor), and pain (dolor).1 Today, we know that inflammation is a process driven by cells responding to signals from the body to fend off … Read more
INTRODUCTIONChronic adult periodontitis is generally understood to result from the presence of subgingival Gram-negative bacterial biofilms proliferating at the junctional epithelium.1 These biofilms are formed when colonizing microbes encapsulate themselves against the root and epithelial surfaces in a matrix composed of secreted polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Close proximity of one microbial cell to another … Read more
I. INTRODUCTION: SETTING THE STAGE FOR PROBIOTICSIt started with an observation in 1928, Robert Fleming recognized the impact of penicillin with the subsequent evolution of antibiotic therapy; and it heralded the beginning of a journey which, unfortunately, has not fulfilled its promise for a variety of reasons. In the 1960s methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aures (Gram Positive) emerged and … Read more
INTRODUCTIONThe main cause for tooth loss today is periodontitis. It predominantly strikes the over 40-year-old age group. Prevention of periodontitis is imperative to general and oral health with the population becoming progressively older.31 Periodontal patients can benefit from the additional data that user-friendly chair side microbiological culture and sensitivity testing provides to augment conventional periodontal … Read more
Tooth extraction is one of the most widely performed dental procedures and tooth removal will generally result in alveolar bone loss, as well as structural and integral changes in the overlying soft tissue.2 A narrower and shorter knife edge ridge can be the expected sequelae of alveolar bone resorption10 and the process of resorption often … Read more
Something has gone wrong during a dental procedure, now what? There has been a great deal of confusion with regard to what a dentist is required to disclose, when, and to whom. Legislation, the common law and a dentist’s own professional obligations all give rise to obligations to disclose adverse events in certain circumstances. Dentists … Read more
In the first two weeks of August 2013, a considerable amount of media hype was devoted to the exploits of Tung Sheng (David) Wu performing dentistry without a licence. According to various reports this so called rogue dentist had been “practicing” dentistry in the Burnaby/Richmond area of BC as far back as the 1990s. Seemingly … Read more