We can learn more from our clinical failures than our successes. If we will allow it, the cases that have less success can be great teachers if we are open to their lessons. Such is a case pictured in Figure 1. What went wrong? How could this have been avoided? While the radiograph is in … Read more
The SLSA program is based on current, referenced literature and consists of 40 questions, answers, rationales and references. Answers appear in the following issue at the end of each quiz. Dentists who complete the 15 question quiz in the November, 2006 issue of Oral Health may be eligible to receive continuing education points. The names … Read more
Yes, award mania is upon us. Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Razzies, Webbies, Sags, Golden Globes and People’s Choice. Awards for the good, the bad and the just plain ugly. Awards for the special and the not so much. The parties, the dinners, the photo shoots and goody bags. The implants, the lifts, the tucks, the boobs, … Read more
Chicago–A consortium of senior dental industry leaders, announced the creation of The National Children’s Dental Foundation at the Foundation’s launch event held at The Chicago Children’s Museum as part of the Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting. The Foundation’s mission is to eliminate dental disease and promote overall health and well-being by supporting and providing access to … Read more
In the April issue of the Journal of Dental Research, Boston University Dental School’s Elizabeth Krall Kaye reports that cigarette smokers are, on average, 70 percent more likely to need root canal treatment than nonsmokers. The study, which tracked 811 men for 30 years, found that for those who smoked cigarettes five to 12 years, … Read more
In the last issue (DPM, Winter 2005), an overview was given of the 2005 Ontario Budget,1 which announced that dentists (and physicians) would be permitted to issue non-voting shares in their professional corporations to family members, thus opening the door to the possibility of tax savings through income splitting. However, at the time, a number … Read more
Accounts receivable transfer Every day that an account sits on your books doing nothing, you lose money because (1) the cost of running a banking business within your practice; (2) the chances of never collecting the account; and (3) the “loss of the dollar” as it sits on your books depreciating in value make the … Read more
Chicago–LMT’s 22nd annual LAB DAY in CHICAGO, the largest dental laboratory show in the country, drew a record-breaking crowd of 3,151 buyers to its February 25, 2006 show at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. Exhibits presented by nearly 200 manufacturers and suppliers, along with several dozen clinics, made for dental technology’s busiest day of … Read more
Motivated patients enjoy better treatment outcomes. Davis Orthodontics’ Woodbridge, ON, location weds a friendly, family atmosphere to practical technology so patient experience and orthodontic results can be improved. The floor plan borrows from their Richmond Hill, ON, location, while the design features are new. The concept is a highly functional “downtown loft” with elevated ceilings, … Read more
With all the challenges of the clinician today, handing of dark teeth is one that can be a concern. Some clinicians avoid treatment on these types of patients or cover the tooth with porcelain fused to metal crown in an attempt to mask out the dark substructure of the tooth. This author will attempt to … Read more
CASE HISTORY A 60-year-old male patient was seen for routine hygiene and oral health screening. At the time of scheduling his hygiene appointment he had informed the staff that he “had some dark brown spots, on his upper right teeth, which were sensitive to tooth brushing and cold temperatures.” He had requested that these areas … Read more
As patients become increasingly aware of the esthetic potential through cosmetic dentistry, there is an increasing demand for smile makeovers with porcelain. In our efforts to create beautiful smiles, we tend to focus on tooth color, shape, proportion and alignment as we are bombarded with restorative choices. However our efforts for an ideal restorative outcome … Read more
Dental professionals are enjoying an era in which educated patients may be our best customers. Mainstream media have publicized the capabilities and benefits of today’s esthetic restorative treatment options for solving a variety of dental problems, and among these solutions is “instant orthodontics.” Unfortunately, despite patients’ heightened awareness of advanced dental techniques, many are ignorant … Read more
During the last twenty years porcelain laminate veneers have grown rapidly as a treatment modality in dental practices across the globe. Their use has expanded from simple coverings for anterior teeth to full laminates covering all of the coronal tooth structure. There are several ways to produce the ceramic restorations for use in these processes. … Read more
Over the past century, dentists have used a variety of cements for indirect procedures. A cement is defined as an agent that relates two or more materials such that they stay together in a specific relationship, incorporated as if they were a single entity. Dental cements are used to attach dental restorations onto or into … Read more
Patient demand for aesthetic dentistry with minimally invasive procedures has resulted in the extensive utilization of freehand bonding of composite resin to anterior teeth.1 The development of composite resins with natural fluorescence and polishability allows the clinician to mimic the natural dentition. Composite resins allow for conservative treatment and long lasting restorations. In order to … Read more
The prevalence of congenitally missing teeth in the general population has been estimated by many authors1,2 to be between 6 and 10 percent. The incidence of missing maxillary lateral incisors is between 1-2%.3,4 Absence of both maxillary lateral incisors occurs more often than the absence of a single lateral5 and when unilateral, the contralateral maxillary … Read more
Abstract With the recent surge in cosmetic dentistry more and more patients are walking into the office that have had their maxillary teeth restored with porcelain veneers and have a considerable shade difference between the mandibular and the maxillary teeth with the mandibular teeth being darker. After successive whitening appointments and the fabrication of whitening … Read more
In recent years, there have been many technological and procedural developments in “aesthetic” or “cosmetic” dentistry. Tooth whitening, various forms of marketing by dentists and manufacturers along with “reality” makeover TV shows, have produced an increased public awareness of restorative and cosmetic options. All this has created a consumer demand for what has time and … Read more
