Features

Enhancing Care for The Most Important Patient—Yourself!

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The conditions created for the healthcare industry in 2020 have created substantial pressures for professionals within the industry—dental hygienists and other dental professionals included. A 2021 journal published in the BMC Journal of Systematic Reviews found that, globally, there is huge scope for dental hygienists feeling extra pressure—socially, professionally and ethically. The pressures put on hygienists are greater … Read more

They Never Gave Us Hope…

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In recent history, in situations when the world was facing global calamity, our leaders countered with great initiative and unflagging hope. The Lincolns, Churchills and Roosevelts rose to the challenges and overcame extreme odds. In the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, hope, positivity and confidence have largely been absent. … Read more

Pros and Cons of Communication Platforms

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While the telephone remains the most popular way for dental offices to communicate with patients, there is no denying that, as the result of many digital developments, the number of platforms to reach patients has grown. With so many options available – from email and texting to Facebook and Zoom – it’s difficult to decide … Read more

Esthetic Gingival Restoration

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Esthetic Dilemma of the Gingival Margin The data is unambiguous; both porcelain and composite resin are biocompatible with the gingiva and well tolerated.1-3 The caveat is that composite tends to cause tissue irritation if it comes into intimate contact with the gingiva.4-6 This ultimately causes unesthetic gingival recession. Porcelain is less problematic, but plaque build-up … Read more

Bioflavonoid Spray Efficacy Against Respiratory Viruses

Bioflavonoid Spray Efficacy Against Respiratory Viruses

COVID-19 has raised new concerns about respiratory viral infections (RVI). This virus can reproduce within the cells that line the human respiratory tract and the resulting infections cause respiratory issues and may infect multiple other sites. At this time, there are more than 200 known viral strains that cause respiratory infection, including the coronavirus, influenza … Read more

Lips: The Forgotten Oral Tissue

Lips

Lips are defined as “either of two fleshy folds that surround the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and are organs of human speech essential to certain articulations”1. Lips are unique oral structures, as individual as fingerprints, that play important roles in mastication and deglutition, sound articulation, facial expression and physiological protection. Lips are … Read more

Minimally Invasive Robotic-Assisted Full Arch Surgery

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Robotic guidance has enhanced and improved various surgical specialties and is now available to implant dentistry for both partially and fully edentulous patients through the Yomi platform developed by Neocis Inc. (Miami FL)1,2 Accuracy of implant placement has been shown to have a direct correlation with the prosthetic results.3 The Yomi platform provides visual, audio … Read more

3D Printing: Changing the Game

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When I discovered CAD/CAM technology more than 10 years ago, I was amazed at the technological world that I was entering. It was novel and it was creative; but it was also rather daunting. My student years had provided some abstract images of various scanners and milling machines that were available at that time, but … Read more

Digital Scans and Human Identification

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Background The exponential growth of digital technology in dentistry is inherently accompanied by a significant expansion of 2D and 3D dental image records. Traditional stone models are impractical to keep long-term due to storage volume and fragility. Comprehensive and accurate models offer an excellent record of the preoperative dentition for the complete restoration of a … Read more

Prescriptive Composite Sculpting and Polishing

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It became painfully obvious to those of us practicing in the 1980s that those new-fangled “posterior” composites were just never going to handle like amalgam. For starters, composites cannot be “condensed” or “packed.” Ever since then, clinicians, academics, and manufacturers have sought to create or re-design the successful armamentarium for direct esthetic posterior restorations. Most … Read more

Teledentistry: Trending Post-COVID-19

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Practicing dentistry at a distance, utilizing instantaneous virtual mobile technology, was the stuff of science fiction just a few decades ago. We were taught in dental school that our capacity to diagnose disease and to perform dentistry relied entirely upon our hand instruments and our clinical abilities. Thus, the stereotype of the dentist holding a … Read more

Cavities: Can You Stomach It?

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According to the World Health Organization’s March 25th, 2020, report on oral health, dental caries remains the number one dental issue globally to this day. While we are seeing a decrease in dental caries in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities in Canada, there is still much work to be done. Dental decay occurs when the … Read more

Healthy Head Space: Battling and Treating Mental Health Issues

Battling and Treating Mental Health Issues

I have been a dentist for 30 years but only practised for seven. I spent more than 20 years in the regulatory sector, and taught oral health professional students in six post-secondary institutions and medical students at two universities. I also have mental illness. After I was interviewed recently for a feature article in another … Read more

Are Non-Compete Clauses Legal in Ontario? Only Sometimes.

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It happens daily. A dentist looking to practise is presented with an associate agreement. Meanwhile, another dentist, selling their practice, is presented with a purchase and sale agreement. Both agreements include a non-compete clause, which tries to restrict that dentist from practising within a certain geographic area (e.g. 5 km radius from the practice) and … Read more

Office Space: Georgian Mall Dental Group

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THE WHY: Clinicians’ story Dr. Rebecca Hulbert could see that to meet the needs of the evolving “quality-of-life-centred” dental healthcare consumer, that convenient, multidisciplinary specialty care was needed under one roof. Due to advancements in treatment modalities and technology, local GPs are often diagnosing complex, advanced care treatment plans requiring specialist involvement. These treatment plans … Read more

Choosing Dentistry – Did You Make the Right Choice?

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Do you remember why you became a dentist? Are you happy you chose dentistry? What would you say to someone who wants to be a dentist – that it’s a dream job or to keep dreaming? Recently, my friend’s son got accepted to both dentistry and medicine. My friend is a dentist and our dentist … Read more