Crosscheck complete. Ready for departure from one of the most remarkable adventures I’ve had the privilege of embarking on. I’m faced with the incredibly challenging task of describing what seems to be an indescribable dream; a blur of circumstances sous vide in emotions that I had forgotten I was capable of feeling. Hold your hands … Read more
With the ball drop at midnight and the off-key vocals of “Auld Lang Syne” bidding farewell to 2019, we enter a time of both reflection on what the previous year brought, as well as turning our sights to the future bringing new growth, new challenges and new opportunities. As we enter the year 2020 and, … Read more
‘‘The # 1 secret to overcoming cost objections is to actively listen to your clients/patients and simply create value that exceeds their expectations.” — John DiLemme At the end of a great treatment presentation, you might think a patient is ready to say yes and instead, you hear a statement like this, “I know I … Read more
According to CDHA, the key responsibilities of dental hygienists are health promotion, education, clinical therapy, research, change agent, and administration. The following five hygienists are amazing dental hygiene professionals who have definitely demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement. They have also elevated the roles of researcher and change agent to new heights, by offering ideas … Read more
Have you ever said to a client during their dental hygiene appointment, “oh there is just a little bit of bleeding”? Overall, giving the client the impression, this is expected, normal, or really not something to be overly concerned with. ⠀ Throughout my career I have seen communication strategies of active inflammation evolve, and now … Read more
According to our survey results, patients have told us that the main reason they will remain with a particular dental practice is because of “the dentist themselves”. An impressive 74 per cent of patients strongly agree that the main reason for staying with their current dentist is trust, which means trust builds loyalty. We’re all … Read more
Simplifeye changes the chat game with an AI Speech Engine I begin with a personal thank you to Jillian Cecchini and Melissa Summerfield to give me an opportunity to talk to you each month. I have always been passionate about new technology both dental and consumer. On the consumer side, I read up to 17 … Read more
Are you compliant with the current regulated IPAC protocols in your clinic? By now, every dentist should be acutely aware that changes are necessary to traditional IPAC processes. All clinics must now follow the latest protocols created by the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and the RCDSO Standards of Practice for Infection Prevention and … Read more
(Updated March 2020) The profession of dentistry in Canada, particularly in Ontario, has experienced some negative publicity in recent years as a result of practices that have been inspected and closed due to infection prevention and control breaches. In some of the cases, patients were notified that they may have been exposed to infectious diseases … Read more
The two most common methods for administering systemic medications to dental patients is by enteral (PO) or intravenous (IV) routes. In an emergency, the PO route has a slow onset of action. The drug, administered PO, needs to be absorbed before being systemically available.1 The IV route will offer faster onset, but IV access can … Read more
Current nil per os (npo) standards promote pre-operative fasting as an approach to reduce the volume and acidity of a patient’s stomach contents to reduce the risks of regurgitation and subsequent pulmonary aspiration. Pre-anesthesia fasting standards apply to any procedure where sedative medications reduce the protective airway reflex that under normal conditions prevent aspiration. The … Read more
Epistaxis (nasal bleeding) is a relatively common complication that may arise during a dental visit that utilizes sedation/anesthesia. While rarely fatal, appropriate and prompt management of peri-operative epistaxis is critical in order to prevent further harm. This article will discuss a case report of epistaxis encountered during dentistry under deep sedation. In addition, the anatomy, … Read more
All practitioners who deliver nitrous oxide to their patients should be intimately familiar with the relative and absolute contraindications to its administration. Relative Contraindications Nasal obstruction: Nitrous oxide sedation can proceed if despite some degree of nasal obstruction, the patient is still able to respire through the nares (or one naris) in such a way … Read more
Abstract When difficulty in obtaining adequate mandibular anesthesia is encountered a systematic approach incorporating the evaluation of patient factors and operator technique will substantially improve outcomes. Even for the most experienced dental practitioners, consistent, profound mandibular anesthesia remains difficult to achieve 100 percent of the time. This can be stressful for both dentist and patient … Read more
Pre-operative airway assessment and management is essential to successful dental treatment under procedural sedation. In the event of oversedation, defined as the transition from an intended level of sedation to an unintended deeper level of sedation, the patient’s ability to independently maintain ventilatory function may be impaired. This can result from an inability for the … Read more
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign/Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind/Do this, don’t do that/Can’t you read the sign?” – Signs by The Five Man Electrical Band A repeated discussion that I have with colleagues is that dentistry, as a profession, is over-regulated. While it’s true that we have rules governing everything in our practices … Read more
Dental professionals have different dental CE needs. What stage are you at? One of the best lines I heard from one of my professors in dental school was as I was nearing the end of my dental schooling. He said, “We did not teach you how to be dentists. We gave you the tools to … Read more
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a “public health emergency of international concern”, meaning that it considers the emergence of novel coronavirus “an extraordinary event” posing a “public health risk … through the international spread of disease”. The WHO’s unsettling announcement arrived the same week the first few cases of Coronavirus … Read more
Instagram has over a billion active monthly users. What’s more, over half of Instagram’s users are 34 years old or younger. For anyone looking to grow their practice, these numbers say a lot – if you want to reach new patients, especially young new patients, Instagram is the place to be. The social media juggernaut … Read more
1/3 The Experienced Dentist Pocketbook — A Three Part Series Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”, throughout our adult life, retiring seems fairly far away. It might be argued that our adult life is too busy and overwhelming, one does not … Read more