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