ORAL SURGERY: The Sick Wisdom Tooth

FIGURE 10 Odontogenic keratocyst from third molar.

Symptoms related to unerupted mandibular third molars are the most common problems encountered in the oral health services. An unerupted tooth refers both to teeth that are impacted and to teeth that are in the process of erupting.1 The tooth becomes impacted because eruption is prevented by adjacent teeth, dense bone, or excessive soft tissue.1 … Read more

Learning Assessment (July 01, 2001)

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The SLSA program is based on current, referenced literature and consists of 40 questions, answers, rationales and references. Answers appear at the end of each quiz.Dentists who complete the 15 question quiz in the November, 2001 issue of Oral Health may be eligible to receive continuing education points. The names and license numbers of all … Read more

PRODUCT PROFILE: An Alkaline Peroxide Product for Dental Unit Water Lines

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Read a magazine, newspaper or watch television and you are almost certain to come across an article on the quality of drinking water. It is a pressing concern and rightly occupies a priority position in the public’s agenda. Contamination of Dental Unit Water Lines does not occupy the same position with patients because they are … Read more

PERIODONTICS: Old Disease Gets A New Close. A Brief Review of the New Classification of Periodontal Diseases

Given the shortcomings of the most current classifications for periodontal diseases (the 1989 World Workshop in Clinical Periodontology and the 1992, 1st European Workshop in Periodontology) and responding to the advancements in our understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms, the Academy of Periodontology initiated a review of the existing disease classification. The resultant International Workshop … Read more

ORAL RADIOLOGY: A Case Report The Compound Odontome

FIGURE 3

A 4 year old male patient presented with a firm, painless swelling in the area of tooth #63. Intraoral examination revealed a 6.0mm x 6.0mm painless hard buccal swelling over the superior area of the crown of tooth #63 (Fig. 1). The appearrance of the mucosa was normal in texture and color.Radiographic examination consisted of … Read more

Learning Assessment (June 01, 2001)

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The SLSA program is based on current, referenced literature and consists of 40 questions, answers, rationales and references. Answers appear at the end of each quiz.Dentists who complete the 15 question quiz in the November, 2001 issue of Oral Health may be eligible to receive continuing education points. The names and license numbers of all … Read more

Letter (June 01, 2001)

Re: “The Pregnant Dental Patient” Marylin C. Miller, DDS, Oral Health, March, 2001Congratulations to Dr. Miller for her important article in the March 2001 edition of Oral Health. Dentists need to be regularly reminded of how to best protect the developing foetus.I would like to point out one important omission in the article, however, concerning … Read more

See Pictures (June 01, 2001)

Gustel Fisher of Trihawk displays his Oral Health in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Due to space and quality requirements, we are unable to print every photo we receive.Please note: PHOTOS WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

HEALTH ISSUES: Environmental Issues Concerning Mercury Emissions from Amalgam Waste and the Responsibility of Dental Clinics in Canada

Very shortly, many major cities in Canada will impose the use of amalgam separators in dental clinics. This obligation will be linked to others concerning the appropriate management of amalgam waste collected by dental clinics. During the Summer of 2000, the City of Toronto and the Montreal Urban Community (MUC) adopted new by-laws concerning wastewater … Read more

INFECTION CONTROL/HEALTH ISSUES: Treatment of Wastewater from Dental Vacuum Systems

Pretreatment of wastewater prior to discharge to the sewer system has been a common practice for many industrial wastewater dischargers for a number of years. Treatment of industrial discharges high in metals is commonly used to prevent upsets of biological treatment systems at municipal wastewater treatment plants or pass through of metals into the environment. … Read more

Commercially Available Amalgam Capture Devices

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency operates an Environmental Verification Testing Program. Some of the following amalgam capture devices will be tested under this program. The effectiveness of some of the treatment units will be documented under actual conditions.NamePhone Email/Web AddressType of UnitCostADA Technologies800 232-0296www.adatech.comCombinationCall for informationAvprox, Inc800 300-1249www.avprox.comFilterDRNA800 360-1001www.drna.comCombination$100 / monthMetasys305 576-5955MetasysUSA@aol.comSedimentation $300 / year … Read more

INFECTION CONTROL: Investigating Sterilizer Test Failures

What does a facility do when faced with a “positive” spore test after monitoring its sterilizer? According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines…” If spores are not killed in routine spore tests, the sterilizer should immediately be checked for proper use and function and the spore test repeated. If the spore … Read more

Technology: What to do with all those digital photographs?

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In previous issues, we’ve explored the details of creating imaging and video systems in dental offices. Interestingly, the most confusing part for most practices is not the technical details of their systems, but getting the maximum benefit from the new technology. Most practices make sizable expenditures on new digital technologies, but then only make use … Read more

Finance: How Dentists Can Build Their Own ‘Berkshire Hathaway’

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First, a bit of Berkshire Hathaway history is in order. In 1969, investment guru Warren Buffet decided to roll all of his assets into Berkshire Hathaway, an ailing textile mill, which he had been buying since 1962. Berkshire became Buffet’s sole investment vehicle, through which he would buy companies and manage his, as well as … Read more

Legal Issues: Trouble in paradise

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You’ve built up a successful practice. It’s busy. You have terrific patients. You have a great staff. Well, for the most part your staff is great. Actually it hasn’t been all that great for a few months now, and it’s starting to be a problem. You employ a receptionist and two assistants. Your two assistants … Read more

Office Design: Old World Elegance Meets New Age Electronics

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Design for dental offices today must offer more than efficient delivery systems, good traffic flow and well-placed support stations. The dental work environment must also encompass interiors with rich materials and textures, pleasant sight lines and a relaxing palette of colours. All of these elements influence the psychological impact on the dental client. With these … Read more