Kids with excess Halloween candy can participate in the SmileGrove Dental cash-for-candy exchange in Oakville, located in the Greater Toronto Area, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8, Inside Halton reported. “It’s an opportunity for children to bring their excess candy to our dental office,” said Dr. Karen Man, a dentist at SmileGrove. For some experts, … Read more
Delta Dental released new research on oral health care during the COVID-19 pandemic that shows a “significant decrease in the provision of preventive oral health care services when compared to pre-pandemic levels.” These results are concerning across all age groups and could result in long-term negative effects on oral health. For example, the study found … Read more
On July 19, 2023, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO), along with the other regulatory colleges representing dental hygienists, dental technologists, and denturists, announced they are rescinding their COVID-19 guidance. They made this decision after analyzing current trends and evidence of improvement in Ontario, such as Public Health Ontario’s COVID-19 tool which shows COVID … Read more
Linda Anderson, Coach and Trainer with Heaps & Doyle, describes how you can work on getting your patients back in your hygiene chair after the pandemic. Subscribe to Oral Health’s weekly e-newsletter to have the latest episode delivered straight to your inbox every week!
This viewpoint aims to start an open, scientific discussion in the dental community and the authors’ opinion on the use of masks. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Please feel free to contact the author or the editor if you have any questions or concerns. For at least three decades, masks … Read more
A recent study funded by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) reveals how COVID-19 impacted the stress and anxiety of Canadian dentists during the first year of the pandemic. Reassuringly, it was found that overall dentists had relatively low rates of distress during the pandemic, but that a correlation existed between an increase in stress … Read more
Dentists, doctors and other private healthcare workers in Manitoba are considering making changes to the face mask policies. Shared Health has announced the end of the mandate for most provincial healthcare facilities, starting May 10. Masking policies may vary depending on the practice with the exception of visits to immunocompromised patients, such as to cancer … Read more
Three years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new invention is helping health care workers stay safe during various disease outbreaks. The innovation results from the work of scientists from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), and Dental Clinic Senamiesčio Stomatologijos Klinika. The inspiration comes from the fact … Read more
A study by Western University researchers Rocco Cheuk and Dr. Abbas Jessani shows only 49 per cent of dentists in Ontario used teledentistry to provide care to patients during the pandemic. The study was published in BMC Oral Health and based on a Schulich Dentistry Research Opportunity Program (SDROP) project by Cheuk, a third-year undergraduate student … Read more
Nearly three years after dental services were suspended in the Northwest Territories due to the pandemic, some residents are continuing to struggle to get the dental care they desperately need. Dr. Chan Chin, a dentist with practising in Inuvik, said “they started getting back to those communities in September of 2022, and have been overwhelmed by … Read more
When I returned from my first trip over seas since 2019, I realized the true price of what we do for a living. After spending ten days in Italy drinking wine and travelling through the beautiful countryside, I realized that I was tired from how hard I had been working over the last two and … Read more
Dental spending in 2021 was higher than in pre-pandemic years as patients returned to their dental offices and the federal government provided funding relief to health care providers. “Patients were flocking back to the dentist as we started getting back to normal preventive health care routines and providers adapted to new clinical protocols,” said Marko … Read more
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many dental clinics faced temporary closure or capacity restrictions due to what was believed to be an increased risk associated with aerosol procedures. Because dental procedures require clinicians to be in close proximity to their patient’s mouth and nose, practicing dentistry was considered to be a high risk … Read more
A rainbow has arrived – no more fallow time! For years, dentistry has weathered the pandemic storm (“Hurricane”) of shut-down, isolation, cabin fever, new normal and re-build. It experienced waves of shock, fear, worry, paralysis, confusion, conflict, loss and change. It demanded us to work together, seek help and lead like never before, regardless of … Read more
In late June, the College, in partnership with Ontario’s three other oral health regulatory Colleges (representing dental hygienists, dental technologists and denturists), updated its COVID-19 guidance. At that time, we committed to reviewing key requirements for aerosol-mitigation, including fallow time and enclosed operatories, by consulting with a panel of subject matter experts. The consultation ran from … Read more
The first known U.S. study to evaluate the mental health of frontline dentists and dental hygienists during the pandemic found that dental health care workers report anxiety and depression symptoms during peaks of transmission among the public. Published jointly in the August issues of The Journal of the American Dental Association and the Journal of … Read more
In March 2022, the Edelman Trust Barometer provided a significant warning that eroding trust has harmed, and is likely to continue to damage, individual and public health outcomes in the post-COVID-19 era.1 More than 50 percent of those surveyed worry that science has become politicized. Fully 63 percent say that the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased … Read more
More than half of dentists agree their practices have been less profitable in the last few years – but don’t lose hope! If your business is suffering due to the increased costs and lower patient traffic, put those thinking caps on and come up with a plan to get that profitability back up to par. … Read more
Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported December 31, 2019, to the China Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO). It started in Wuhan, China, and is highly contagious. The spread was rapid, and it was declared a global emergency on January … Read more
The July 2021 Oral Health editorial was an opinion piece titled, “They Never Gave Us Hope…” It succinctly described why, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the inept actions of politicians, public health administrators and the media were promoting despair rather than hope.1 Fortunately, a year later, that despondency has been replaced by one of cautious optimism … Read more