Cool Dental Link: Canada's Food Guide

Hi everyone,

While it's not strictly a dental site, the Canada's Food Guide website offers guidelines and recommendations for healthy eating. Most notably are the recommendations for dairy product consumption: typically between 2-3 servings for adults, 3-4 for teenagers and 2 for children. Milk, milk products (like yogurt) and milk substitutes (like soy milk) are great sources of calcium, which can lead to strong bones and teeth.



Take care

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Dental Did You Know: Commercial Soft Drinks and Enamel Dissolution

A few facts from the research on soft drinks:

1. Prolonged exposure to soft drinks can lead to significant enamel loss.
2. Non-cola drinks are more erosive than cola drinks.
3. Sugared versions of cola and non-cola drinks proved to be more erosive than their diet counterparts.
4. The erosive potential of soft drinks was not related to their pH value.

Source: Jain, P et al, Commercial soft drinks: pH and in vitro dissolution of enamel, General Dentistry March-April 2007, Vol 55, No 2, pg 150-154.

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

A few more interesting dental links

Hi everyone,

I decided to keep blogging today with a few more dental links, which (as usual) you will find listed on the right hand side under del.icio.us links.

These are professional links, (sorry non-professionals!):

• The Halton-Peel Dental Association is an organization of local dentists that provide continuing education courses and events for dentists around my practice area (Mississauga).
• The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is a website that helps small enterprises/businesses/organizations with tips/techniques and advocacy. The link will take you to the dental area of their website.

Take care

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

April is Oral Health Month: Part 2

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post a few more links regarding the Ontario Dental Association's promotion of April as Oral Health Month. Included in the public awareness campaign are radio ads (1 and 2) and a PowerPoint presentation: Diabetes and Oral Health.

Take Care

Hans.

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

April is Oral Health Month!

Hi everyone,

April is oral health month and the Ontario Dental Association is promoting the fact that the monitoring of oral infections that affect the jaw and gums, may help in the detection of undiagnosed diabetes. This disease affects of 2.25 million Canadians, many of them are unaware of their condition.

Take Care

Hans.

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Toronto Star Article: Saliva a new tool in disease detection

Hi everyone,

Woke up this morning to cloudy, but mild day in the Toronto area (14 degrees C). I browsed the morning Toronto Star (online) and low and behold, a fantastic article on saliva and its usefulness in disease diagnostics. Here's a snippet:

There may be plenty of things that aren't worth spit. But saliva is certainly not one of them, according to new research that pegs it as a potential gold mine for the bloodless diagnosis of dozens of ailments.

Scientists have uncovered the molecular "alphabets" of saliva's key protein and genetic components – work that will soon allow the early detection of diseases ranging from lung cancer to osteoporosis through the simple act of spitting into a vial, according to a study being presented today.

"Using these alphabets we can corner every human disease," says Dr. David Wong, associate dean of research at California's UCLA School of Dentistry. "The perception of saliva has now changed from a negative connotation to a positive medical fluid."

Read the rest of the article here: Saliva a new tool in disease detection

Source: Toronto Star Online Edition, March 22/07 http://www.thestar.com/News/article/194798

Quite an interesting article.

Take care

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Dental Did You Know: The Patron Saint of Dentists

Hi all,

I was reading the wikipedia entry on dentistry and found this interesting tidbit (which I vaguely remember learning in my first year of training (History of Dentistry 101?))

The patron saint of dentists is Saint Apollonia, martyred in Alexandria by having all her teeth violently taken out.

(Ouch!)

Source: Wikipedia: Dentistry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentistry

Take Care

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Promenade Court Dental: 2233 Hurontario St, Mississauga, ON

Just a reminder that I have a dental practice in south Mississauga: Promenade Court Dental. It is conveniently located at 2233 Hurontario St, Mississauga, ON (1/2 km north of the QEW in the dome building on the east side). We're a full service family dental practice offering traditional care at convenient hours (evenings and weekends). Give Jodie a call at (905) 273-7100 to book an appointment.

p.s. A big thank you to all our new and loyal patients for choosing my practice to service your dental needs.


Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Dental Did You Know: Secondhand Smoke and Tooth Decay

Hi all,

I was just reading the AGD (Academy of General Dentistry) Impact Magazine and came across this news blurb:

According to a study supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), children exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher rate of tooth decay than those who are not.

I'm not sure of the biological mechanism involved here (more research will be needed), but it is always a good idea to limit the exposure of secondhand smoke to young children based on the respiratory effects alone.

Source AGD Impact, March 2007, Vol 35, No 3, pg 18.


Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Canadian Dental Association Website and Seal

Hi all,

The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) website is a great place to visit and one of my top recommendations. It offers patients a wealth of information on various oral health topics while offering dentists a number of practice management and research articles.

As a long time member, I am happy to see that the CDA is (finally!) getting "web-enabled" by offering their logo in electronic form for display on websites. Bravo!

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Dental Did You Know: The Longest Acting Conventional Dental Anesthetic

The longest acting anesthetic available in dental cartridges is bupivacaine (0.5%). It can "freeze" teeth up to 240(!) minutes and soft tissues (gums) up to 440(!!) minutes.

Source: Becker D and Reed K, Essentials of Local Anesthetic Pharmacology, Oral Health, Feb 2007, Vol 97 No 2, pg 17-34.


Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Dental Did You Know: Grinding (Bruxism) and Neck Muscle Activity

When grinding your teeth (bruxism), neck muscle activity is 1.4 to 3.3 times more than their resting state.

Source: Laibovitz B, Temporomandibular Disorders and Headache: A Review of the Literature. Oral Health, June 2006, Vol 96, No 6, pg 12-18.


Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100

Added Flickr Photos to Blog

Hi all,

I added Flickr photos to the blog and (soon) to the website. Flickr (owned by Yahoo!) allows for the easy management of photos and images. New images that I take will automatically be displayed on the right-hand column of the blog. The entire and ever expanding set of dental images that I'm taking will be available at my Flickr site.

Take Care

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental Health Group in Mississauga
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada
(1/2 km north of the QEW in the Dome Building)
(905) 273-7100