Consumer Alert: Fake Toothbrushes

Saw this article in the Toronto Star Online, here's the teaser quote:

OTTAWA – Consumers and retailers should be cautious when buying toothbrushes after counterfeit products bearing brand names were found on the Canadian market, Health Canada warned Monday.

The toothbrushes are falsely labelled as Colgate Massager, Colgate Navigator, Oral B Classic 40, Oral B Contura and Colgate 360.

"If an imitation is suspected, consumers should stop using them immediately, as the quality, safety and effectiveness of counterfeit products cannot be assured," Health Canada said in an advisory.

Retailers with stock from Canadian importer AG Liquidation should check their products for authenticity and remove any they suspect to be bogus, the agency said.

Last July, a public advisory was issued about a sham Oral B Classic 40 toothbrush being sold. Health Canada received a report of toothbrush bristles dislodging and catching in a consumer's throat.


Source: The Toronto Star Online, http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/588359, viewed Feb 19/09

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

Practice Improvements: Video Lab Communications

Hi everyone,

We are now using the Become One video tool with our primary prosthetic lab Pow Labs. This allows for far better communication between our practice and the fabricating lab. The previous method was through lab scripts, phone calls and the occasional visit to the lab. This streamlines information flow, lab processing time and reduces errors.

I've put in a screen capture to show you the screen I would see using the video tool.

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

Practice Improvements: New Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) for our Patients

We have a Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for the entertainment of our patients (especially our younger generation) in our main operatory. (It also entertains me between patients ;). I have loaded it with a few games and so far it has been an enormous hit with patients. (Here's an image I took of it at home)

















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

3000 Year Old Mummy had Perfect Teeth

Click the image below to hear the story on CNN:




Disclaimer: I do not endorse any products in the advertising shown in the video clip

Source: CNN Online, Viewed Feb 13/09, http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/02/12/mummy.revealed.roesgen.cnn


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

New Medical Clinic

Hi everyone,

Most of our patients know that we are part of a great medical/health care complex. We have a pharmacy (Best Care Pharmacy), a female physician (Dr. Ngo) along with massage, physiotherapy and chiropractic services (In Motion Rehab).

Well, due to the growth of our facility, we are proud to announce the expansion of medical services in our building. The new All Care Walk-in Clinic will start operations this week with both a female and male physician on staff. Business hours initially will be Friday and Saturday from 10am-3pm. Should you want to book an appointment please call 905-268-0414.

Update (Feb 13/09): The phone number will be active February 16/2009 onwards.

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

Article: Early Humans had Nutcracker Jaws

Saw this article online on the Live Science website, here's the teaser quote:

Our ancient human relatives had jaws like nutcrackers that allowed the hominids to chomp down on hard nuts and seeds and adapt to changes in food sources in their environment, a new computer simulation reveals.

Today's humans have comparatively small faces and teeth, making us ill-equipped to bite down forcefully on hard objects. Apparently that wasn't the case for Australopithecus africanus, which lived 3.3 million to 2.5 million years ago.

An international team of researchers used computed tomography scanning to digitally recreate an A. africanus skull to see how the jaw operated and what forces it could produce. Then, they added measurements of how the facial muscles work in chimpanzees, which share common features with Australopithecus.

Read the rest of the article here: Early Humans had Nutcracker Jaws

Source: Live Science Website http://www.livescience.com/history/090203-nut-cracking-jaws.html , Read Feb 8/09.

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

Here we grow again! New Hygienist!

Again, thanks to our patients and community for making this possible. Just a few months after going to a 5 day week and having our best year ever in terms of numbers and variety of clinical procedures, I would like to introduce Gloria to our team. She is an experienced hygienist who I've worked with for a number of years. I've found her to be a great, kind, funny and an extremely diligent hygienist who is dedicated to her patients. I look forward to her expertise in setting up our hygiene department. We are starting her on Fridays and are currently in the process of refurbishing our second operatory (which was a overflow/storage room of sorts) to match our main (operatory 1). It will eventually become a fully-fledged hygiene operatory/emergency room. Stay tuned for details.

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