Dental Care During Pregnancy

Hey everyone,

I was just reading some of the latest findings/summaries in the Ontario Dentist Journal about pregnancy and dental care. Some interesting points:

1. 50% of women experience gingivitis during pregnancy due to increased hormone production
2. Roughly half of those women do not seek dental care
3. A study of 823 women at 13-21 weeks did not show any adverse fetal outcomes when periodontal disease was treated by scaling and root planing using local anaesthetic
4. Local anaesthetics are generally safe during pregnancy. However proper aspiration is particularly important to prevent inadvertent intravascular injection
5. Health Canada recommends that amalgam fillings should not be placed or removed during pregnancy. This approach is conservative since studies have failed to show an increased incidence of birth defects, spontaneous abortions, neurologic or infertility problems.
6. Prenatal x-rays are a small dose of radiation that has not been shown to be associated with any adverse fetal abnormalities

Source: Feferman I, Ontario Dentist, OD Healthline, Sept 2009, Vol 86, No7, pg 16-17.

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

Cosmetic Makeover in a few Pictures: Part I

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give everyone a sample of how we do a nice cosmetic case. In this case, our patient had missing upper laterals that were replaced by some bonding a number of years ago. She was not confident in her smile, and therefore wanted her front 6 teeth redone with two bridges. Here's the before photo (and yes, those devices around her lips are just lip retractors...thanks to Deborah for the photos):

Notice the poor contour of the teeth, not to mention the lack of strength this type of restoration has. It will be much better with two bridges cemented in. After a consult with the patient, as well as getting all necessary hygiene appointments done beforehand, we had a few goals in mind with this case:

1. Improve the shape of the teeth to a more natural contour
2. Make the teeth larger for a more youthful look
3. Improve the colour so that the teeth look whiter
4. Improve the contacts so that we have a good chance at having the gingiva (gums) nicely fill in the space in between teeth.

So with the help of Krest Labs, we treatment planned the case.

Coming up in Part 2: The preparation of the teeth and the shape of temporary teeth.


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

Unfortunate Terminology: CBC.ca article - Will face masks protect you from the flu?

Here's an unfortunately worded article in regards to dentistry (Will face masks protect you from the flu?). While I have no issue with the premise and conclusions of the article with regards to the H1N1 flu, I wonder what this statement is doing in the article:

"Not all masks are created equally, either. Surgical masks — the kind your dental hygienist might use while inflicting a cleaning on you — offer some help, but they won't filter out smaller particles and don't provide a good seal."

Huh? Inflicting a cleaning on you? So much for preventive dental care. C'mon CBC you can do better!

Source: Will face masks protect you from the flu? April 28th, 2009. Read Sep 1, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/28/f-flumasks.html

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