Dental Did You Know: The Reason you Crown Posterior Teeth that have had a Root Canal.

From the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario's PEAK article program:

In a retrospective study of uncrowned endodontically treated teeth, the overall survival rates of molars without crowns at 1, 2, and 5 years were 96%, 88% and 36% respectively.

Yikes! So no matter how conservative the access for the root canal is and the lack of any significant caries, you should crown these teeth within two years and preferably one.

Source: McComb D,  Restoration of the Endodontically Treated Tooth,  (PEAK article), Practice Enhancement and Knowledge, Supplement to Feb/Mar 2008 Dispatch. Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario. 

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada (905) 273-7100
Plattsville Dental
43 Albert St. West, Unit 8, Plattsville, ON, Canada (226) 656-1000

Dental Did You Know: Initial Newborn Evaluation Protocol-Tethered Oral Tissues

All newborn infants should have an oral assessment as early as birth. Infants having difficulty in achieving a deep, comfortable and efficient latch onto a mother's breast should be examined by a lactation consultant within (24-48 hrs) after birth and should have an evaluation of the oral tissues, especially of the tongue and upper lip attachments completed.

Source: (Modified quote from) Kotlow L, TOTS-Tethered Oral Tissues; The Assessment and Diagnosis of the Tongue and Upper Lip Ties in Breastfeeding, Oral Health, March 2015, Vol 105, No3, pg 64-68.

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada (905) 273-7100
Plattsville Dental
43 Albert St. West, Unit 8, Plattsville, ON, Canada (226) 656-1000

Dentistry in Media: CDA Oasis App

Here's a fantastic app for iOS and Android that has the Canadian Dental Association's clinical and practice information at your fingertips. Unique clinical questions are answered along with the latest news/events/issues and people of note.

Source: CDA Essentials, Vol 2, No 1, pg 9,  Distributed Feb 2015. App is available on the app store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices

Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada (905) 273-7100
Plattsville Dental
43 Albert St. West, Unit 8, Plattsville, ON, Canada (226) 656-1000

Dental Did You Know: There are Mutiple Pathways in the Brain when Experiencing Pain

I saw this quick summary about a pain study in the University of Colorado's (Boulder) website (I noted what I thought was very interesting):

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder finds that when we use our thoughts to dull or enhance our experience of pain, the physical pain signal in the brain—sent by nerves in the area of a wound, for example, and encoded in multiple regions in the cerebrum—does not actually change (my emphasis). Instead the act of using thoughts to modulate pain, a technique called “cognitive self-regulation” that is commonly used to manage chronic pain, works via a separate pathway in the brain.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS Biology this month, show that the processing of pain in our brains goes beyond the mere physical pain signal and underscore a growing understanding among neuroscientists that there is not a single pain system in the brain, as was once believed.

Source: http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2015/01/12/study-finds-experience-pain-relies-multiple-brain-pathways-not-just-one (Read on Jan 18/2015, Original web article produced Jan 12/2015)


Hans Skariah, B.Sc., DMD
Promenade Court Dental
2233 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON, Canada (905) 273-7100
Plattsville Dental
43 Albert St. West, Unit 8, Plattsville, ON, Canada (226) 656-1000