Dental Did You Know: Mothers and Dental Appointments

Mothers make 90% of their family's dental appointments! (Wow!)

Source: Wilson C, Word of Mouth, Delivered Digitally, Dental Practice Management, Spring 2011, pg 5.

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: What is IPR?

IPR is an acronym for Interproximal Reduction. A technique usually used in orthodontics and restorative dentistry to thin teeth using sanding disks or strips. Up to 8-9mm of space per arch can be gained through this technique.

Source: Goodman J, Interproximal Reduction for Dummies, Oral Health, March 2011, Vol 101, No 3, pg 10-17.

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

Dental Did You Know: Analgesic Prescribing Patterns for Dentists

When combating pain, dentists prescribe acetaminophen (Tylenol) or NSAIDs (like Advil) 89.6% of the time, with narcotics being prescribed 10.4% of the time.

Source: Steele S, Dental Patients: Narcotics Abuse and You, Ontario Dentist, Vol 88, No 2, March 2011, pg 18-21.

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

Nice Decision Guide for Performing Root Canals on Compromised Teeth

Saw this nice link to the American Association of Endodontists website. It's a large PDF file (4.0MB) presentation showing some of the great ways to save near hopeless teeth through endodontics and selective restorations.

You can view the presentation here: Treatment Options for the Compromised Tooth, A Decision Guide

Source: http://www.aae.org/uploadedFiles/TreatmentOptionsGuideWeb.pdf Viewed March 2, 2011

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 Risk of Dying from Anaesthesia

The risk of dying from anaesthesia is very low: about 0.58 cases per million. In comparison, Air Canada lists its fatality rate at 0.33 per million flights and lightening strikes are about 0.11 per million.

Source: Nkansah P, Is it Dangerous?, Oral Health, Vol 101, No 2, pg  3-6, Feb 2011.

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 number of dentists in Canada

There are approximately 20 000 dentists in Canada.

Source: http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/cda/news_events/statistics/default.asp Read on Feb 12/11.

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: Bacterial Counts in Dental Plaque

Bacterial levels can reach more than 100 000 000 000 micrograms per mg of dental plaque.

Source:  Li X et al, Systemic diseases caused by oral infections, Clin Microbiol Rev, Oct 2000, Vol 13, No 4 547-558.

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 Greatest Opportunities for a Practice to Grow ; 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey

The greatest opportunities for practice growth identified by survey participants are:

1. Patient referrals
2. Increasing % of patients who come in for routine visits
3. Invisalign braces
4. Cosmetic services
5. At home dental hygiene products

I think the first two are no-brainers :)

Source: 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey Findings, Dental Practice Management, Winter 2010, pg 7-9.

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 Worst Age Group for No-Shows; 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey

Probably not too surprising...the number one age group noted by those surveyed that were most likely not to show up for a dental appointment were:

• 19-24 year olds  (29.9%)
• 15-18 year olds (24.9%)
• 25-29 year olds (15.5%)

The age group most reliable? Those who were 50 years and older (0.7 %)

Source: 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey Findings, Dental Practice Management, Winter 2010, pg 7-9

Cheers!

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 Worst Gender for No-Shows; 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey

This can't be too much of a shock :) 77.8% of those surveyed said males were most likely not to show up for an appointment.

Source: 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey Findings, Dental Practice Management, Winter 2010, pg 7-9.

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 Worst Day for No-Shows; 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey

According to the 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey, 52.5% of respondents said Monday was the worst day for appointment no shows, followed by Friday (14.8%) and Saturday (9.6%). The most reliable day turned out to be Thursday (8.2%).

Source: 2010 North American Dental Practice Survey Findings, Dental Practice Management, Winter 2010, pg 7-9.

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

The Blog is Mobile Enabled!

Hi everyone! Hopefully everyone had a great Christmas holiday! Just a quick note that we have activated the mobile version of the blog to be shown on mobile devices like your iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone or Android device. The normal blog site will be shown on regular browsers on your PC or Mac.

Also a reminder that we will operate on a 1/2 day schedule on the 31st and be closed on the 1st of January. Monday January 3rd will be emergencies only (limited schedule) and our normal schedule returns on Wednesday the 5th of January!

Cheers and all the best for 2011!


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: Hypnosis and TMD pain

A recent study showed that hypnosis can reduce TMD pain levels by 50% or more versus a control group that were given simple relaxation techniques. Wow!

Source: Sevels I, Clinical Abstracts, Ontario Dentist, Dec 2010, Vol 87, No 10.

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: Oral Cancer Facts

• Over 90% of oral cancers are carcinomas
• The most common areas are the tongue, lips and floor of the mouth
• Risk factors included tobacco and regular alcohol consumption
• Early detection greatly increases patient survival and only takes 90 seconds to perform initially

Source: Gardner M,  Evidence-Based Clinical Recommendations Regarding Screening for the Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas, Dispatch, RCDSO, Aug/Sep 2010, Vol 24, No 3, pg 26-27.

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

Nice Slideshow on Food and Drinks that Cause Tooth Staining

Saw this nice slideshow on webmd.com regarding food and drinks that are notorious for staining your 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

A Reminder to Everyone About Their Dental Benefits

Just a quick reminder to everyone that has "typical dental insurance coverage" to take advantage of their benefits before the year is up for pending work like crowns, fillings and cleanings. Most dental coverages reset January 1st at their usual yearly amount.

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 News: Penicillin Shortage in Toronto?

I've been getting reports from at least two pharmacies (One a large chain and one a small independent) that there is a shortage of Penicillin. My initial inquiries suggested that the earliest resolution to the shortage will be in December. Until then, it's been recommended to me to switch to different antibiotics to help alleviate the situation. I'll be following up on this story in the upcoming days and weeks.

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

Dental Did You Know: Calcium Requirements for Middle-Aged (and Older) Adults

For people 31-50, the daily dietary requirement is 1000mg, for those older, it goes up to 1200mg per day. (A glass of milk has about 300mg)

Source: Ward W Fritz C, The "Sunshine Vitamin" and Periodontal Health: A Vitamin D Update, Oral Health, October 2010, Vol 100, No 10, pg 33-36.

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

My Dental Implant Placement in 9 Minutes

Hi everyone,

This is a video of a dental implant placement procedure (Tooth #47 - Noble Biocare Implant) on myself (Dr. Hans Skariah) by one our fantastic oral surgeons (Dr. Ian Furst at Coronation Dental Specialty Group). I had this filmed on my iPhone to give everyone who has had a dental implant suggested as a treatment option an idea on how easy and fast it is to place. A bit of background first: before this video, I had signed consent forms and had a couple of easy injections with topical to anesthetize the area. There is a bit of lighthearted banter going on as both of us are quite relaxed.

Normally, our patients would undergo this procedure with Dr. Furst and the actual restoration of implant (crown) with us, usually fabricated by the great team at POW Laboratories. I have always felt that a great team works fabulously together and that is definitely the case here, as we have done well over 100 collaborative procedures since 2002 in both the Mississauga practice (Promenade Court Dental) and the Tavistock Dental Health Group. Enjoy the video!

P.S. There was very minimal discomfort after the procedure, easily tolerable with Tylenol for a day or two afterwards.

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 Development of Peer Review

One of the first instances of peer-review happened in 1731 when the editor of Medical Essays and Observations, published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, forwarded submitted articles to those they considered "most versed in these matters".

Source: Hardie J, Is This Article Worth Reading? A Critical Analysis of Peer Review, Oral Health , Vol 100, No 9, Sept 2010, pg 70-77.

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