Dr. John O’Keefe invited Christof Bissdorf, VP and General Manager of Canada, to speak about the recent Dentsply Sirona merger as a significant event in the global dental marketplace. Highlights With the merger, Dentsply Sirona became the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental solutions. The new company employs almost 16,000 people across the globe and represents about $3.85B in revenue. As a result, Dentsply Sirona is now able to provide dentists with workflow solutions that easily take them through every aspect of their work day. The company provides everything from some of the most trusted brands in consumables to leading edge ...

Dr. Noorein Hajira, resident in the Graduate Prosthodontics Program at the University of Toronto, spoke with Dr. John O’Keefe about the concept of Research Waste.  Highlights Research waste is a serious problem that may occur through several mechanisms. One aspect of research waste manifests when research articles addressing a topic exist but cannot be found readily by those who seek this information. Literature search may be hampered by inconsistent manner in which articles are indexed in databases. Search strategies must consider this inconsistency. Superficial literature search may not yield the desired information or the full scope of relevant articles. A good ...

Dr. Jose Lança, MD. PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmacology  in the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, spoke with Dr. Chiraz Guessaier about the use of marijuana in dentistry as well as its impact on dental practice. Highlights The government of Canada will be legalizing the use of marijuana in the Spring of 2017. Currently, marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in Canada and the United States. Interesting facts Naturally occurring endocannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) can modulate the immunological responses, motor responses, and cognition and memory as well as pain and inflammation. Naturally ...

Dr. Tracy Adams, Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology at Western University, spoke with Dr. John O’Keefe about the constantly evolving concept of public interest and its impact on dentistry.  Read Dr. Adams’ article: Professional Self-Regulation and the Public Interest in Canada (PDF) Highlights The regulation of professional groups has often been justified as being in the public interest. In recent decades, policymakers in Anglo-American countries have questioned whether self-regulating professions have truly served the public interest, or whether they have merely acted in their own interests. Based on legislative records and policy reports an exploration is undertaken of meanings ...

Drs. Izchak Barzilay, Elahe Behrooz, and Courtney David spoke with Dr. Chiraz Guessaier about their recent trip to Uganda within the Bridge to Health program.  Excerpt from the University of Toronto Dentistry Magazine (Summer/Fall 2016): It was during his second trip to the African nation that Barzilay decided he wanted to do more than extract teeth – he wanted to create a field denture program, shifting the health care priority from straight5 triage to recovery. And he wanted to bring students from the school along to learn and help. Under this new initiative, the 12-person team made fit thermoplastic dentures each ...

Dr. John O’Keefe spoke with Dr. Jaime Edelson, FDI Council Member and general dentist in Mexico City, who made a change for the better in public dentistry for school children: introducing mandatory brushing in public schools in Mexico City.  Highlights As a continuation of his work with FDI, Dr. Edelson was instrumental in introducing a public health measure to improve the health of kindergarten and primary school children. Public schools in Mexico City have adopted a new mandatory tooth brushing program which will be supervised by teachers in the hopes of reducing the prevalence of dental decay. In Mexico City, ...

Timothy Brown returns to speak with Dr. Suham Alexander about two different dental practice owners. The changing landscape in the dental industry also brings about changes in how dentist owners view their dental practices. Highlights iDentist, is a trademarked concept which refers to the dentist as an “investor” dentist with a very entrepreneurial outlook on the business. These dentists, alone or in partnership, accumulate multiple practices and thrive on growing their businesses. In general, these dentists tend to have spontaneous, ambitious, energetic and dynamic personalities. In contrast, “I, the dentist” is a dentist who prefers to operate his/her solo practice. This owner enjoys ...

Have you ever had to take a break from practice due to illness and lost confidence in yourself as a competent clinician because of these circumstances? If so, would you be prepared to share your story and give advice, on a totally confidential basis, to a colleague who is now emerging from a dark tunnel, but feeling very nervous about getting back chairside? If the answer to both questions is “yes” I invite you to keep reading. A couple of weeks back I received an email message from a colleague who had read an editorial of mine, written in 2008, ...