Key message: If you harbour even the slightest dream of speaking at a dental convention (large or small) some day, please contact us to discuss the idea of you doing a presentation (or presentations) on Oasis Discussions. We can help bring you to the attention of convention organizers all around North America (and beyond).   Dear colleagues, At the end of April, I attended the Ontario Dental Association Annual Spring Meeting (ASM) in Toronto. The positive relationship between ODA and CDA was manifested in many ways over the course of the convention, and I was personally made to feel very ...

Dr. John O’Keefe invited Dr. Les Ennis to share his lessons from overseas dental missions. Canadian dentists are world renowned for their volunteer efforts aimed at providing oral care to underserved populations.  There are numerous resources available if you wish to participate in these missions. Below you will find links to some of them.  If you have a question or if you wish to share your feedback and suggestions, please get in touch with us at oasisdiscussions@cda-adc.ca Dr. John O’Keefe Director, Knowledge Networks, CDA Resource Australian Dental Association: Handbook for Dental Volunteer Projects.  Journey with Dr. Ennis in Kenya, in ...

The initial responses I have received to recent Oasis posts asking about the smartest and dumbest decisions colleagues made during their first five years after graduation from dental school, and passing on some of those tips, have been very encouraging and interesting. I wish to share more of these tips over the next few weeks, on an anonymous basis, and I also wish to talk privately in more detail with the colleagues who have indicated to me that they are happy to share more granular information with me – on a confidential basis. The overall goal of this project is ...

Below is the first response I received to my recent Oasis post asking about the smartest and dumbest decisions readers made during their first five years after graduation from dental school. I hold the colleague whose message appears below in very high esteem, as a result of positive collaborations over a number of years. Here goes: Hi John, This is a subject about which I have strong feelings. In no way shape or form were we prepared for the emotional and business side of dentistry which can make or break people. I’m sure you also witnessed colleagues going down bad ...

Dear colleagues, Next week, I will be attending the first national dental student conference being organized by the Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations (FCDSA). I love interacting with the leaders of this federation and I am very impressed by how intelligent, focused and charming they are as people. When I think of the challenges they face when they graduate I would love to be able to gather some good advice for them from seasoned practitioners like you. To get the ball rolling on gathering some wise advice for these young colleagues, let me pose the following questions to you: ...

The morning of her visit to CDA’s headquarters in Ottawa was one of the bright moments in my Oasis journey. Dr. Carol Martin joined the CDA Oasis and CDA Essentials Magazine teams to tell us the beautiful story that led to her designing what has now become Canada’s Governor General’s official tartan.  She is a dentist from Beaverlodge, Alberta; and like many other dentists I have had the pleasure to meet and work with, Dr. Martin is an artist who loves arts, sculpting and working with colors. We now know that there is more beneath the white coat, and her ...

Dr. Scott Schofield from Nova Scotia founded the Fundy Dental Community Project with a number of other dentists.  To get in touch with Dr. Schofield: fundycommunity@bellaliant.com Highlights The Fundy Dental Community Project (FDCP) is a pilot program initiated by local dentists to provide basic dental services to motivated, low-income youth and adults to complete a treatment plan aimed at treating their current dental disease. This program was developed to establish a healthy oral condition in qualified patients, and provide them with the education necessary to maintain their improved oral health status. Patients involved in this program are chosen through an ...

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, ...