Patient Health

Introduction

Aphthous ulcers, also known as canker sores, are a type of mouth ulcer many experience at some point in their lives. While they may seem harmless, these ulcers can cause significant pain and discomfort, making chewing, speech, and oral home care difficult. Despite their common occurrence, the exact cause of aphthous ulcers remains a mystery, and there is no known cure. This blog will delve into the unseen pain of aphthous ulcers, exploring their symptoms, potential causes, and available treatments. Understanding this condition can help provide much-needed relief and support for our patients.

What is an aphthous ulcer?

Oral aphthosis is a painful and recurring inflammatory process of the oral mucosa producing ulcers affecting 20-25% of the population worldwide.

Communication is extremely important in dentistry, especially for the relationship between patients and dentists. You have to be able to talk effectively to patients so they feel comfortable and confident during their dental procedures. One thing that's easy to overlook is the tone of your voice.

But it actually has a huge impact on how patients perceive dental professionals and their procedures. In this article, we're going to talk about why tone of voice matters in dentistry and how it can affect patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Why Tone of Voice Matters

Tone of voice refers to the emotional quality of speech conveyed through pitch, volume, and rhythm. It's a powerful tool in communication that can really affect how a message is received. In dentistry, the tone of voice can impact a patient's perception of the dental professional,

In the dental industry, ensuring the safety of dental professionals and patients is of paramount importance. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) plays a vital role in safeguarding against potential hazards, including infectious diseases, chemical exposure, and physical injuries. Donning and doffing protocols are crucial procedures that dental professionals must adhere to in order to properly wear and remove PPE. This article will explore the various types of PPE used in the dental industry and the correct practices for donning and doffing.

As dental professionals, it is not new news that enamel falls prey to constant demineralization.  In the Enamel 101 of dentistry, we learned the fact that hydroxyapatite can be attacked by acids and break down if there is not a remineralization balance.  The ideal balance is to stop acid attacks period. 

Does every office need a DUWL program?

This can be answered by the equipment the office has.  There are two types of water delivery systems in a dental office:  direct municipal and closed bottle systems. 

The direct municipal has no bottle and is only required to purge the DUWL on opening, closing, and between clients. 

However, a closed water system as per the MIFU of the manufacturer of the dental chair or bracket table with the attached bottle, states a program is required to include cleaning, disinfecting, and testing. 

At this point, a retrofit from municipal to closed is not mandated.  It is important to note that offices do not get confused with the word municipal … if the office uses tap water in their closed bottle system that is not considered m

July 1976 at the American Legion Convention at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Legionnaires was named and identified as the cause of an outbreak of severe pneumonia with 200 cases and 29 deaths (3) (5).  The outbreak was linked to the inhalation of aerosolized contaminated water (3)(5).  A milder infection caused by the same type of Legionella bacteria is called Pontiac fever. Rewinding in time, in 1968 in Pontiac Michigan, Pontiac Fever was named and identified as an outbreak of influenza-like illness, identified by people who worked at & visited the city’s health department and had inhaled aerosols from contaminated water (3). Legionnaires' disease is an acute bacterial disease, causing death in 5% to 30% of cases (4). The Government of Canada’s Legionella site, states the following:

“Cases of Legionnaire’s disease may be difficult to detect because very few of the people exposed to the bacteria get infecte

Risk Management in a Dental Office

In many provinces, the pivotal moment for IPAC was before the pandemic, in 2017, when public health units and regulatory bodies took a closer look at the practice of IPAC in dentistry to ensure compliance with ‘routine practice’.  Before the pandemic, many offices had already swept through their IPAC policies and made enhancements to strengthen their IPAC procedures, decreasing the risk level and satisfying the elements of routine practice.  Although in 2017 reading the fine print and deciphering through the grey areas of written standards seemed like a pain in the neck, I look back and say thank you, 2017, for shaking our IPAC world ahead of time. 

In this shake-up, dental professionals became more knowledgeable in the theory of IPAC and started initiating structure to IPAC.  Again, not that we did not follow IPAC prior, but we did

Suppose you ask dental-phobic patients for the main reasons that the thought of dental visit elicits such fear and loathing.

In that case, most will probably respond with feelings related to the potential for anxiety or pain.

This anxiety can stem from genuine unpleasant past dental experiences or unknown potential for pain.

The process of disinfecting is a two-step procedure. First, the surface must be cleaned to ensure all blood, debris, and waste is removed. Second, the surface is disinfected by applying a disinfectant and letting the chemicals activate for the noted contact time to kill all bacteria, viruses and possible fungi present.