Toronto Toddler Day at the Dentist October 2009

We had our toddler day at the dentist yesterday and what a great day it was! We had a great turnout of toddlers, specifically the 2 and under age group. What fascinates me the most about this age group when they are in the chair is how inquisitive they are, I mean they want to explore EVERYTHING which is wonderful, this is the way dentistry should start for every child! I really feel that we are promoting a future for children who enjoy coming to the dentist and promoting oral health for life. Thank you to everyone who came out to make our toddler day a success. We are looking to have our next toddler day at the dentist in the next two months.

Another program that we are anticipating launching soon is our Oral Cancer Detection Program. This program will be complimentary to all residents of the GTA. We would like to make the public aware of the incidence of oral cancer (in the US alone, oralcancer.org states "100 new individuals per day are diagnosed and a person dies every hour of everyday of this devastating illness.") With these statistics it is obvious oral cancer is not a 'rare' illness.

www.youtube.com/user/OralCancerFoundation


The causes of oral cancer are quite distinct, one being tobacco and alcohol use, the other being HPV virus (the one also related to cervical cancer in women). It makes sense that dentists and dental hygienists are the ones who are identifying oral lesions and directing the patient to treatment. If oral cancer is caught early, "it has a 80-90% survival rate." oralcancer.org. Don't assume an oral cancer exam is being done either, the dentist and/or dental hygienist need to physically retract all tissues in the mouth, palpate fully the oral cavity, head and neck regions, as well as check the palate, throat and floor of the mouth. An thorough oral cancer exam takes approximately 5-10 minutes. Any lesions that are noted should be measured and specifics noted, if the lesion is in question then I would either biopsy it immediately or send to our oral
surgeon(s) Dr.Marshall Freilich or Dr.Shane Citron, oralsurgerytoronto.com to examine the oral lesion.

The focus of our new program will be on oral cancer exams/detection as well as treatment of oral lesions from those undergoing cancer treatment (chemotherapy/radiation) who develop oral mucositis as a side effect. We use our diode laser in a low level therapy mode to treat sore areas/lesions of the mouth to help alleviate the discomfort and even inducing healing of the ulcers. Since laser therapy is non-invasive and is simply put a LED light (non-ionizing) it can be used on these patients. Our team is committing themselves to this challenge; preventing/detecting oral cancer, as well as assisting in eliminating pain from those undergoing chemotherapy/radiation for all types of cancer so they may live without oral pain. We will keep you posted on future dates for the start of this program.

Have a great Sunday!
Nathan