Well, we're back from our medical/dental trip to Guatemala.  My assistants Iris and Odalmis travelled with me along with a team of physicians, nurses, paramedics and 5 other dentists.  This included Dr. Domenic Delle Donne and his assistant, Joanna.  Domenic practices as an endodontist (root canal specialist) in Milton.  Having him aboard was invaluable because he allows us to save teeth that would often otherwise need to be extracted. Having Joanna on the team meant that Domenic was as efficient as ever.  Iris and Odalmis are key to our success because of their assisting skills and the fact that they are fluent in Spanish.  I'm not.  :(

This year the dental team saw 710 children and adults over 5 working days.  We travelled up to 1 1/2 hours from our hotel at the crack of dawn each morning to poor areas which have little access to any medical or dental care.  Three of those days this year were in a slum where 30,000 people live.  As always, the days were long and tiring but rewarding.  The need in these areas is incredible, and with long line-ups we can only spend a limited amount of time with each person.  But, I like to think that we helped make their lives a little better as a result.

I would like to thank Sinclair Dental, Hansamed, Germiphene, Sure Dental, Patterson Dental and Parkell for their generous donation of supplies.  You may not have been there, but we couldn't have done it without you!

There are lots of reasons for not going to the dentist.  Here are some of the most common:

You’re embarrassed at the condition of your teeth and you’re worried that you’ll be scolded for neglecting them.

You’re afraid of what it will cost to restore your mouth to health.

You’re terrified of needles.

You had a bad experience as a child.

If it makes you feel any better, you’re not alone.  We see people every day with stories like this.  Please be assured that we won’t scold you.  We’ll help you work out a financial plan for your treatment that fits your budget and we’d be happy to discuss various methods that will make you much more relaxed for your appointments.

It’s a new year.  Why not make it your New Year’s resolution to have a healthy and attractive smile.  We’d be honoured to help you.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care recently introduced changes that may affect you if you are given a prescription for a painkiller at the dentist.  This initiative has come into effect in order to decrease the abuse and misuse of narcotics and controlled substances.
 

What this means for you, as it relates to dentistry, is that if you require a prescription for a painkiller, you will be asked for some form of ID when you are at the dental office.  This will typically be in the form of your health card or drivers licence, but you may also present other ID such as a valid passport or birth certificate issued from a Canadian province or territory.  The dentist will record this ID number on your prescription and you will be required to show the ID with the corresponding number when you go to the pharmacist to pick up your prescription.  If someone is picking up the prescription for you, they will need to show this same ID that you showed at the dental office as well as ID of their own.  The pharmacist will record their name and address and keep it on file at the pharmacy.
 

While it may seem like a hassle, it will hopefully help control the growing problem of addiction to narcotics and controlled substances within the province.

It's hard to believe that another year is coming to an end.  It's true that the years seem to go by faster as we get older (not that I'm getting old!).
Most people with insurance benefits have an annual maximum that runs from January to December.  If you still have benefits available for this year and have outstanding dental work or are past due for your checkup and cleaning, you would be wise to come in before the end of the year.  That way, you can minimize your out-of-pocket expenses for the next year, especially if something unexpected comes up.
Sometimes a little planning now can save you a lot of money.

I'm always impressed when I hear about people that continue to lead productive lives even as they get older.  I thought I'd share the stories of three such people that I heard of  this past week:

The first was someone I met this week who is well into her 60's but gets up every day at 4 am to work out for aobut 3 hours.  Wow.  That takes a lot of dedication.

I also met someone who is well into his 70's.  He has just completed a Masters degree at a local university and now he is going to start working on his PhD.

The last person is not someone I have met.  He is the uncle of a patient I saw this week.  He told me that his uncle, a retired school teacher, is 94 and still spends 4 hours each weekday volunteering at the local school.  What is even more impressive is that he walks 20 blocks a day in order to do so.  That's amazing!

I'm not sure I'll make it to 94, but if I do, I hope I can still lead a productive life.