Experience Our Brand New Dental Clinic

Dentistry has traditionally been trying to solve three-dimensional problems with two-dimensional x-rays, but with the introduction of CT scanners, this is no longer the case. Nowadays, many wisdom teeth extractions, root canals, and most implant placements should be done with a CT scan that enables the dentist (and you) to better visualize the problem in three dimensions. That’s the new normal! This CT scan technology, also known as “Cone Beam CT”, is unique to dentistry and has exceptionally low radiation levels in comparison with hospital CT scanners. Although it requires extensive training, is heavily regulated, and needs a large upfront investment by the dental clinic, but it is now feasible for use in dentistry and ultimately improves your treatment results.

US Department of Labor conducted a study to rank the ‘Unhealthiest Jobs’ in America. Dentistry ranked # 1 as the Unhealthiest Job of all 974 occupations in this study:

The dental profession is especially vulnerable to exposures to airborne contaminants such as the COVID virus. During a regular dental visit, patients, dentists, and assistants are exposed to bio-aerosols that originate from the use of drills and air/water sprays. These fine droplets, which may contain dangerous pathogens such as the COVID virus, are dispersed in the air, and can stay airborne for hours! They are easily inhaled and become a potential source of infection for everyone in the dental clinic. The amount of time these droplets remain suspended in air, how far they travel and their level of contamination should be a concern for everyone, and especially for highly vulnerable patients (children, pregnant women, and the elderly).

If you have ever been to an operating room of a hospital, you may have noticed a cooler and cleaner airflow. This is accomplished with modern, and very powerful, HVAC and Air Purification systems that constantly supply fresh uncontaminated air, as well as filter the existing air from contaminants produced during treatment.

This technology is not limited to hospitals, many other industries have upgraded their HVAC and Air Purification Systems to bring them up to today’s standards. They are being used in professional sports locker rooms, bank headquarters, security companies, law firms, universities, retail stores, and daycares. This is because poor indoor air quality, in addition to causing outright disease, can also have a dramatic effect on human performance. Symptoms linked to poor air quality include headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness, and nausea. Cognitive functions can also be adversely affected. Studies also show that better indoor air quality leads to higher human productivity.

Unfortunately, HVAC and Air Purification systems are very difficult and expensive to upgrade once a building has been constructed and so they are ‘frozen’ in time, along with the buildings they ventilate. These systems typically do not evolve as standards are upgraded. As dental professionals, over the past few decades, we have learned to wear PPEs, thoroughly sterilize our instruments, and disinfect contaminated surfaces, but indoor air quality has largely been IGNORED. Indoor air quality control should clearly be a part of our infection control protocol. We are equally responsible to upgrade our HVAC systems as standards are improved to protect you, as well as our staff who spend a significant portion of their lives inside the clinic. And at Soleil we have done exactly that.

Scanners have replaced the messy process of taking moulds of your teeth. No more goop, gagging, or discomfort. And the scans are digitally sent to the dental laboratory that will be fabricating your dental treatment appliance. The old gooey moulds need to be mailed out to the lab; this not only takes time but also causes some deformation of the mould as the material ‘ages’ while in transit. And when the lab bases all their work on a deformed mould, a poorly fitting crown, bridge, or denture is a common outcome. With digital modelling, the lab has your model within minutes of taking the scan, and it has zero deformation!

Ultraviolet light technology has been used in large health-care facilities for decades with success. A new study shows that UV disinfection technology eliminates up to 97.7 percent of pathogens in the hospital operating rooms. These systems work by shining UV light on all exposed surfaces in clinic areas. This kills most living microorganisms. It is a perfect adjunct to the traditional wiping of surfaces with disinfectants and use of barriers to prevent contamination. Those methods, no matter how carefully employed, often leave some areas dirty for years resulting in permanent Petri dishes of pathogens all around the clinic.

But the cost of these systems has made them unfeasible for community dental clinics. However, a silver lining of the COVID pandemic was that, as dentists are searching for novel and more effective ways to disinfect their offices, more are now finding that UV sanitizers a good solution.

Digital x-ray sensors have many advantages over film-based dental x-rays. They require ~90% less radiation than conventional films; this makes them much less hazardous to your health. They also produce instantaneous images of your bone & teeth on a computer screen where the dentist can use image-enhancing tools for establishing an accurate diagnosis. And you can see it all from right there in the chair! The dentist can use the enhanced image to explain the rationale for your treatment options. This will help YOU choose the course of action that is best for you.

Oral imaging is done with a video camera that goes inside your mouth. This small photo-wand projects a full-colour image on the computer screen for patients and doctors to see and discuss. No more of the ‘leap of faith’ moment where the doctor looks in and tells you what is going on inside your mouth. Now a blown-up image, right before your eyes, informs and educates: “there’s that crack in your tooth that’s causing the problem”, “there’s that inflamed gum tissue that’s causing all the discomfort”. You see for yourself what the problem is, and then how the treatment fixes it down the line.

Maintaining health information in a paper format is inefficient. It often results in miscommunication and lost information. This also applies to film-based x-rays; they are just paper-based images. This ultimately affects your treatment results:

• Did the dentist remember all your paperwork, in those split few seconds, when he recommended removing your front tooth? Could you have kept the tooth based on something written in your chart a few years back?
• Did he remember everything about you, out of thousands of patients, when he recommended that root canal procedure? Is it going to work or are you wasting your money?

These questions are best answered with a computer-based system that compiles and presents information relevant to each moment, far more efficiently than paper ever can.

In addition, paper is dirty! This link is to a 2014 study of hospital charts that found most to be contaminated. They concluded these charts to be an important source of potential infections. Similar to a hospital, a dental office is full of contaminants and paper charts absorb these germs. So, your paper chart is not only a dental record, but also a store of all the germs that it has collected over the years, and it could, potentially, cause future infections in anyone that is exposed to it.

On the other hand, a computer screen can easily be wiped with disinfectants after each patient; hence eliminating this risk of cross-contamination. There is no denying that the world is moving to a paperless existence, and most dental clinics have been keeping up with this change.

Patients

You are the most important part of your own treatment. Without your informed decisions and subsequent cooperation, it is certain that any treatment will fail to meet your expectations. At Soleil, we recognize this and spend the time and resources required to inform and educate you about the problem, available options, chances of success, costs, timelines, etc. Every time you come to Soleil, we hope that you will walk away with a bit more knowledge about your oral health and dentistry’s solutions for improving it.

Support Staff

Dental assistants, sterilization technicians, receptionists, and laboratory technicians all require specialized training to carry out their respective functions in a dental clinic. However, unlike for dentists and hygienists, this is not yet required by law, so these jobs are open to anyone, even those with no training or background in dentistry. But the law sets minimum standards. At Soleil, we go above and beyond by hiring qualified personnel and putting them through a continuous and rigorous training regiment. The continuous aspect of any training program is important. Ideas must be constantly reinforced. Just because an employee was shown a training video of something years ago, it doesn’t mean they are going to remember it when required. The concepts must have been repeatedly reinforced over that timeframe.

Dental Hygienists

Maintenance of the gums (cleanings), though essential for oral care, but it is not the only treatment modality within the dental hygiene’s scope of practice.  Soleil’s hygienists continue taking courses beyond their initial training and utilize their full scope of practice in caring for your oral health. This may include some restorative (fillings), orthodontic, and cosmetic procedures. They also continuously educate their patients about routine care at home, smoking cessation, and healthy nutrition.

Dentists

Nowadays, being a good dentist is not just about some initial schooling and then gaining experience in the ‘field’ through years of practice, it is just as important, if not more, to keep up with the fast-evolving science and technology. Gone are the days when dentistry was just a skilled trade! It is now a scientifically-backed profession. There are thousands of dental academics whose sole job is to research new, and more effective, dental treatments. And this information is disseminated to your local dentist via training courses that continue for life.

The quantity of this continuing education is mandated in regulation. However, the quality of these courses varies widely: they range from basic stuff that are almost free, to those that cost tens of thousands of dollars and deal with the cutting edge science and technology. The dentists at Soleil are willing to pay the cost of keeping up with these cutting-edge stuff. And this often involves continuing education in implants, sedation, CT scanners, braces, gum surgery, etc.

Through these continuing education courses, dentists also become members of dental associations beyond the basic ones included with their license. These forums allow for the exchange of ideas with other dentists. This prevents the silo-minded practice of dentistry. Two minds are usually better than one, and when your dentist is connected to the rest of the profession, you are more likely to be receiving the best care that is available out there.