Richmond Hill Sleep Dentistry

07/01/2026

🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day from all of us at Richmond Hill Sleep Dentistry! 🇨🇦

Today, we celebrate the beautiful country we are proud to call home and the incredible communities that make Canada so special.

At Richmond Hill Sleep Dentistry, we are honoured to care for "the very young, the young at heart and the special ones". Every day, we are inspired by the courage, kindness, and resilience of our referred patients and their families. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey.

With today's extreme heat across the Greater Toronto Area, please remember to take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Stay hydrated, seek shade or air conditioning when possible, and check in on family members, friends, neighbours, and anyone who may be more vulnerable to the heat.

Wishing everyone a joyful, safe, and memorable Canada Day filled with love, laughter, and wonderful moments with family and friends.

Happy Canada Day! 🤍🍁

04/05/2026

Happy Easter Sunday!
Amid recent media attention surrounding the “Chocolate Heist” in Europe, the latest findings from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) offer a timely perspective on the impact of free sugar consumption on both oral and systemic health.

The CHMS reports a noteworthy pattern:
Canadians are experiencing fewer tooth losses overall, yet the prevalence of gum disease continues to increase.

As many enjoy seasonal treats today, these findings serve as an important reminder that sugar affects more than just cavities. An oral health, in turns, plays a significant role in our broader wellness.

For those interested in reviewing Dr Paul Allison (Professor at Mc Gill University)'s discussion of the CHMS report, the link can be found here :

ref: https://youtu.be/Zh82nAQpByY?si=mtaU498XZ5CMkt6v

02/28/2026

Cognitive Health Around Surgery

Great to see Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre launch its first-of-its-kind Perioperative Cognition Clinic — right here in Ontario. This clinic provides wrap-around cognitive care for patients before and after surgery, particularly those at higher risk of cognitive changes.

Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders (P-NCDs) can affect memory, attention, and thinking after major surgery, especially in older adults and individuals with frailty.

The good news? Research shows that simple, healthy habits may help reduce risk:

✔️ Nutritious diet
✔️ Good hydration
✔️ Regular physical activity
✔️ Quality sleep
✔️ Brain exercises (puzzles, reading, games)
✔️ Maintaining familiar routines

Supporting overall health is one of the best ways to support brain health — before and after any surgery.

Learn more:

Sunnybrook’s new Perioperative Cognition Clinic welcomed the first patient to its integrated perioperative care model.

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas and Happy 2026 to all.
Office is Closed for a brief Holiday break from Dec 24 to Jan 1, 2026.
Wish everyone a lovely holiday season!

11/02/2025

Pediatric Rental Tubular Acidosis (RTA)
- a rare kidney disorder that can affect how a child's body balance acid and base.

💧RTA happens when the kidneys don’t properly remove acid from the blood. Over time, this can cause:
: Low blood bicarbonate (“acidic” blood)
: Low potassium
: Muscle weakness, tiredness, and slow growth
: Sometimes kidney stones or bone problems

For most children, RTA is well controlled with medication (like bicarbonate or citrate) — but it’s important for the child's care team members to be aware of diagnosis and management.

😴Why It Matters for Dental Sedation or Anesthesia
During sedation or anesthesia, a child’s body must maintain steady breathing, heart rhythm, and chemical balance.
Because RTA affects acid–base and electrolyte levels, it can:
- Change how the body responds to anesthetic or sedative medicines
- Make breathing or blood pressure less stable if acidosis isn’t well controlled
- Affect how quickly some medications leave the body

That’s why extra care and monitoring are needed — especially when procedures involve deep sedation or general anesthesia.

🩺 Consideration for optimized patient care
Before any procedure, it is important to:
: Review medical history carefully – including RTA type, medications, and recent lab results.
: Coordinate with child’s physician or specialist (nephrologist) to make sure their condition is stable.
: Check hydration and acid–base balance —want everything in a safe range before starting.
: Adjust the sedation plan to choose the right medications and dose.
: Monitor breathing, heart rate, and oxygen levels closely during and after the procedure.

🩵 Safe dental care starts with shared information.
Always let your care team know about your child’s medical (kidney or metabolic) conditions — it truly helps us care for them safely.

References:
1) Gafsi B et al., “Anesthesia management of children with renal tubular acidosis” (HK Paediatric J) //Hong Kong J Pediatr Res 2019; 2(2): 28-29
2) Clinical Approach to RTA in Children, Pediatrics in Review
pedscases.com // Pediatr Rev (2024) 45 (11): 665–669.

02/22/2025

Choose Wisely Canada - Dentistry - a toolkit to reduce overuse of antibiotics!

A shout out to the team's effort behind the scene in making the "ToolKit on using Antibiotics Wisely for Managing Tooth pain in Adult" available for public and Dental professionals.

Old habit is hard to change BUT with continuous effort, education and explanation with most updated evidence, it is hopeful - especially from the standpoint of - providing better care for dental patient and greater long-term benefit of populations as a whole.

The ToolKit is available at https://choosingwiselycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/02/Dental_Toolkit_2024_3.pdf

10/27/2024

If you know of a child with
:poor sleep quality (snore, toss-and-turn/odd sleep position);
:poor diet choice/unhealthy diet preference;
:day-time lack of focus; irritability or
:other emotional or behavioral problem (hyperactive)....

The child might be suffering from Childhood Sleep Apnea ---

Consult with physician for proper diagnosis (sleep study);
Seek treatment, and diet counselling ASAP, exercise regularly
--- child's (and family's) quality of life can be greatly improved.

Prognosis:
With treatment, childhood sleep apnea symptoms can go away and won’t have a long-term effect on child as they grow. Untreated sleep apnea may be dangerous and can affect your child’s growth and development.

As Dental Professional, when a child presents with severe dental cavities; we do routinely spend time to review medical history, dental history, diet pattern and personality status to help family identify etiology. Treatment the cavity plus addressing the background causes will improve prognosis for child's overall well being!

ref: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14312-obstructive-sleep-apnea-in-children
: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pediatric-sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20376196
: https://www.ankitparakh.com/conditions-treated/sleep-disorders-in-children/obstructive-sleep-apnea/
: https://www.sleepadvisor.org/sleep-apnea-in-children/
: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10291126/

10/12/2024

Interprofessional collaboration with other healthcare providers:
- Oct 2024 World Dental Federation (FDI) has newly launched oral health fact sheets for other healthcare professionals - To expand access to oral health and to achieve the goal of affordable and accessible healthcare for all, there is a need to engage the wider healthcare workforce for the prevention and control of oral diseases.
- The FDI also run a Whole Body Health Project -which is a dynamic platform where research on the association between oral
diseases and the most common noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is kept updated. Click on the following link to
learn how oral health relates to twelve different systemic conditions: https://whole-body-health.fdiworlddental.org/

Most oral diseases are preventable through straightforward, evidence-based interventions. However, there is a shortage of dentists in many parts of the world. To expand access to oral health and to achieve the goal of affordable and accessible…

07/01/2024

Advocating for Children's Health Ref: JCDA 2024 issue 3 pg 17-18

Oral health and general health are inextricably connected; The link between frequent dietary sugar and tooth decay is well-established. Unfortunately we also noticed
Few alarming statistics:
- Ultra-processed food consumption in Canada is highest in children between 9 and 13, making up nearly 60% of calories in their diet.
-Diet high in ultra-processed foods or sugary drinks are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease; stroke; diabetes, cancers, tooth decay and mortality later in life.
- Children in Canada are bombarded with marketing for food high in salt, sugar and/or saturated fat on a regular basis across a variety of media and settings.
- Children are uniquely vulnerable to marketing due to their still-developing brains.

Working with a coalition of health care professions and stakeholders toward better nutrition through decreased marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children, could make a big differences, not only for kids' teeth in the short term, but their health and well-being throughout their lives!
Ref: JCDA 2024 issue 3 pg 17-18 "Advocating for Children's Health"
: https://stopmarketingtokids.ca/

06/09/2024

Angelman Syndrome
ref: Journal of Clinical Anesthesia. 26(1):75-9, 2014 Feb.

* a genetic disorder characterized by
: Severe developmental delay
: Speech disorder >receptive language problem>,
: Ataxia (lack of muscle control in arms and legs) -- more susceptible to effect of neuromuscular blocking agent (more prone to falls/accidents after sedation-anesthesia).
: Craniofacial abnormalities
: Odd behavior accompanied by a happy disposition and occasional bouts of laughter.
* Prevalence from one in 10,000 to one in 40,000 - Variation in phenotypes.

*Perioperative Anesthesia consideration
: Variability in phenotypes
: Pharmacodynamic unpredictability

*Prognosis and Treatment
: for those with a longer lifespan, seizures typically persist with less severity and an improved EEG pattern over time.
: Adult with AG retain their behavioral uniqueness; but they have a calmer demeanor, are less excitable and have fewer outbursts of laughter than younger patients.
: Treatment limits to control of seizures. -- research suggests that pt has good therapeutic response to valproic acid, phenobarbital, and clonazepam, as well as other BZD -- as a result of changes in the GAGA-A system.

*Vagal Hypertonia -
: outburst of laughter might cause transient syncope secondary to vagal hypertonia.
: vagal tone might originate centrally and may be induced by changes in intrathoracic pressures and Valsalva-like maneuvers during the bouts of laughter.

Other ref:

Angelman syndrome is a severe neurological disorder characterized by developmental delays, epilepsy, and problems with motor coordination and balance. It is named after a British pediatrician, Harry Angelman, who first described the syndrome in 1965.  Individuals with AS do not develop functional s...