Ongoing Research

Things That Make Us Go Hmm…?

Our Research Projects

Long-Term Assessment of Periodontal Health

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused all dental clinics across Canada to temporarily shut down. Our office closed its doors and appointments were cancelled.

Our patients are on an individualized schedule created specific for them and their oral needs. Disruption to this schedule caused serious disruption to their oral status and need for periodontal maintenance.

Therefore, we have partnered with researchers from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences with Brock University  to determine whether or not this disruption to regularly scheduled care affected periodontal health.

We are currently recruiting patients to participate in this study to help to answer this clinical question with evidence-based proof.

Other goals of this study are to determine the long-term outcomes and overall periodontal health of patients who attend our clinic for routine care, and to follow these participants over time to track their periodontal health.

If you are interested in participating, take a peak at our official Letter of Invitation below and ask your hygienist at your next appointment if you are a candidate! As always, we are so appreciative to our patients for consenting their information be used to further the practice of periodontology and dentistry.

Responsible Graduate Student: Larissa Rowdon

Aerosol Study

In March 2020, COVID-19 brought the dental world to a screeching halt!  On our return to practice, new rules and safety measures were introduced.  One of which was the introduction of a fallow time between one patient to the next.

We have partnered with the Department of Engineering at McMaster University to analyze the number of particles in the air of our operatories before, during, and after our dental procedures to quantify the time it takes for the particles to be cleared from the air by our negative pressure HVAC units.

We are using sophisticated particle counters in our dental hygiene operatories and measuring the air quality when we are working alone and with a dental hygiene assistant.

Update: We have submitted the findings from our research study in a manuscript to the Journal of Canadian Dental Association. We look forward to sharing the official results soon!

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