Standard Dental Claim Form Canadian Dental Association: Fill & Download for Free

Because as dentists we actually diagnose and treat a condition that we understand and can resolve.“Oil-pulling”, which is actually just swishing with a semi-hydrophilic oil such as coconut, is such a crock of mumbo-jumbo that we honestly don’t have time for it. Surprisingly to most “alternative medicine” aficionados, salt water rinses are “holistic”, and promote fibroblast formation. They are also cheaper, more hygienic, and better for the environment.Even so, swishing with such a substance might temporarily reduce some swelling, due to the lavage effects and the cooling effects, but aren’t you just a little curious as to WHY the gum is swollen?You see, if you have swollen gums, there should be a reason.If there is a reason, there is a treatment.For example, here is a gum swelling:This is an abscess secondary to a trauma. Oil-pulling will not help that.This is primary (or acute) herpetic gingival stomatitis. Oil-pulling will make it worse.This is discoid lupus. Oil-pulling will make you feel like you have done something, whereas it will only delay actual treatment, making you sicker.This is granulomatosis with polyangiitis. It is a potentially fatal disease. Oil-pulling will only delay treatment, leading to a more serious condition.This is lichen planus. Good luck swishing that away.Have swollen gums? See someone who can actually tell you why. Hint: they aren’t on the internet. Then, we can guide you to treatment.Edit:There has been a commenter who has suggested that by calling out “oil-pulling” I am somehow disrespecting or dismissing other forms of “alternative medicine”. As an answer, I think that the Canadian Dental Association’s statement says it all:The Canadian Dental Association concluded from their assessment:Oil pulling is a suggestive misnomer, implying that something bad is being pulled from the mouth (toxins and bacteria). What little scientific evidence exists shows that it is probably not as effective as standard mouth wash, and what benefit it has is likely entirely due to the mechanical act of swishing to remove particles and bacteria from teeth and gums ... Oil pulling for general health or any other indication is pure pseudoscience. Detox claims are based on nothing, as are all detox claims. There is no evidence or plausible rationale to recommend oil pulling for any indication other than as a poor substitute for oral care.Edit: Thank you for the upvotes. Once again, I am not trying to do anything but spread facts on Quora. I have no interest in advising people to do anything except what is best for their health. Once you have seen the effects of dental neglect secondary to “alternative medicine treatments”, you quickly become very jaded against “oil pulling”, fluoride avoiding [we are trying to help you, seriously], x-ray avoiding [one CAT scan exposes you to more radiation than a lifetime of dental x-rays] , “behavioral kinesiology”, “homeopathy” [don’t even get me started], “chelation” [one of the most insidious forms of quackery], mercury toxicity scare tactics [if it was that dangerous, there would be no old dental assistants and dentists], “toxin elimination” [what are these toxins exactly? List them. Show me how you eliminate them. Oh, you can’t. That is interesting.], dental amalgam removal [did you know that removing your amalgam exposes you to more mercury than leaving it in for your whole life? I thought not.], and on and on and on . . .You want holistic dentistry? Eat healthy foods, eat lots of vegetables, keep the carbohydrates to a minimum, don’t smoke (marijuana or tobacco), no drugs, don’t vape, keep alcohol to a minimum, drink mostly water and lots of that, exercise and keep your stress down, floss and brush two times a day with a fluoride toothpaste, rinse thoroughly afterwards, and you’ll be fine.Update: I cannot believe that I have gotten 3k upvotes on a dentistry question. Wow. I only thought teenagers and YouTubers got 3k upvotes anymore on Quora.

Let’s compare the pathways.The pass rate on the NDEB equivalency process is 10%.The pass rate of internationally-trained dentists in a 2-year IDDP program is close to 100%.In the equivalency process you self-study and/or take a course from some dentist in a warehouse in Mississauga who actually does nothing to upgrade your skills but tries to teach you to game the Assessment of Clinical Skills and Assessment of Clinical Judgement exams.A two-year IDDP program has you studying year 3 and year 4 dentistry in the same classes and clinics as Canadian dental students.The dentist in the warehouse teaches you to say this in interviews for IDDP programs: oh I want to study and practice dentistry in [fill in province that the particular IDDP program is in] because I want to work with vulnerable populations in dental public health programs to which the IDDP interview panel just role their eyes because this is complete and utter bullshit.The IDDP program teaches you that dental public health programs in Canada are supremely under-funded and there are not many jobs only working with vulnerable population.The dentist in the warehouse in Mississauga will chart you $4000 or $5000 for each week of your study.The IDDP program will charge you $50,000 to $60,000 per year for your study but Canadian banks will give you a $300,000+ line of credit, the same ones that Canadian dental students get but you are only studying for 2 years and not 4.The dentist in Mississauga won’t prepare you on how to deal with patients the same way Canadian dentists do.The IDDP program exposes you to various scenarios with standardized patient-actors, video records your interaction and uses it to debrief you on how successful you were.The guy in the warehouse in Mississauga provides you with no training on how to manage a dental practice in Canada.The IDDP program provides you with 3 semesters of dental practice management seminars and brings in business banking, insurance, practice brokers, lawyers, teaches you about fraud, managing your money, recent grads to tell you what they would have liked to know about practice while still in dental school, and much more.The dentist in the warehouse hasn’t even heard of the new, standardized caries assessment and management curriculum that is being implement across dental schools in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.The IDDP program uses this curriculum and has teachers who are contributors to the curriculum’s development.The dentist in the warehouse may review your associateship agreement if you ask him.The IDDP program will review your associateship agreement and make sure it is fair to both you and the principle dentist utilizing the Canadian Dental Association standardized template as a reference plus the fact that the dude reviewing the contract has reviewed 85% of all the contracts received by graduates for the last 15 years and knows every restrictive covenant that a new grad can be saddled with and helps you negotiate a better deal.If you run afoul of the dental licensing board, the dentist in the warehouse in Mississauga will claim he doesn’t know you.If you run afoul of the dental licensing board, the dental school with the IDDP program will be asked by the board to assess and remediate you so you can return to practice rehabilitated.At least that is how out would be if you came to my school’s IDDP program.Look, for some high fliers the equivalency is the best way to go because they possess the knowledge, clinical skills and soft skills to succeed anywhere. But based on my professional experience in Canada and abroad, having seen the quality of dentistry in many countries, working with, assessing and educating Internationally-trained dentists, treating new Canadians and refugees, treating international sailors from around the world with dental treatment from every port they might have pulled into, most of the internationally-trained dentists that are immigrating to Canada are not high fliers.There are countries in this world where the quality of dental education is equal to and sometimes better than Canada. But dentists from these countries are not immigrating to Canada.In my 30 year professional career I have only seen fingerprints in dental amalgams from patients who immigrated to Canada. I have only seen amalgam bridges in patients who received their dental care abroad. I have only seen stainless steel bridges with four pontics and two periodontally involved abutment teeth in patients from afar. And I could not cut through that damn stainless steel for the life of me and I had to extract it all in one piece with a forcep in each hand, one on each abutment tooth and moving buccally and lingually in harmony.These are the places that most dentist immigrating to Canada come from.I see mystery implants that look like wood screws that I would not treat even if you paid me and you would pay me. But I don’t want your money. I am not aware of a failed dentist from Canadian dental school illegally practicing in their basement. But internationally-trained dentists are regularly uncovered doing this.There is no street dentistry in Canada. Traditional village tooth pullers have all but disappeared. I know a couple of them in the Arctic.Many, many internationally-trained dentists that come to Canada come from places where street dentistry is a thing. A big thing.I have seen so much bad dentistry in my professional life. Some Canadian but mostly from abroad. I have also worked with some amazing internationally-trained dentists but they were high fliers.Who would you rather have assess and train you if you are not a high flier to be a Canadian dentist? A dentist in a warehouse in Mississauga or a Canadian dental school?

“There is not sufficient evidence that essential oils can effectively treat any condition. Improper use of essential oils may cause harm including allergic reactions and skin irritation, and children may be particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of improper use.” (Essential oil - Wikipedia)“What little scientific evidence exists shows that it is probably not as effective as standard mouthwash, and what benefit it has is likely entirely due to the mechanical act of swishing to remove particles and bacteria from teeth and gums ... Oil pulling for general health or any other indication is pure pseudoscience. Detox claims are based on nothing, as are all detox claims. There is no evidence or plausible rationale to recommend oil pulling for any indication other than as a poor substitute for oral care.” — Canadian Dental AssociationOil pulling - Wikipedia