Dr. Sean Corsini Orthodontist

02/09/2021

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is that I'm not retiring.

The bad news is that there's an office in town that's been telling their patients that I am retiring, to try to convince them to go out of town. This is clearly a lie.

There are plenty of people who decide to go out of town. That's small town mentality. What gets me is when that mentality is exploited through lies. It doesn't need any reinforcement.

Just an FYI.

01/21/2021

Some of you have started getting email updates from me. I'm trying out the software and I should ready to put it into full use next week.

I've already mentioned this before, but Jess and I are running all the time in the clinic. This software I've written allows me to send an update via email to parents with a few clicks. It only takes a few seconds. I can (and have been) adding a lot of specific individual info, which is good. The program is called "Magic Fingers" so if you get an email that ends with "Sent by Magic Fingers," please know that I can't receive any responses - they go to Tina at the front desk.

I wanted to write this program to help keep parents engaged and up to date with their kids' ortho treatments, since only the patient can be in the clinic.

01/13/2021

This is how things roll these days.

We receive COVID-19 guidelines from our associations and governing authorities. In the beginning, they were coming in fast & furious and would change several times over a short time, followed by a bit of panic.

Then, the provincial government adds or removes restrictions and we might get new guidelines.

So, when changes occur, the cycle is such that we would call other offices and other offices would call us and we'd ask each other "Are there any changes??" I would respond to my colleague with something like "Do I look like the Amazing Fn Kreskin! I don't know!" It's like we're stuck in a time loop out of Star Trek.

Then, I'm sure that Bell has a bit of a spike in usage. I'd love to see that on a graph.

Then, we would - understandably - get a flood of semi-panicked patients calling to ask if we are open or closed.

So, it's a bit of a mess when things change and the references we need are either there or not there or changed or not changed and definitely not time stamped.

As things are, we can remain open. I'm concerned that the next increases in restrictions may be a full shutdown as it was last March. Let's make sure we're all doing our part to make sure that doesn't happen. Until that particular fit hits the shan, it's status quo here.

Hakuna Metata.

01/12/2021

Our premier has issued a Stay-At-Home order, taking effect Thursday.

This could affect us/Dentistry, only if the provincial CMO orders us to close. I don't think we'll have to close, but we're trying to find out, awaiting clarification from our College.

I'll post when we know for sure.

01/07/2021

Something I miss since I've reopened are the chats with parents during appointments. It was nice to chat but it was also a great chance to keep everyone up to date and engaged. Our COVID treatment rules are such that we just can't do that the way we used to. Also, we're perpetually short staffed, with Jess and I running around between patients. I can't even get out to the parking lot for updates like I could last year.

So, to make the best of it, I'm working on a small program that will allow me to send short emails to parents with the bullet points if what's what with treatments. I will be able to do only a few mouse clicks to send an update and I don't want them to seem insincere, but it is the best I can manage at this time and should be helpful for everyone.

01/05/2021

We hope everyone had a relaxing holiday. The office is back up and running today.

We're stepping up our COVID screening mostly by changing the questions we're asking. There are cases around, in the cohort we work with.

Another thing is that we're taking temperatures at the wrist, not the forehead. In winter, the variation in forehead temps is wild; it's far more consistent at the wrist. It's already gotten some strange looks, so I thought I'd mention it.

12/21/2020

The news is that we will be open in January, during the lockdown, after our normal Christmas holiday. No need to cancel any appointments in the New Year.

Remember not to let your guard down: wear a mask, wash your hands, physically distance.

We close down for Christmas tomorrow and we wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday. See you in 2021.

07/26/2020

We've been made aware that we're losing a lot of patients who were referred but are too young for treatment. They've decided to go elsewhere.

"Early treatment" is the thought that taking care of things at an early age prevents bigger problems later on. This simply is not true. It's a favourite amongst dentists who like to do braces because it's more of a business decision that anything else.

For example, for overbite, there are some excellent studies that every orthodontist knows about, which are 25 years old already, which show that there is no difference in results in a 2-phase treatment (early, then tidy up in teens) is done early compared to results when treatment is in the teens (1-phase). The difference is cost. "Better get on it now" doesn't apply here.

I know braces are expensive. With things the way they are in Midland, I feel a responsibility to make sure that people are not wasting their funds on a 2-phase treatment, or on wasted consult fees. I've made treatment decisions based on what a patient needs, not what I need. Dentists just don't get orthodontics and, as a result, don't really know the best time to make a referral. I can't seem to get the message across. So if a "get on it now" idea is planted, then we say "too young," the damage has already been done.

We do look at all the referral forms and don't just look at the age and slam the door. It ends up being hard not to think that we're brushing off a patients or parents concern.

The biggest problem here, with an early treatment, is the "extra" time in braces, with the abscence of fluoride, greatly increases the risk of cavities. Actually, it's not a risk, it's a certainty. Plus, people definitely burn out on their retainers, so things fall apart 100% of the time before a second phase of treatment.

It's tough, but I'll always make conscientious treatment decisions even if it is working against us and dentists don't bother to call us about it.

07/16/2020

https://www.cbc.ca/life/wellness/how-to-brush-your-teeth-better-starting-today-1.5351540

Two experts — a dentist and a periodontist — share their tips and techniques

07/06/2020

06/26/2020

So we're at the end of our first week back. I did 4.5 days this week and we had 74 patients booked where we could normally see 200 over the same time.

There were 5 no-shows, resulting in 2h 15m lost time where we could have seen another 4-12 patients, depending. Sorta frustrating.

We'll see how this goes, to help us decide what we can offer and what needs to happen to meet your needs, but the dead time doesn't help anybody.

06/23/2020

We're already running into a small problem here. We have *everybody* wanting to come in at the same time, while we're trying to see all of our emergencies and fixes first.

The rules we have for treating patients during this pandemic are very restrictive - eg, we need 15mins between appointments to allow any droplets to settle, so it becomes a disaster if someone is late for their appointment.

We also NEED TO KNOW if anything is broken. This is the bigger problem. No longer can we fix anything that's not announced, since we have to track our instrument use, need to budget appropriate PPE (which is still scarce) and make sure we have the proper time in the schedule, which is in high demand. These rules are not ones we made up and we want to make sure people are safe.

We book specific things to do at each appointment, some of which have special PPE requirements. If we don't know something is broken, that PPE is wasted, as is the time. Booking a second appointment to fix things, in the high-demand time, should demand a fee. I don't like it at all, but all we're asking is to be left a message on our answering machine. We'll call you to make sure it can be taken care of, but we won't be able to fix it on the spot anymore.