Oral Health, Total Health News
Stay connected with OHTH. Be the first to read the latest news, and stay on top of our many initiatives! Here you will find our news releases and the latest articles about Oral Health, Total Health.
If you are a member of the media and would like more information or to book an interview, please contact OHTH at info@ohth.ca.
CTS: Always Good News and OHTH’s Sharing Smiles Day 2011
Connie Smith from Always Good News with reporter Greg Howe capture Sharing Smiles Day 2011 in Oakville with the University of Toronto Dental students, George Brown Dental Hygiene students and persons with special needs from various community centers! Follow the this Link to view the footage of this head-line story (aired on April 4th).
Good News Toronto: A Smile Worth Sharing
March 6th, Reporter: Lee Anne Wine Many understand and have experienced the frustration of spending hours in a doctor’s office only to be examined for less than fifteen minutes and then sent on their way. What if you were referred by your local dentist’s office to another clinic eight hours away for a basic dental [...]
Ottawa Citizen Newspaper: Patients with special needs at risk for poor oral care
Lack of specialized dentists results in long wait times By Iris Winston, Postmedia News February 24, 2011 Many people with physical or mental disabilities are not receiving the oral care they need or have to wait for treatment for a year or more. “Approximately 4.4 million people in Canada have disabilities. Ensuring that they receive [...]
Calgary Herald Newspaper: Oral care a concern for special needs
Accessibility part of the problem By Iris Winston, For Postmedia News February 24, 2011 Many people with physical or mental disabilities are not receiving the oral care they need or have to wait for treatment for a year or more. “Approximately 4.4 million people in Canada have disabilities. Ensuring that they receive proper oral care [...]
Montreal Gazette Newspaper: Special needs patients at risk for poor oral care
‘It is up to us to ensure equal and universal access’ By IRIS WINSTON, Postmedia News February 24, 2011 Many people with physical or mental disabilities are not receiving the oral care they need or have to wait for treatment for a year or more. “Approximately 4.4 million people in Canada have disabilities. Ensuring that [...]
Oakville Beaver Newspaper: Dental students want everyone to share a smile
David Lea, OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville dental students wants everyone to share a smile While many people may not like going to the dentist, doing so for most requires little more than driving down the street to the nearest dental office. This, however, is not the case for many people with special needs, who must [...]
The National Post: Dental care for persons with special needs
Dental care for people with special needs Iris Winston, Postmedia News · Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 Many people with physical or mental disabilities are not receiving the oral care they need or have to wait for treatment for a year or more. “Approximately 4.4 million people in Canada have disabilities. Ensuring that they receive proper [...]
CHCH News: Maria Hayes and OHTH
CHCH News: February 18th, 2011
The special dental needs of persons with special needs
Most of us hand-pick our dentists based on different criteria — convenient proximity, quick appointments, a delicate touch.
But for those persons with special needs, there is no selection process. Many are turned away before they can even communicate their issues. Maria Hayes tells us about an up and coming dental student in Toronto, who’s hoping to change that…
The Reporter: London Sharing Smiles Day
Monique Johnson from the Reporter spends time with various dentists, dental students and persons with special needs participating in the First Annual Sharing Smiles Day in London.
Western News: London OHTH & Sharing Smiles Day
Excerpt from the Article: Sharing Smiles Day tackles dental care issues for people with special needs Dental care is a major health priority for people with special needs as they’re at high risk for oral disease. But the harsh reality is people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities have trouble finding care in their communities. This [...]
London Free Press: London OHTH & Sharing Smiles Day
Giving back to special patients DENTISTRY: While some dentists are hesitant to deal with special-needs patients, others are gratified to help those requiring more work than the average patient By MONIQUE JOHNSON, Special to QMI Agency
Global TV Making a Difference; OHTH & Mount Sinai Hospital
Global TV host Susan Hay interviews at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dentistry Clinic for Persons with Special Needs featuring the Dentist-in-Chief, Dr. Michael Sigal, Clinic Patients and Founder of OHTH, Ali Sigal. Please follow this link to view the Global TV interview.
Global TV News; OHTH & Sharing Smiles Day Oakville
Global TV News segment featuring the University of Toronto Students as they host their Second Annual Sharing Smiles Day in Oakville, with interview with the Founder of Oral Health, Total Health, Ali Sigal. Please follow this link to View the Video.
Dental Chronicle: Toronto OHTH & Sharing Smiles Day
From Sharing Smiles Day in Oakville Ontario, Ali Sigal, Founder of OHTH stops for a photo with the past-president of the Ontario Dental Association, Dr. Larry Levin.
Ground Wire National Radio Station: Interview
Ground Wire National Radio Station: Interview between radio announcer Cam Wells and Ali Sigal, founder of OHTH was played across Canada. To listen to the interview, please follow this link and fast forward to the 3rd interview.
Journal of the Canadian Dental Association
Dental care is one of the top unmet health needs of persons with special needs. Research has shown that this population
bears a greater load of oral disease, including caries and periodontitis, than the general population.1-3 With recent evidence demonstrating a strong relationship between oral disease and other general diseases such as…
University of Toronto: The Bulletin
Ali Sigal, a 23-year-old dentistry student, believes she does not have to wait until she has earned her dentistry degree to make a difference in the lives of others. In the one short year that she has been in the dentistry program at U of T, she has already broken down barriers between dental students and persons with disabilities in her attempt to address their lack of access to oral health care [...]
Ontario Dentist Journal: Winning over hockey fans during oral health month
One of my most meaningful experiences during my first year of dental school at the University of Toronto was managing a community booth in support of the ODA’s Oral Health Month. Fellow dental students Ali Sigal, Adrianna Stromme and I fostered oral health awareness at the Air Canada Centre — during a hockey game! We managed a community booth at the final Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Ottawa Senators hockey game in April. Together, we educated and provided fellow hockey fans with current and reliable information…
CBC French Radio: Interview
CBC French Radio: Interview on location at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dentistry Clinic for Persons with Special Needs
Toronto Star: Making her own mark with special teeth
Ali Sigal is not waiting to graduate before she makes a difference in the field of dentistry.
The University of Toronto dental student, who just completed her first year, is working to raise $2 million over four years to benefit Mount Sinai’s Dental Program for Persons with Disabilities [...]
Toronto Star: Bridging a gap in dental care
Judy Teper leans back in the dentist’s chair, squinting against the bright light shining in her face. A nurse asks the 39-year-old to open her mouth. But Judy, whose fists are clenched in her lap, locks her jaw in a grimace.
“Now, Judy,” says her father, Wilfred Teper, as he steps into the treatment room, “you are lying on a beach and that’s the sun in your face and you are very relaxed” [...]
Ontario Dentist Journal
Excerpt from the Article: One student is making a big difference in breaking down the barriers of access to care. Ali Sigal, first year University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry student, and Chair of the not-for-profit organization Oral Health, Total Health (OHTH), is responding to a critical, unmet need with a smile, Sharing Smiles Day, [...]
Mount Sinai: Big Smiles for Oral Health Campaign
There were smiles all around as dentists, dental students and persons with special needs met and mingled in Oakville on March 28. They were brought together by The Sharing Smiles Day, presented by the Oral Health, Total Health Campaign, led by faculty and students from the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto (U of T), in association with Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dental Clinic for Persons with Special Needs [...]
CJAM Radio Interview
CJAM Windsor 91.5 fm radio interview: Cam Wells interview with Ali Sigal.
Inside Sinai Magazine: Providing Oral Care for All
It’s not often that someone so young finds their calling, but that is just what happened to Ali Sigal.
A first-year dental student at the University of Toronto, this 22-year-old established Oral Health, Total Health, a campaign to raise $2 million over the next four years for the Dental Program for Persons with Disabilities at Mount Sinai Hospital [...]
Community Living Ontario, Axiom News
Excerpt from the Article: Dr. Michael Sigal, chief dentist at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dental Clinic for Persons with Special Needs, says improved curriculum with hands-on clinics for dental students would help promote more inclusive dentistry practices in Canada. Sigal, who has worked at Mount Sinai’s dental clinic for more than 20 years, says dentists can [...]
Community Living Ontario, Axiom News
Inspiration can come at the most unexpected times.
This was the case for first-year University of Toronto (U of T) dental student Ali Sigal, who was shopping for a gift for her mother’s birthday at Hallmark.
Always talkative and loving to share ideas, Ali began to tell the female sales clerk how she had been entertaining the idea of starting a campaign to raise money for Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dental Clinic for Persons with Special Needs, which provides dental services to people who have a disability or to those who have other special needs [...]
Oral Health, Total Health.
With your generosity,
we can
make a difference.
Did You Know?
-
To ensure proper oral hygiene,
try brushing your teeth
how they grow:
FROM the gum line,
and onto the teeth. -
The gum line is the area most missed when brushing;
coincidently it is
of importance for
one’s oral health. -
The most important
time to brush your
teeth is before
you go to bed. -
You can boil a rubber door stop and try using it as a mouth prop to assist in brushing the
teeth of individuals
who may not be
willing to open
their mouths. -
Use a pea size amount of fluoridated toothpaste when brushing, it is okay
if this small amount
is swallowed. -
When brushing the teeth of a person with special needs, if possible, have the
individual sit so
you can stand
behind them. -
The oral cavity plays a prominent role in an individual’s quality of life as it pertains to communication, nutrition, emotional expression, taste, social appearance and self-esteem
-
Increasing numbers of people with mental retardation no longer live in institutions, and
are dependent on
dentists in
private practice
for care. -
Current research shows that persons with disabilities have greater levels of
periodontal
disease. -
Current research shows that persons with disabilities present with a poorer state
of oral hygiene. -
In Ontario, with over 12 million residents; approximately
1.85 million people
have a disability. -
In Canada in 2006, 14.3% of the population had a disability representing
4.4 million people.
