April is Oral Health Month – Learn more about our dentistry program

Affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty Of Dentistry, our program helps train the next generation of dentists, hosting third and fourth year dental students on rotations in our special needs clinic as well as an intensive week-long rotation during their third year where they get exposure to the diverse dental clinics within the hospital.

The Dentistry program is also working hard with colleagues to investigating new directions to understanding and diagnosing oral cancer. One of these studies is a collaborative venture between the departments of Dentistry, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. This study is investigating the properties of invasive oral cancer using atomic force microscopy and correlating the findings with biologic behaviour and outcome of these cancers.

The Departments of Dentistry, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital are also interested in the discovery of biomarkers that predict the risk of transformation of precancerous oral lesions to oral cancers. And we are also collaborating increasingly with other programs at Mount Sinai Hospital including neonatology (impact of oral inflammation on mother’s milk and fetal health), orthopedics (prevention of excess bone formation around new joint replacements), and even ophthalmology (use of resveratrol, a treatment being used here for management of gum disease) for prevention or treatment of macular degeneration).

Learn more about the Dentistry program at Mount Sinai, and find some great tips for oral health:

• Visit the Dentistry website for more information
• If your mouth isn’t healthy, you’re not healthy: Why oral health matters
• Learn how the Centre for Advanced Dental Research & Care at is seeking to understand the biology behind oral diseases and their links to systemic health
• Good oral hygiene has a greater impact on overall health than many people realize – especially when it comes to older adults. Learn more about aging and oral health from Circle of Care