Blog
(Not your ordinary blog.)
Topics, questions & discussions. We would like our new blog to be a way for you to find answers & information. Please feel free to comment or send us a question on anything. We are here to help.
Most Recent.
A note to our community,
Dr. Peter C. Fritz Periodontal Wellness & Implant Surgery is temporarily closed effective Tuesday, March 17th in our effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. This closure will be re-evaluated in the first week of April. If you have an appointment scheduled with us...
Topics of Discussion.
Ask us Anything...
If there is something that you would like us to address as our next topic of discussion, let your voice be heard.
Help us identify topics or questions that you feel need answering and we will do our best to do so.
Stay Connected. Follow Us Online.
What to expect on your next visit with us
To ensure the health and safety of our community, we have instituted a few changes to your next appointment with us. Some things that you can expect to experience include: 1. Patient Wellness Screening Prior to your visit with us, you will be contacted by a member of...
Office updates to ensure your health and safety
To prepare for our return to treating our patients, we have made several updates to our office and our protocols to ensure that the safety of both our patients and our team is held to the highest standard. Our updates are in line with the direction provided by the...
What constitutes a dental emergency?
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario has recommended that all non-emergency dental services be postponed to help to prevent the spread of the virus. So, what's an emergency? In dentistry, an emergency is a potentially...
Dental Implants 101
As adults, we lose teeth for many reasons. 75% of adult tooth loss is due to periodontal disease. However, we may also lose teeth into adulthood due to traumatic injury. After tooth loss, it’s important to replace with an artificial root and crown. We tend to think...
How does a dental implant integrate?
A dental implant is an artificial root that is used to replace a natural tooth root that has been lost. Dental implants are made of titanium. Titanium is a natural element with non-reactive properties. That is, it causes very little, if any immune response in the...
Post-Operative Instructions – Care after a Dental Implant
After your dental implant surgery, there are some steps to follow for quick and smooth recovery. Healing after a dental implant can be broken into periods. In the first 24 hours: Only after freezing has completely warn off, you can apply ice to the area as needed in...
How do I care for my implant?
Just like natural teeth, dental implants require care and attention to remain healthy and viable. Although the implant is artificial, the gum and bone tissues that anchor and support it are living and susceptible to infection and deterioration. When the tissues...
Link between Periodontal Disease and Diabetes
The human body is a single unit composed of a seemingly infinite number of biological processes that are so intertwined that a problem in any one system can have a profound effect on multiple other areas of the body. As the entry point to the body, the mouth is no...
Periodontal Disease 101
Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, begins with chronic bacterial growth in the mouth. If left untreated, periodontal disease can eventually lead to tooth loss.Initially, bacteria build a home in the spaces between the tooth and the gum, called the...
What is my periodontist measuring?
Your periodontist and hygienist collect several values that give a good indication of your periodontal health and wellness at every appointment. To collect these values, a periodontal probe is used. A probe is a very thin, small ruler. The probe is gently inserted...
Classifications of Periodontal Disease
Everyone lives with a small amount of inflammation and bacteria in their mouths, but it is when this bacterial infection in the gums proceeds to chew away at the bone that supports the tooth that we are diagnosed with periodontal disease. Periodontal disease often...
Conventional Crown Lengthening
First things first, what is crown lengthening? Often when a tooth fractures or has a very large filling and your dentist has recommended a crown to restore the tooth to its normal function and appearance, a crown lengthening procedure is required. This procedure...
Aesthetic Crown Lengthening
First things first, what is aesthetic crown lengthening? It is possible that during normal growth and development, too much gum tissue forms around the teeth. This if often referred to as a "gummy smile." Teeth will appear shortened and the gum margin where the gum...
What is a frenum?
A frenum is a small fold of tissue that secures our lips and tongue to our mouths. Sometimes, we experience structural disorders or abnormal attachments of our frenums. An abnormal attachment can affect our speech, breathing, swallowing, our smile, and even the...
Rapid Review on Radiation and CBCT in Dental Practice
Exposure to ionizing radiation and its potential risks are often major concerns of our patients. Ambiguity and confusion exist among the general public, mainly due to the risks discussed in the media and from spurious online information. This leads to confusion, fear,...
Dental Sedation Experience
We are aware of the anxiety that many people have when undergoing dental treatments. While we promise not to bite, we are completely committed to keeping our patients as comfortable as possible. For this reason, we work with a team of registered nurses to provide...
Gum Recession 101
A healthy tooth is surrounded by gum tissue, but sometimes gum tissue can breakdown in a process called recession, resulting in an exposure of the root surface. Gums can recede away from the teeth for a number of reasons, including: improper brushing, using a brush...
Intra/Extra-oral Examination
The intra-oral and extra-oral soft tissue examination is an essential part of all dental exams. This examination is performed in a thorough and systematic nature to ensure that no parts of the head and neck region are missed or overlooked. This examination can be...
Oral Biopsy Post-Operative Instructions
After your oral biopsy surgery, there are some steps to follow for quick and smooth recovery. Healing after an oral biopsy can be broken into periods. In the first 24 hours: Only after freezing has completely warn off, you can apply ice to the area as needed in 10...
How to Care for my Stent after Gum Grafting
Prior to your soft tissue grafting surgery, a periodontal stent will be created based on a model of your mouth. The periodontal stent is a hard, thin piece of plastic that functions to protect the palate (roof of the mouth) after soft tissue grafting surgery. After...
Post-Operative Instructions – Care after a Soft Tissue Graft
After your gum grafting surgery, there are some steps to follow for quick and smooth recovery. Healing after soft tissue periodontal surgery can be broken into periods. In the first 24 hours: Only after freezing has completely warn off, you can apply ice to the area...
What is gum recession? Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Our gums protect our teeth and anchor them in place. But, they can be pushed back or wear away, eventually exposing the root of the tooth. This is a concern because the tooth becomes vulnerable to infection, decay, become loose, and eventually falling out. Gum...
Care after Conscious Sedation/Sleep Dentistry
Many patients opt to undergo their periodontal surgery under conscious sedation, also known as sleep dentistry. Recovery from the medications administered by one of our Registered Nurse's takes several hours and during this time you must be accompanied by a care-giver...
3D Dental X-rays
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a recent advancement in dental imaging and provides a 3D image of the tooth and jaw with high spatial resolution and diagnostic ability. The dental CBCT does not replace conventional 2D x-rays, but is an additional tool that...
Dental Radiation
Radiation exists in many forms, not all of which are ionizing, the form of radiation that poses a risk to our health. Low frequency radiation, such as radio waves, thermal/microwaves, infrared, and visible light waves are to low penetrating power to cause changes to...
My dental implant/crown is loose – What should I do?
Your dental implant and artificial crown have been very carefully designed to fit together like two puzzle pieces. Sometimes, for a multitude of reasons, these two pieces can be dislodged. When the implant and crown do not fit together perfectly, over time, the...
Cannabis Use and our Oral Health
We know of the negative effects of smoking cigarettes and other nicotine products on our oral health, but does cannabis cause the same outcomes? Yes. Marijuana impacts our oral health and has been directly linked to a higher prevalence and earlier onset of...
Impact of our Diet on our Oral Health
They say you are what you eat and this is especially true when we consider how our diet impacts our oral health and wellness. Some aspects of our diet that have been shown to have a positive effect on our oral health include: Anti-inflammatory foods - tomatoes, fatty...
Ultrasonic vs. Hand Instruments – which is more effective?
Periodontitis is a chronic oral infection that results in the breakdown of the tissues and bone that support the teeth. Deep cleaning is the primary treatment option for patients with generalized chronic periodontitis. Dental hygienisits and periodontitis have a...
Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT)
The major culprit in gingivitis and periodontal disease is bacteria and the sticky biofilm that it creates as a byproduct of living, breathing and growing. This sticky biofilm coats our teeth and makes for an even more appealing environment for bacteria to reside. To...
Non-Surgical Supportive Periodontal Therapy (SPT)
A bacterial infection causes inflammation, sore gums, bleeding gums, and eventually eats away at the bone that supports our teeth, causing them to become loose and eventually fall out. While at home oral hygiene is very important, regular visits to your dentist and...
Care after a Frenectomy
When a strong frenum pull impairs our oral anatomy, sometimes a frenectomy is the answer. A frenectomy involves releasing the excess fold of tissue that secures the tongue to the floor or the mouth (lingual frenectomy) or the lips to the gingiva (labial frenectomy)....
Post-Dental Surgery Meal Planning
Proper care after your periodontal surgery will help your mouth to heal quickly. This includes a healthy, soft food diet. At first, your temporary soft food diet may seem challenging, but with some planning you can ensure that you have all of the nutrients you’ll...
How much is my dental surgery going to hurt?
Many of our patients experience fear and extreme anxiety at the dentist and while we do our best to create a calm and tranquil environment, the fear of pain associated with periodontal treatment may still be a deterrent for some. Therefore, to answer one of the most...
Tooth Anatomy
The structure and function of a teeth all play an important role in how we eat, drink, speak, and smile. The root is the part of the tooth anchors it into place in the jaw bone. Like an iceberg, most of our tooth is located below the surface. The root is made up of...
Contact Us
Our office is happy to announce our re-opening after a shutdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We will be calling all of our patients to confirm their upcoming appointments with our team.
webteam@drpeterfritz.com
(905) 892-0800
165 Highway 20 W, Suite 1 Fonthill, Ontario, L0S 1E5
The Current Hours of our Office are:
Monday: 8:00 - 4:30
Tuesday: 8:00 - 4:30
Wednesday: 8:00 - 8:00
Thursday: 8:00 - 8:00
Friday: 8:00 - 4:00
Saturday: 8:00 - 4:00
