Patient Education Materials

Oral Health Care: Doing It Right!

• Follow this step-by-step guide for healthy teeth.

To floss or not to floss?

• Yes! It helps to attain and maintain your oral health.

Gum Chewing

• It may be the world's oldest candy. Go ahead and have a piece of (sugarless) chewing gum – and make your dentist happy! (Excerpt from YOH.ca Magazine.)

Common Dental Procedures

• This fact sheet covers some of the common procedures that can be performed by your dentist.

Infection Control

• This fact sheet is intended to answer some frequently asked questions and to provide you with the latest information on what are known as infection control techniques.

Waiving the Dental Plan Co-Payment 

• This fact sheet will provide some information to help you understand how one of the most common features – co-payment or co-insurance – works.

Periodontal (Gum) Disease

• Periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Why? Find out with this informative fact sheet.

Burning Mouth Syndrome

• What is Burning Mouth Syndrome? And who does it affect? (Excerpt from YOH.ca Magazine.)

Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)

• If your mouth often feels dry and uncomfortable, you may have xerostomia. That's the clinical term for dry mouth — and it occurs when the amount of saliva in your mouth dries up.(Excerpt from YOH.ca Magazine.)

Tooth Sensitivity

• Tooth sensitivity is more than an inconvenience, it's a pain – and your dentist needs to know about it. (Excerpt from YOH.ca Magazine.)

Oral Piercings 

• An oral piercing might be a must-have for your teen, but do you know how safe it is? (Excerpt from YOH.ca Magazine.)

HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

• A fact sheet for patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer and their families. Reprinted with permission.

 Premalignant Oral Lesions

• A routine part of an oral examination should include an inspection of not only of the teeth and gums but also of the soft tissues in and around the mouth. Dentists look for abnormal changes that are loosely called "lesions". Reprinted with permission of The American Academy of Oral Medicine.

 Oral Mucositis

• This fact sheet looks at painful mouth sores, known as oral mucositis, which may develop as a result of cancer treatment.

 Your Dentist Sees More Than Just Your Teeth

• This brochure provides an overview of the relationship between diabetes and oral health, including the most common oral health problems associated with diabetes. 
• A poster is also available for download.

Stress and Oral Health

• This poster illustrates the effect stress can have on your oral health.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• What is sleep apnea and why are so many people losing sleep over it? Excerpt from YOH Magazine

Quitting Tobacco

• This poster conveys a time-themed, results-oriented messages about quitting tobacco.
• The poster is replicated in the brochure,, along with a few frequently asked questions.

Oral Changes Associated with Tobacco Use

• The oral changes from tobacco use range from harmless soft tissue changes to a life-threatening oral cancer. Some of the more common of these are discussed in this fact sheet. Reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Oral Medicine.

Tobacco Use: Common Questions

• This fact sheet lists some common questions and concerns about quitting tobacco. Reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Oral Medicine.

Don't Let it All Go to Your Head...or Mouth

• However you consume it — smoking, vaping or eating edibles — be aware of what cannabis can do to your dental health. (Fact Sheet)

Cannabis & Dental Procedures

• Whether you smoke it, vape, or use edibles, cannabis (marijuana) can negatively impact your dental appointment.

Your Children's Teeth

• A healthy mouth is important to a child's overall health. These resources help parents and caregivers learn how to keep a child's smile healthy.
• Available as a poster (left) and a brochure.

Top Ten Tips for Parents (Poster)

Healthy School Lunch

• What to pack in a healthy school lunch that your kids might actually eat! Excerpt from YOH Magazine

Kids' Zone

• Don't forget our interactive dental playground with puzzles, colouring pages and videos to help encourage good oral-health habits in your children. Click on the cartoon tooth and go there now!

Seniors' Oral Care  –  NEW

• A guide for Personal Support Workers providing oral hygiene care to residents of Ontario long-term care homes.

Oral Health Care for Older Adults

Caring for Natural Teeth: Tips for Seniors and Caregivers

Caring for Dentures: Tips for Seniors and Caregivers

Oral Inspection: Tips for Caregivers

Dental Care for the Patient With Alzheimer's Disease

• Ensure the patient with Alzheimer's disease knows how to conduct their routine dental care; dental disease should not compound the problems encountered with this disease. (This resource is currently being updated and is temporarily unavailable)

Osteoporosis bisphosphonate medications, dental health and osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ)

• A joint message from the ODA and other organizations, this brochure helps you understand the causes, prevention and treatment of osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Bisphosphonate Therapy and the Oral Cavity

• This fact sheet, reprinted with permission of The American Academy of Oral Medicine, looks at bisphosphonates and their possible side effects on oral health.

Mouth Problems + HIV

• This fact sheet is for people who have mouth (oral) problems related to HIV infection. It explains the most common oral problems linked to HIV and shows what they look like. It also describes where in the mouth they occur and how they are treated. Reprinted with permission by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Herpes Simplex Virus Infection (Cold Sores and Fever Blisters)

• Fact sheet reprinted with permission of The American Academy of Oral Medicine.