One of the many initiatives dentist Dr. Waji Khan of newly opened Aurora Borealis Denistry is involved in is Give-a-Smile Day
There’s a new dental clinic in town, Aurora Borealis Dentistry.
While the name alludes to bright lights, a brighter smile comes from any visit – and that’s not just because it’s the dentist. With over two decades of experience in the field, Dr. Waji Khan allows his passion to steer his every endeavour.
Early in his career, in 2002, he founded the Khan Foundation for Children. At the time, the discourse about hockey and concussions prompted him to improve education on the matter and reduce injuries.
“Mouth guard use can help prevent concussions, just based on, sort of how the biomechanics of injuries to the jaw work. And so we basically created the foundation to act as an information source,” he says.
At clinics, the foundation promoted the use of mouth guards in sports. It also led to further efforts in communities where parents could not afford mouth guards for their children.The foundation provides implants or prosthetics for both kids and adults who have traumatically lost teeth and cannot afford the procedures.
After almost a decade of serving as dental officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, Dr. Khan moved to Kingston, Ontario in 2007 where he and his wife opened their first office. Recently, he realized he wanted to be in the GTA.
“I wasn’t a big fan of practising in Toronto,” he says, noting some of his peers practise in Aurora “and they said so many nice things about the area.”
Dr. Khan is a 2001 graduate from the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry. Friends helped to inform his decision to relocate his office in North York to Aurora.
One of the reasons he left Kingston is because Dr. Khan wanted to downsize a little. His previous clinic was much larger. He now plans to work at the Aurora clinic until retirement. He also enjoys working more closely with his patients and colleagues.
“Being able to provide care for my patients without having to basically be chased down the hallway to dealing with, like, you know, 10 patients at a time sort of thing,” he explains.
Educational initiatives, like Brush-A-Mania, are a part of his life’s work.
Brush-A-Mania started in Scarborough and has become a nation-wide endeavour to promote good oral health through brushing, flossing, diet, and exercise. In partnership with Colgate, every April, 120,000 brushes are provided to school kids from kindergarten to Grade 6.
As national program development director, Dr. Khan has diligently worked to expand the initiative beyond Ontario. He compares the program’s strategy to an age-old adage.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
“So, we have the toothbrushes and toothpaste, which is available, however, when you don’t give that in combination with an education program where you can actually go inside schools, talk to kids with their peers, give them an actual program where we challenge them to brush their teeth two times a day for two minutes,” he says.
During the month of April, all Canadian children can sign up for the 30-day challenge. Dentists and oral health care professionals also go to schools and promote healthy practices, answering questions from students while debunking some common misconceptions.
Khan is driven by and loves these interactions with younger generations.
“It’s amazing how smart these kids are….it helps beat the monotony of, you know, just drilling teeth all day. It’s quite motivating. It’s quite rewarding and refreshing to see,” he remarks.
Common questions about technique, brand, and timing come from even the younger kids. Using soft bristles with fluoride toothpaste, regardless of brushing method, for two minutes is what he recommends.
“As long as you’re in there for two minutes, that’s the most important thing,” says Dr. Khan.
What drives his passion?
“It’s the overall package,” he says.
His desire to enter the field was fuelled by a desire to help people. He mentions being shaped by the mentors who trained him, when he joined the St. John Ambulance Brigade in 1988. It’s important to Khan to leave the world a better place than when he entered it.
“My parents always raised me to be grateful; grateful for this wonderful country we live in, grateful for the opportunities you’ve been afforded, you know, grateful for the meal before you today, grateful for the fact that you have health and you’re able to walk,” he says.
Empowered by making someone else’s day better, Dr. Khan explains how emotions can be contagious. Like with the young lady who needed a crown restored.
“We were able to change it for her, it just changes her whole smile, you can see her smiling from ear-to-ear going out the door,” he says compassionately.
Despite being in the business of helping people, as for everyone, there are worse days at the clinic, too. The correlation between his practice and mental health inspired him further. In 2015 Khan embarked on another endeavour to make a difference in the lives of people he meets day-to-day.
Give-A-Smile Day is about promoting oral health while raising awareness of mental health.
“One of the things that I became aware of in my medical studies was things like seasonal affective disorder,” he notes.
Strategically six months after Oral Health Month in April, and at the beginning of the darker half of the year, on Nov. 15, expect to see extra smiles at the clinic. Smile stickers are worn and handed out to extend delight throughout the community.
“Basically try to promote good, civility among the citizens…. Isn’t that what we want Aurora to be, a town known for giving smiles and not giving the middle finger?” he says laughing.
Oddly, the campaign was difficult to get started. In Toronto, there was little support for the initiative.
Khan describes handing out smile stickers on the street and being asked to stop by police officers. Of the many people they contacted — politicians, police, chief of fire, and the Toronto Transit Commission — one council member responded at the time, Rob Ford.
“We’ve been getting support from all the parties now, so it’s not as difficult,” he says of the decade-long campaign.
Stickers are sent to schools and to many different communities requesting them to raise mental health and oral health awareness.
“People like the message, people like the idea,” he says.
Including himself, the Aurora Borealis Dentistry clinic currently consists of five staff members, many of whom worked with him at his Kingston and Toronto practices.
“We’ll be adding on another dental hygienist on our staff team, and probably another two administrative, clinical staff,” he notes.
Aurora Borealis Dentistry is at 107-14785 Yonge St.
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