Staying Safe During the Pandemic

As a health care practitioner, our primary goal has always been patient safety. We have temporarily closed our office for regular dental appointments to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We know that this is an inconvenience for a lot of people, many of whom have entrusted us with their care for over a decade, and we will make sure we are accommodate our patients when it is safe to do so.
Many of you know that we invested in powerful air filtration units and UV air disinfection capable of filtering and destroying coronaviruses in our office since 2016 and we are continuing to investigate and invest in newer disinfection technologies.

Doing whatever it takes to keep you safe

Dental emergencies can happen at anytime, often at the worst possible time. Just because there is a pandemic, doesn’t mean your emergencies will wait. We will still be here to help you with your urgent questions or concerns over the phone or by email, as we have always done.
If you have a dental emergency such as uncontrolled pain, swelling, bleeding, or trauma and it can’t be addressed remotely we will still ensure you are able to be seen safely. Simple emergency appointments are taking longer due to the more thorough disinfection and sterilization protocols that we have chosen to implement.
We just ask that you are patient with us while we try to navigate the ever changing environment. Simple emergency appointments are taking longer due to the more thorough disinfection and sterilization protocols that we have chosen to implement.

Stay safe.

Gold: Not Just for Rappers and Pirates.

Dentists are often asked the question, "What type of filling would you want in your mouth?" or "What's the best filling I can get?"
There are a lot of variables to take into account when considering these questions:
Is it in the smile zone? 
What is your budget?
What is your daily oral hygiene routine?

In general, if it's not an aesthetic concern, the best material is also the oldest material.  Gold.
A well done gold restoration can last significantly longer than any other restoration we have available.  
A gold casting conserves as much tooth structure as possible.
Specific alloys of gold are used that expand and contract at the same rate as your natural tooth structure thus reducing the chance of sensitivity and/or fracture.
 The alloys used also wear at the same rate as your teeth, so you don't have to worry about a gold restoration wearing down the opposing tooth.
Gold will not stain or discolour the tooth.

What are the disadvantages of gold restorations?
It's more expensive.  This one is sort of true.  While they cost more initially than a filling, they need to be replaced far less often resulting in less overall cost. 
They take more time.  A gold restoration takes more time to do well than a standard filling.  Normally it takes one appointment to prepare the tooth and a separate one to insert the restoration. Again, since they last longer, this is only true when compared to the initial filling.
It's not tooth coloured.  This is primarily a concern with front teeth or teeth in the aesthetic zone.

Gold: It's still the gold standard.
 

Wisdom Teeth

For some, wisdom teeth aren't a problem. For others, especially those with small mouths, the sudden arrival of a new set of teeth poses difficulties. The wisdom teeth may be angled incorrectly, or stuck (impacted) beneath the gums. Ask us to check for problems with your wisdom teeth before they come in by taking an x-ray of your mouth. In some cases, it is recommend to remove the wisdom teeth before they erupt to avoid future complications. The earlier you have them taken out, the easier it will be.