Bridges

illustration showing dental bridge being applied to lower jaw with anchors
Bridge Dental Restoration

Dental bridges are fixed, or permanent, restorations that replace one or more missing teeth. Generally, bridges are made of two crowns with an artificial tooth fused in between. Bridges can also replace larger numbers of teeth when supported by dental implants.

Bridges are an effective and beautiful treatment that can provide excellent, durable results while helping to improve speaking, chewing, and a variety of other problems associated with missing teeth.

Bridges versus Implants

It use to be that bridges were your only option when you lost a tooth. That meant prepping the adjacent healthy teeth for the bridge. However, with dental implants, we replace just the individual tooth for a stronger and longer lasting result. Bridges, however, remain good options if there are issues with the neighbouring teeth.

At Westhills Dental, we’ll review your unique situation, discuss the pros and cons, and recommend the best treatment.

Dental Hygiene

Illustration showing the head of a toothbrush

Regular preventive hygiene appointments with our team of registered dental hygienists are a key component in the long-term health of your teeth and gums. Dental cleanings remove the plaque around teeth that can lead to gum disease and possible tooth loss.

Emergency Treatment

Illustration showing a cracked tooth

Dental emergencies can arise anywhere, anytime. Our dentists and our experienced staff can provide immediate assistance should you or your child experience a dental emergency.

Dental Emergencies include:

  • swelling and infection,
  • severe pain,
  • chipped or broken teeth,
  • any other issues causing distress.

Dental emergencies do not always involve pain. If in doubt, please contact us.

If you are experiencing a dental emergency, please call us immediately at 778-265-1584.

Note: We will do our best to accommodate all emergencies however our staff may need to prioritise based on the number of emergencies presenting on any given day. Please note we are not a drop-in clinic. We can only see you on an appointment basis.

Family Dentistry

Illustration of a red apple

Family dentistry encompasses a comprehensive range of dental services for children, teens, and adults.

Our dentists and staff are well-trained and highly-experienced at treating patients of any age. We hope you will find our environment relaxing and if there is anything specific we can do to make your experience more comfortable, please let us know.

Fillings

Illustration showing a molar with a filling

A filling restores a damaged tooth back to normal function and shape. When you receive a filling, the dentist removes the decayed tooth material, cleans the area, and then fills the cavity with a filling material.

Filling the hold prevents bacteria from entering and further decay. At Westhills Dental we use composite, or white, fillings are made from tooth-coloured resin (a mixture of plastic and glass) that is highly durable and aesthetically pleasing. Composite fillings can be used to restore decayed areas, or cavities, or for cosmetic purposes by changing the colour and/or shape of a tooth. Composite is not as strong or durable as porcelain or gold fillings, called inlays/onlays or crowns).

Aesthetics is a big advantage of composite fillings over silver amalgam fillings as your dentist can colour-match the composite material to your teeth for a natural look. Composites also are bonded to the tooth, making them very durable and helping prevent breakage.

Here at Westhills Dental we do not use amalgam or silver filling material. We feel we can accomplish a superior restoration using a high-quality composite material.

Dental Implants

Illustration showing a dental implant with screw anchor

Dental implants are used to replace missing roots and support the replacement teeth. They are anchored to your jaw with an artificial tooth root, making them a permanent part of your mouth.

Dental implants restore both function and appearance and look like natural teeth. Implants are an alternative to bridges, partials or complete dentures and offer a more permanent and natural solution to enhance your smile, improving chewing and speaking. They require no extra maintenance beyond regular brushing and flossing.

The biologic basis for implants is a process known as osseointegration where the metal implant, usually titanium, form a bond to the bone. Healing time is required for osseointegration before the dental prosthetic (such as a tooth, bridge or denture) is attached to the implant.

The planning and the position of the implants is critical to the success of the procedure, as forces created during chewing can be significant.

Inlays and Onlays

Diagram showing a dental inlay or onlay

Inlays and onlays are designed to restore areas of decay in damaged teeth. They are used when tooth decay or fracture is so extensive that using a filling could compromise the structural integrity of the restored tooth or substandard biting forces. While more expensive than fillings, inlays and onlays are considered superior in terms of resistance to biting forces.

INLAYS are used to repair smaller areas of teeth similar to fillings.

ONLAYS are used for larger restorations typically used to repair damage involving the cusps.

Mouthguards / Sportsguards

A clear custom mouth guard on a grey background

Sports injuries to teeth and gum tissue are more common than most people think.

Custom fitted mouth guards reduce the severity of, or prevent, injuries to the teeth and soft tissues of the mouth, especially in those who wear orthodontic appliances. More importantly, a mouth guard can prevent serious injuries such as concussion, cerebral haemorrhage, neck injuries and jaw fractures by lessening the impact of the lower jaw crashing into the upper jaw.

A mouth guard should be well-cared for, cleaned thoroughly after every use, and stored in its case when not in use.

While it may seem that football and hockey are the most likely sports to cause injuries, in fact almost half of injuries occur in basketball and baseball. The American Dental Association recommends mouthguards be used in 29 sports: acrobatics, basketball, bicycling, boxing, equestrian, football, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey, inline skating, lacrosse, martial arts, racquetball, rugby football, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, softball, squash, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling.

Oral Examinations

A mouth mirror

Oral examinations by a dentist are crucial to assessing your oral health. Only a dentist is trained to see and diagnose disease and dysfunction in the mouth and jaw.

During your oral examination the dentist will assess:

  • damaged, missing or decayed teeth
  • early signs of cavities
  • the condition of your gums, such as periodontal pockets, inflammation or other signs of gum disease (which can lead to tooth and bone loss)
  • state of previous dental work such as root canals, fillings and crowns
  • early signs of mouth or throat cancer, such as white lesions or blocked salivary glands
  • other suspicious growths or cysts
  • the position of your teeth (e.g., spacing, bite)
  • signs that you clench or grind your teeth (a treatable problem that can cause a headache or sore jaw and can, if serious, lead to hearing loss and tooth loss)
  • signs of bleeding or inflammation on your tongue and on the roof or floor of your mouth
  • the overall health and function of your temporomandibular joint (which joins the jaw to the skull), signs of disorders that can cause pain or tenderness
  • the general condition of the bones in your face, jaw and around your mouth

X-rays may also be needed to detect problems between teeth, under the gumline and the position of impacted teeth and cracks or fractures.

Root Canal Treatment

A diagram showing the root system below a tooth

Root canal treatment, or endodontic treatment, is the process of removing infected, injured or dead pulp from your tooth. It is designed to save badly damaged or diseased tooth.

The space inside the roots of your tooth is filled with soft dental pulp made up of nerves and blood vessels that help your tooth grow and develop. This tissue is removed and the space is sterilised and filled with a special material to seal the root off.

Steps
  1. Typically, we will take x-rays to see the source of the decay.
  2. Using the Wave One® system, an opening is made in the affected tooth and the diseased pulp is removed (pulpectomy).
  3. Next, the roots that have been opened are filled and sealed off.

As with other procedures, a local anaesthesia is applied to the tooth. Despite its notoriety, root canals are not more painful than routine fillings.

Veneers

An illustration showing the application of a dental veneer to a model of a upper teeth using forceps

Veneers are a thin layer of restorative material placed over a tooth surface, either to improve the aesthetics of a tooth, or to protect a damaged tooth surface. We can apply veneers on teeth that may have been fractured or discolored, or on multiple teeth to create a “Hollywood” type of smile makeover.

There are two main types of material used to fabricate a veneer, composite and porcelain. A composite veneer may be directly placed in the patient’s mouth. This technique works well on single teeth with diastemas (gaps) or teeth that are discoloured or stained. This is a quick one visit procedure with a beautiful result.

Porcelain veneers are the preferred esthetic treatment for people who have worn away the edges of their teeth resulting in a prematurely aged appearance or malpositioned teeth that appear crooked. Multiple veneers can close these spaces, lengthen teeth that have been shortened by wear, provide a uniform colour, shape, and symmetry, and make the teeth appear straight. Dental veneers fall into the category of cosmetic dentistry because they create a bright, white smile with beautifully aligned, shapely teeth. Even better, the translucent ceramic quality of today’s veneers provides a more natural look than what’s been available in the past. Veneer treatments will take a dull smile and turn it into an amazing one in just two visits to our office.

When using veneers, the teeth’s appearance can be changed with minimal tooth preparation (e.g. drilling). Many veneer procedures can be done with the use of little or no local anaesthetic. Traditionally, a reduction of approximately 0.5 mm is required for a porcelain veneer. It can be very difficult to match the shade of an individual veneer to the remaining teeth, hence placing several veneers is common. This will create a consistent and striking smile.

Whitening

Diagram of a clean shining tooth

Your smile is important. It’s one of the first things that is noticed when you meet someone. A whiter, brighter smile is beautiful – it can help you feel better about yourself and make a memorable impression.

Your lifestyle and the ageing process can stain and darken your teeth. Many things we do on a regular basis can contribute to stained teeth, such as drinking coffee, tea, cola, red wine or smoking.

At Westhills Dental, we offer at-home teeth whitening treatments that are designed to improve the appearance of your teeth and help you feel confident about your smile.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

A diagram symbolizing a tooth being extracted with a white tooth and dotted outline

Third molars, or wisdom teeth, frequently erupt in positions that are detrimental to the health of adjacent teeth. Or they fail to erupt at all, becoming ‘stuck’ in the jaw. An in-office panoramic xray, generally taken in later teenage-hood, will help determine whether wisdom teeth are erupting in a healthy way.

Many of our dentists are skilled at wisdom teeth removal, often in one in-office visit.

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