Patient Information

  • Oral Surgery Patient Instructions

    General Advice:

    For normal healing, it is essential that only a minimum amount of disturbance be created within the mouth after tooth extraction or surgery. The blood clot in the socket must be preserved. Most bleeding will stop in 30 minutes with a small amount of bleeding over the next 12 hours, depending on the extent of surgery.

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  • Use of Fluoride Rinse and MI Paste

    General Advice:

    I suggest that fluoride rinse be used separate from brushing your teeth. When you brush with regular toothpaste, your teeth are already being exposed to fluoride and no extra fluoride is needed at this time from a rinse. Spit out the toothpaste and do not rinse your mouth with water.

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  • What Causes Cavities?

    General Advice:

    The process of cavity formation is not as straightforward as most people think it is. Bacteria eat sugar and produce acid, which causes decay (loss of mineral from the tooth) and eventually a cavity (literally a hole in the tooth). Decay is reversible by diet and oral hygiene, but a cavity is not reversible. It has to be filled.

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  • Fear of Dentistry?

    General Advice:

    Treating fearful patients is a huge part of my practice and is very rewarding for my team and me. Every day we see patients that are anxious about getting their dental work done and we’re able to make them comfortable. One thing I have learned over the years is that there is no “typical” fearful patient.

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  • Dental Care During Pregnancy and Early Childhood

    General Advice:

    During pregnancy, a mother’s oral health is important to the overall and future oral health of their child. Research shows links between gum disease and other oral infections to low birth weight, pre-term delivery, and preeclampsia. We recommend that mothers have their teeth regularly professionally cleaned by a dental hygienist and get regular checkups with their dentist.

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  • Do my wisdom teeth really have to come out?

    General Advice:

    It is thought that we have wisdom teeth (or third molars) because our ancestors did not have the same oral health as we now enjoy. They may have lost one or several teeth by the time they reached age 17-25 and wisdom teeth were nature’s answer to replacing the lost teeth. Early man’s jaws were also larger and better able to accommodate more teeth than ours are today.

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  • How Do Dentists Set Their Fees?

    General Advice:

    In Alberta, dental fees are not regulated. There is also no fee guide put out by the Alberta Dental Association and College. Some provinces have fee guides put out by their dental colleges but the dentists are still free to set their own fees. Many provinces are under scrutiny by the Competition Bureau of Canada because their fee guides impede “the maximum possible benefits of competition to consumers.”

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