Chestermere Station Dentistry

Yes, we do offer direct billing for most services, with a valid credit card left on file in the event of insurance denial, unexpected termination of benefits or a difference in fee guides. Or you may choose to pay in full for all treatment completed at the time of service.

Every benefit plan is different, so it’s important to make sure you know what your plan covers. If you provide us with a breakdown of what your benefits are we would be more than happy to give you a pre-treatment estimate of what your costs will be.

A pre-treatment estimate gives you the exact cost of the treatment. Upon request, we send this paperwork to your insurance provider before any dental work is performed. While this may delay your treatment, you’ll know exactly what (if any) out-of-pocket costs you may be required to pay.

We require payment in full at the time of treatment. We accept Cash, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Interac (Debit) and E-transfer.

Root canals are the space inside the hard layers of each of your teeth. Within each canal, there is a bundle of nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue that help the teeth to grow and develop. This bundle, called pulp, can become inflamed or infected leading to pain and sensitivity to biting and temperature changes.

A “root canal” treats infection inside a tooth. During this procedure, the crown of the tooth is opened, allowing the doctor to access the root canal. The pulp tissue in the infected root canal is removed and the canals cleaned. The root canals are sealed with a material called gutta percha to prevent bacteria or debris from entering the root canals and causing further infection. Finally, the crown of the tooth is restored with a filling or crown.

A dentist may recommend a root canal to a patient after weighing different treatment options. Sometimes, there’s no way around a root canal when it comes to the damaged dental pulp and ignoring the problem will only result in pain and potential worsening of tooth decay or infection. Root canal treatment is typically more cost-effective than tooth removal, followed by a crown procedure.

Symptoms of a cracked tooth are varied and may include pain when chewing, temperature sensitivity or pressure sensitivity or a combination of these. Because the pain often comes and goes, it can be very difficult to recognize what is causing the problem. Even small movement of the cracked tooth pieces during chewing can cause irritation to the tooth’s pulp, which causes pain.

Occasionally a tooth that was treated months or even years ago may develop new problems. The need to retreat is generally due to curved or narrow canals that were not treated during the initial treatment, complicated canals that went undetected, the crown or restoration was not placed within the appropriate amount of time, new decay can expose a root canal filling material, or a cracked or loose filling or crown can expose the tooth to new infection.

In some cases, it may be necessary to remove the infected root tips. An incision is made in the gum tissue to expose the bone and surrounding inflamed tissue. The damaged tissue is removed along with the end of the root tip. A root-end filling is placed to prevent reinfection of the root and the gum is sutured. The bone naturally heals around the root over a period of months restoring full function.

Root resorption is the process in which the body breaks down and absorbs tissue surrounding a tooth. Although this is a rare phenomenon in adults, root resorption in children is natural and enables the roots of baby teeth to dissolve so that permanent teeth can serve as replacements. Pressure and tension are normal stressors that can lead to breakdown in tissue, sometimes past trauma to a tooth may damage gum ligaments, resulting in the beginning of resorption. Extreme teeth grinding has been found to initiate resorption as well.

Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dental and facial irregularities.

An Orthodontist is a specialist who has completed an accredited advanced education residency program following dental school to learn the special skills needed to manage tooth movement and guide facial development.

A more attractive smile, reduced appearance-consciousness during critical development years, better function of the teeth, possible increase in self-confidence, increased ability to clean the teeth, improved force distribution and wear patterns of the teeth.

Upper front teeth protrude excessively over the lower teeth, or are bucked; upper front teeth cover most of the lower teeth when biting together (deep bite); upper front teeth are behind or inside the lower front teeth (underbite); the upper and lower front teeth do not touch when biting together (open bite); crowded or overlapped teeth; the center of the upper and lower teeth does not line up; finger or thumb sucking habits which continue after six or seven years old; difficulty chewing; teeth that are wearing unevenly or excessively; the lower jaw shifts to one side or the other when biting together; spaces between the teeth.