Dental treatment and services
Services and Treatments
Learn about the treatment options we provide at Westmount Dental.
Porcelain Crown & Bridge
Crowns can bring back your healthy, natural-looking smile that has been altered by cracked, broken, decayed or worn teeth. A filling can restore a small defect in a tooth, but a crown is the most durable, strongest way to restore a tooth with extensive damage for the long term. With all the materials and techniques offered by modern dentistry, crowns can be totally natural looking.
Crowns can also correct bite problems, cover badly shaped or discoloured teeth, close spaces between teeth, change the angulations of teeth, and replace missing teeth permanently, as part of a bridge, or over an implant.
Veneers
Many people want a brighter, more attractive smile but have chipped, discoloured, unevenly spaced, or even slightly crooked front teeth. If this sounds like a problem you would like corrected, veneers may be able to take your smile from average to dazzling.
The treatment usually involves only two appointments. The number of pre-treatment visits, to work out details to ensure predictable results depends on the complexity of your situation and the changes you desire.
Whitening
Tooth whitening is a safe and effective way to brighten most people's smiles. It is available in a variety of methods and concentrations. The two most common methods are Custom-Tray Whitening (done at home) and Laser Whitening (done in the office). Since each option has different advantages and disadvantages, a consultation with our dentists is integral to determining which treatment is best for you.
If you are thinking of other cosmetic improvements, such as crowns, porcelain veneers, or replacing old discoloured fillings, it may be worth considering whitening your teeth first. Then, any restorations we make for you can be matched to the whitened teeth to get an overall great result.
Dental Implants
When people lose permanent teeth due to injury, disease or extraction, a dental implant is the most advanced treatment available to replace missing teeth. Restorations on dental implants generally look, feel and act like natural teeth.
When permanent teeth are lost dental implants can offer a "new lease on life." They are superior to other choices because they are solid, secure, and esthetically pleasing. Implants can help replace a single tooth or a full set of teeth, they can improve the retention of dentures, and most importantly they preserve bone. After nearly 35 years of use, they have a 90% proven success rate in appropriately chosen cases.
An implant is a special surgical grade titanium post, manufactured with highly precise specifications under strict sterile conditions. It is inserted surgically into the jawbone below the gum surface. As the bone bonds to the post, it forms a secure foundation onto which your new teeth are then attached and shaped to match your mouth.
Bad Breath
Bad Breath, or halitosis, is a sign that there may be a problem with your oral health. Treating it may be as simple as improving your daily oral hygiene or it may indicate the presence of extensive tooth decay, gum disease or another medical problem. Bad breath is a warning sign. Have a dentist take a look at your mouth!
Laughing Gas: Helping You Relax During Your Treatment
If the thought of going to the dentist makes you feel anxious, this option may be for you. Imagine no longer being afraid to go to the dentist or needing multiple visits to complete your treatment. Your dental health is important and you should not neglect it any longer. Nitrous Oxide ("Laughing Gas") Conscious Sedation is as simple as breathing. You can relax while we improve your smile.
Wisdom Teeth Extraction
"Wisdom teeth" is the nickname used for the third adult molars and are typically the last teeth to grow into the mouth, often appearing between the ages of 18-24. Many people do not have enough room in their jaws for these teeth to erupt alongside the others. Therefore, some remain buried and others partially come through. Since these teeth are so far back in the mouth, keeping them properly cleaned is often very difficult for the patient and the dental team. Consequently, the wisdom teeth are at risk of developing decay, gum disease, infection and cysts.
The decision to remove wisdom teeth that are not (yet) causing problems remains debatable. While the choice to keep or remove the wisdom teeth will always be yours to make, our dental team will inform you of your risk of developing problems if you do not extract them.
It is possible to remove wisdom teeth relatively painlessly using local anesthetic; however, at Westmount Dental we offer Nitrous Oxide ("Laughing Gas") Conscious Sedation for an additional level of comfort.
Root Canal Therapy
There are several situations in which the tooth's nerve cannot repair itself. Examples include persistent or spontaneous sensitivity, swelling, throbbing or aching, decay that is deep and extends into the nerve, or trauma that injures the nerve tissue.
At this point, the only way to save the tooth is to treat it with root canal therapy. This process involves cleaning and disinfecting the tubes within the tooth ("canals") and then placing a filling to seal these canals so that bacteria cannot re-enter.
If you anticipate that a root canal treatment will be a painful experience, then you have been misled. At Westmount Dental, with the effective use of anesthesia and modern techniques, most root canal treatments can be completed in one visit, often within an hour.
Anti-Snoring Appliance
Snoring occurs when the flow of air is obstructed by the tongue and the upper throat. It can be caused by muscle relaxant medications, excess tissue in the throat, or obstructed or deformed nasal airways (e.g. deviated septum).
Snoring is a serious problem as it disturbs sleep, depriving the spouse and snorer of appropriate rest. It can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, which can cause serious health problems. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the amount of oxygen in the blood is significantly reduced, forcing the heart to work harder and blood pressure to increase.
This custom-designed appliance will reposition your jaw slightly while sleeping allowing more air to flow freely, providing you and your spouse with a restful sleep.
Grinding & Clenching
If you wake up with a headache or a sore or stiff neck you may have been clenching or grinding your teeth while you have been sleeping. Other signs may include sensitive teeth, notches in your teeth near the gums, worn down or chipped teeth. We can fabricate a custom-fit soft appliance that is worn nightly to absorb the painful and damaging forces of grinding or clenching.
Mouth Guards
Minimizing the risk of injury to your face and teeth from sport-related traumas is of utmost importance. For this reason, when you are involved in activities exposing you to possible injuries, we encourage the use of high-quality protective mouth guards which are custom-made, tailored to fit your teeth, offering the best protection against injury and are the most comfortable to wear. We do not recommend store-bought guards as they may not provide the protection that a custom-fit guard can.
Digital X-Rays
To improve your care, Westmount Dental uses a new way of looking into your mouth - digital x-rays. This new technology is fast and precise. We immediately get a large, clear and accurate image on the computer screen, right next to your chair.
Digital x-rays use up to 90% less radiation than conventional x-rays and it does not generate waste or polluting agents. For insurance purposes, referrals or patient education, it can be accurately reproduced any number of times or emailed.
Digital Photographs of your Teeth
Education is one of the most effective tools we have against tooth decay and oral disease. Digital technology allows us to photograph your teeth and magnify the images to detect concerns that otherwise may go unnoticed. We take a digital picture of your mouth and then transmit the images to the monitor next to your chair. You will be amazed to see your mouth magnified up to 50 times on a computer screen. The intra-oral camera will help you understand what a tiny crack or cavity in a tooth can look like and how we can restore it. It can also be used to show you before and after views of your teeth when your treatment is complete.
Preventive Resin Restorations
A complete preventive dentistry program includes: brushing and flossing, use of fluoride, good nutrition, restoring fractured fillings and teeth, treating decay as soon as possible, and regular dental examinations. For maximum benefit, preventive resin restorations should be used as part of a child's and adult's total preventive dental care.
Preventive Resin Restorations are fillings that are applied to the biting surfaces of teeth to prevent decay from spreading deeper into the more sensitive areas. Toothbrush bristles cannot effectively clean out bacteria from deep pits and narrow grooves. The trapped bacteria now have the opportunity to spread and cause decay. Preventive Resin Restorations flow into and coat the pits and grooves, creating a shallow and smooth surface so that food and bacteria simply slide off the tooth surface.
Since these pits and grooves are in the outermost layer of the tooth (enamel), the Preventive Resin Restorations can usually be placed without dental freezing (local anesthetic). Managing the decay early in its development not only maintains sound tooth structure, but also allows you to enjoy your appointment without the discomfort of the needle and being numb. Waiting until the tooth becomes sensitive indicates that the decay has progressed to the deeper parts of the tooth and treating this decay usually requires anesthetic. So, why wait for sensitivity to develop and react to the problem? Prevent the decay from getting worse and treat your cavities as soon as they are detected.
Appropriate use of Preventive Resin Restorations can save time, money and the discomfort associated with some dental procedures.
Invisalign Orthodontics
For information about Invisalign please click here.
Thank you for considering Westmount Dental in the heart of Thornhill.
We offer family dentistry and cosmetic dental care to adults and children. We provide a wide range of services including surgical extraction of wisdom teeth, laughing gas sedation, deep cleaning and periodontal treatment, tooth bleaching, root canal treatment, esthetic bonding, porcelain veneers, laser whitening, dentures, and the surgical placement of dental implants.
We are available for emergency dental treatment and we provide free consultations.
It would be a pleasure to care for you and your family. Come in to our office or view the images for a tour of our facility.
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