FAQs

Are Composite (white) fillings a better choice than Amalgam fillings?
Composite fillings are chemically bonded to the tooth whereas Amalgam fillings are not. Amalgam fillings corrode over time causing staining of the tooth and they contribute to cracks & fractures of teeth; the corrosion leads to the formation of a gap between the amalgam filling and the tooth, and subsequently to a cavity occurring under the amalgam filling. It is estimated that by the time an Amalgam filling is 5 years old, that a cavity will be occurring under the Amalgam filling in 90% of cases. Amalgam fillings also contain Mercury, which is one of the main components of Amalgam.

It is true that Composite Fillings have the potential for causing more sensitivity than Amalgam fillings, but this is due to the dentist not following the correct protocol for placement of a Composite filling, rather than the composite itself.

I do not use Amalgam as a filling material in my Clinic, I would not want an Amalgam filling in my mouth; so why would I use this material on you.

What do I do if my child has an accident and their tooth has been knocked out?

WE HAVE 1 HOUR TO REIMPLANT THE TOOTH & STABILIZE IT. Contact the Clinic immediately at 873-2450 during office hours or 444-9090 outside of office hours.
Find the knocked out tooth and store it appropriately by either storing it in a glass of milk or wrapping it in a wet tissue; the key is to prevent the tooth from drying out. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAN THE TOOTH.
Get the child to bite down on a wet cloth to control any bleeding from the gum.
Proceed to the office to have the tooth reimplanted & stabilized.

What do I do if I have a Dental Emergency when the office is closed?

Contact our on-call dentist at 444-9090, and they will deal with the emergency.

What precautions do you take to ensure patient safety?

We take a thorough medical history to identify any conditions of concern, and then take the appropriate measures for dealing with these conditions. For example , if we identify someone is taking a blood thinner and they need an extraction, then we need to take them off the blood thinner for 2 days prior to the extraction.
Our Clinic is Latex Free, to ensure we don’t inadvertently use Latex gloves when treating someone who has a latex allergy.
We use state of the art sterilization techniques to ensure our instruments and work surfaces are sterile prior to commencing any procedure.
We use a sterile bottled water system and the water lines are drained each night, this ensures we are not getting biofilm build-up in the waterlines.