Services
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Research shows that the health of your teeth, gums, and supporting structures, reflects on your overall health. This why regular dental visits are important for improving or maintaining your general wellness.
Our team of Maple Ridge dentists and hygienists provide comprehensive dental exams to fully assess your oral health, but rest assured, this doesn’t mean unnecessary exposure to radiation from x-rays. We take the minimal amount of x-rays needed to assess your dental health. We also use digital x-ray equipment which greatly reduces your radiation exposure. To round out our family dentistry services in our Maple Ridge office, we take actual photos of your teeth and smile. From these photos, we can show you exactly what we’re seeing so you get a better understanding of your oral health.
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Seeing a dental hygienist in Maple Ridge for regular dental maintenance is important for your overall physical and social health. However, that’s no replacement for regular home care of your teeth, gums, and mouth.
Uneven tooth surfaces, especially under the gums or near the roots of teeth are common places for bacteria to collect. Even with regular brushing and flossing there are many areas of your mouth you just can’t reach, or don’t even know you’re not reaching. If left untreated, this bacteria can cause plaque and tartar build-up, inflammation (gingivitis), bleeding, and bad breath or ultimately lead to gum disease, bone loss (periodontitis), weakening of surrounding structures, and eventually result in tooth loss.
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Your smile is your most valuable accessory! But if you’re not happy with your teeth or mouth, your smile may look less than enthusiastic. The team at our Maple Ridge dental office can help you get your confident smile back.
Veneers
To brighten your smile, close spaces, make teeth appear straighter, or repair chips or worn surfaces, veneers are often suggested. Veneers are porcelain facings (about 1 mm thick) that are bonded to the front surfaces of your teeth and they provide a natural-looking tooth face to correct minor cosmetic concerns.
Whitening (or Bleaching)
When your teeth have been stained by coffee, tea, red wine, or other foods and beverages, teeth whitening can help brighten your tooth enamel, dramatically brightening your smile. We use Zoom!® products, a safe, effective treatment. With the custom trays we make for you and easy-to-use gels, you can whiten your teeth in the comfort of your own home.
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Orthodontics traditionally involves bands, brackets, and wires (usually made of metal), to moving teeth into a desired position, closing gaps, and straightening rotations. Invisalign offers the same result, but through near invisible braces instead of the bulky, visible hardware. Invisalign is a series of clear, custom-fitted trays that you switch every one or two weeks. Each aligner tray is individually manufactured with exact calculations to gradually shift your teeth into place. There is very little discomfort with the trays, and as the name suggests, they are almost invisible. You can feel confident about your smile even while the changes are happening.
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If you are unhappy with your smile because of crowded teeth or gaps between your teeth, orthodontic treatments may the your solution. It’s often recommended when teeth are misaligned or positioned in a way that interferes with proper chewing or jaw function.
Benefits of straight teeth:
Lowered chance of injury and excessive wear – teeth that are misaligned are more prone to fracture, trauma, and wear from grinding
Reduced risk of gum disease and cavities – crowded and crooked teeth are harder to brush and floss
Reduced risk of developing TMJ (jaw) problems - when teeth are out of alignment, it can interfere with the way your jaws bite together. Sometimes, we “compensate” by shifting our jaws, or chewing only on one side, but these habits can be hard on our jaws or cause headaches and other ailments over time.
When you hear orthodontics, many people think of the traditional, bulky braces with brackets, bands, and wires. In actual fact, orthodontics includes other alternatives for children, adults, or older adults.
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The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the joint that connects the lower jaw (mandible) to the skull (temporal bone). The lower jaw is connected to the skull by a number of muscles and ligaments.
The TMJ is like a ball and socket. For normal joint function, a piece of cartilage called an articular disc is between the two bones, to act as a cushion or shock absorber. The articular disc allows the joint to move smoothly.
What is TMD?
When your TMJ is not functioning normally, it’s referred to as Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD).
For optimal health and wellbeing, your teeth and jaws need to work in an intricate balance. The position of your teeth can affect the position of your jaw joints. If have a deep overbite, your lower jaw is too far back, you have a narrow upper arch, your upper front teeth are crooked and tipped backwards, or you have another malocclusion, it can cause your jaw to dislocate.
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Our dentists routinely perform visual oral cancer screenings during your dental exam. We also have technology for any areas that call for a closer look. It’s a simple, painless procedure that allows us to detect oral mucosal abnormalities.
Oral Cancer Screening with VELscope VX
To scan your mouth for signs of oral cancer, we use a scanner developed with the dental imaging experts at LED Dental and Apteryx. The VELscope VX is a handheld, wireless scope that uses natural tissue fluorescence to enhance the way clinicians visualize cancerous abnormalities that are not visible to the naked eye.
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Dental x-rays have come a long way in recent years. Today, we use digital imaging to get a more complete picture of your entire mouth, not just the teeth above the gum line.
Dental X-rays with Gendex
Gendex digital imaging products are dependable, innovative and provide our dental team with vital information to support accurate diagnosis and treatments for our patients. They manufacture handheld, imaging devices as well as larger floor mounted devices that spin around you as they take 360 degree x-ray images of your mouth.
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At Maple Meadows Dental, we take a preventative, modern medical approach to caries (decay) management. Two treatments that we are pleased to offer are glass ionomer (GI) fissure sealants and Silver Diamine Fluoride applications.
GI fissure sealants are placed in deep grooves and pits in back teeth. It blocks out bacteria that can cause decay, while strengthening the enamel underneath and making it less susceptible to decay.
To place the sealant:
· Teeth are polished with pumice, rinsed and lightly dried
· The sealant is painted into the pits and grooves
· Sealant sets in 90 seconds
No freezing, no drilling and no need to wait to eat afterwards. GI sealants prevent cavities in those typically vulnerable areas.
