|
SOME
OF OUR SERVICES:
- Preventive Gum Treatment (Dental Hygiene)
- Restorative Dentistry
- Cosmetic / Esthetic Dentistry
- Porcelain Veneers and "Bonding"
- All-Porcelain and CeramoMetal (PFM)
Crowns & Bridges
- Tooth Whitening (Bleaching)
- Complete Smile Makeovers
- Comprehensive full mouth restoration
- Implant Dentistry: placement and prosthetic
solutions
- Mouth guards and periodontal splints
(night guards)
- OSA (Sleep Apnea) and Snoring Appliances
- Minor Orthodontics (Braces)
- Tooth-Coloured (Composite) Fillings
- Partial and Complete Dentures (also
implant supported)
- Endodontic Dentistry (Root Canal
Treatments)
- Other aspects of General Dentistry
Today, there is a wide
range of dental equipment, technology, and materials that make creating
beautiful smiles easier and more comfortable than ever.
We enjoy working with children and adults of
all ages!
Dental Hygiene
Our Clinic employs several gentle and experienced Dental Hygienists.
Emphasis is
on achieving and maintaining optimal oral health. Our hygienists will
carefully
and thoroughly clean your teeth. Dental imaging by X-ray or an
intra-oral
camera can help assess your current dental condition. Proper oral
hygiene
instruction on the latest techniques and materials will be provided,
and
nutritional counseling can be provided to help you achieve and
maintain your dental health.
Restorative
Dentistry
We will diagnose and work with our treatment team to provide
comprehensive care
for all your dental needs. Full family care is our aim-from your
child's first
check up, to athletic mouth guards, to tooth whitening, and complete
follow up
with regular dental cleaning. We offer total care.
Cosmetic Dentistry has
become the main focus of many dental
practices. Dentists can change the colour, shape, and alignment of
teeth with
the end result looking whiter and straighter than before. Changing the
alignment of teeth can be done with braces, or by placing porcelain Veneers or Crowns on teeth to
give the illusion that they are straight. Following the latest
techniques, we make it easy to have a great looking smile, as well as
strong and
healthy teeth.
Veneers
are thin shells of porcelain that is bonded to a tooth to improve its
colour and shape. A veneer generally covers only the front of a tooth.
Veneers
can be used to close spaces between teeth, lengthen small or misshapen
teeth,
or whiten stained or dark teeth. The procedure involves the reduction
of the front surface of
4 or 6 six front teeth (removing approximately 0.5 - 1 millimeter) and
then
taking an impression of your teeth. At a second appointment, the custom
made
veneers are bonded onto the prepared surfaces. The colour and shape is
chosen
to maximally enhance the esthetics of your smile. When teeth
are chipped or beginning to wear,
veneers can protect them from damage and restore their original
appearance. If the teeth have
large fillings already, are broken, or if extra stabilization is
needed,
Crowns are excellent restorations to
strengthen teeth. A more basic alternative to Veneers is Bonding,
where filling material is attached to the visible part of the tooth
with minimal tooth reduction. This choice is not as long lasting or as
esthetically pleasing as the Porcelain Veneer.
Crowns
usually cover the entire
visible portion of your teeth. Whenever possible, porcelain is utilized
because
of the excellent esthetics. On back teeth function may supercede
esthetics and Gold Crowns may be required in some cases to preserve
tooth structure. Onlays, Overlays and partial crowns fall between
Veneers (or even indirect fillings) and Crowns.
Quite often Zirconia Crowns are the best choice
for strength and excellent esthetics for full crowns.
For Veneers, feldspathic porcelain is the most
esthetic choice.
For patients that strongly clench their teeth,
Gold often is still the best choice for back teeth.
The final decision for the type of crown can only
be made in the Dental Office between the Dentist and the Patient. Each
and every situation is different.
Bleaching
(Tooth Whitening) done by a dentist is faster
and more effective than store bought products. Store bought products
are weaker, take a lot
longer, and bear a much higher nuisance factor. The active ingredient
in both
store bought and professional formulations is hydrogen peroxide. Both
store
bought and professional formulations can whiten teeth.
We
recommend the “walking bleach” technique.
Impressions are taken and a thin,
flexible plastic splint with reservoirs is fabricated. You will receive
the
bleaching material (Day or Night material depending on your preference)
as well
as instructions.
By bleaching teeth they appear a lot “younger”.
However, they will continue to age, depending on your habits. Usually
just one
or two single applications per year are necessary to maintain your
whiter and
younger smile.
Implants
Advancements in this field have changed dentistry altogether.
Crowns or Dentures
are attached to the implant, giving the patient the ability
to eat, talk or
laugh with ease.
The implant is placed during
surgery, and after healing
is complete (up to 3 months) the prosthetic tooth or teeth are
attached to the implant via the abutment, a part that fits between
the implant and the restoration. With this
technique we can provide you with the very natural looking and feeling
restorations .
The range of treatment varies from a single
tooth implant and crown to a full mouth restoration:
For a single missing tooth, an implant in
connection with a crown is usually the by far best solution. When there
are no teeth in the lower jaw, 2 or 4 implants with snaps and an
overdenture, or 6 implants and a fixed bridge are excellent solutions.
We place implants
right here in our office. The discomfort after placement is
minimal and usually a lot less than a tooth extraction, for example.
Braces
can
help your appearance and function. Minor braces we do right here in our
office. For more complex cases we refer to a specialist.
Periodontal
Splints (Night guards) are an excellent idea to protect
your teethe from wear due to clenching and grinding at night.
Sleep Apnea
Appliances can save lives. OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) kills
many people every year.Treatment options are CPAC, Surgery, or the
fabrication and wear of a Sleep Apnea Appliance. Dr. Protzer is a
member of the AADSM, the
American Association of Dental Sleep Medicine. For more information,
please check the AADSM
website. In Nanaimo we are lucky to have Dr. Hoffman as a Sleep
Medicine Specialist. Here the contact information: 130-2124 Bowen Road,
Nanaimo, BC, V9S 1H7, phone: 250.758.0060.
Athletic
Mouthguards:
We strongly urge all participants in contact sports to
wear a professionally made mouth guard. Professionally made appliances
fit more
precisely than store bought "boil and bite" products and have been
shown to dramatically reduce the incidence of dental trauma.
Silver
(Amalgam) or White
(Composite) Fillings?
90%
of the fillings done in our office are Composite
fillings,
the rest evenly
divided between other material choices, usually only by
request. More information here.
Are you
missing teeth?
There is a multitude of available
options,
ranging from fixed bridges to implants to Partial or Complete Dentures
with or without implant support
Do you have a
toothache?
There may be a number of reasons: gum problems, sinus problems,
cavities, cracks, problems with the pulp ( = the "N" word nerve). We
can help you without hurting you! More information here.
Hot and cold pain? Could be a cavity, a crack or a filling that is too
high.
Does the hot and cold pain linger on? Could be a dental abscess.
Does cold make the pain better? Likely a dental abscess.
Pain on sweet and sour? Could be a cavity, too much acid in your mouth
(stomach problems, citrus fruit, pop), brushing too hard, lack of
Fluoride.
Pain on biting? Could be a crack or a filling that is too high or a
dental abscess.
Is there spontaneous pain? Does it come in waves? Is it very bad?Likely
an abscess.
Any swelling? Likely an abscess of the gums or a tooth..
Fever or Lymph node swelling? Not good, you should seek help
immediately. You also may need antibiotics.
Is there a pain in your upper molar area that gets worse when bending
down or climbing stairs? Could be a sinus problem.
Dental
Imaging
We offer single tooth radiographs, Orthopan tomograms (similar to a
CT), intra-oral camera viewing and high end, professional Nikon D80
photographs to show you your needs as well as the final result.
Dentures
There is a broad range of different types of partial and complete
dentures. From a simple "Flipper" made just from plastic, to
implant-supported dentures, we offer many choices.
We work with a Dental Laboratory (located in Victoria) to provide you
with
comfortable and well fitting Dentures. The treatment in our office
(preparation,
impressions, registrations, try-in, possible alterations and
aftercare) is as important
as the setup and processing of the denture in the Lab.
Please contact us for
more information or
to schedule an appointment.
|
