Society tells us that straight teeth are pretty and desirable. But that is not the only reason to have your teeth straightened. In fact, that is only one benefit of straight teeth. Let’s discuss some of the benefits to straight teeth.
Straight teeth have minimal overlaps with their neighbouring teeth which makes them easier to clean. Teeth that are easier to clean tend to get less plaque built up on them which in turn helps prevent cavities and gingivitis from forming. By being easier to clean, this means that with less effort from you, you will have less dental problems over your lifetime. And who wouldn’t want less dental work done.
Another reason that dentists recommend having teeth straightened is to realign the bite forces. Teeth are made to bite together in a certain way and when they are tipped, rotated or crowded, they cannot bite together properly. This causes unnecessary chipping, breaking and wearing of those teeth over time. This can then lead to increased sensitivity, shorter teeth or the need for fillings or crowns to repair the lost tooth structure. By realigning the teeth so that they bite together properly, you decrease the wearing of your teeth which helps keep them strong and healthy.
Finally we come to the cosmetic benefits. This is the obvious one. Our society values straight teeth as esthetically pleasing. Unfortunately for some, the societal pressures placed on us can be detrimental to our self esteem. We do not believe that everyone needs perfectly straight teeth to be healthy. There are a lot of mouths that we see that do not have perfectly straight teeth but are functional and healthy. We only recommend orthodontic treatments to straighten teeth when we see a problem that is developing or when the patient themselves expresses a concern about the look of their smile. If a patient let’s us know that they would like to have their teeth straightened, we are more than happy to help get them there. But if they don’t mention it and we do not foresee any damage happening, we will leave well enough alone too. Every situation is unique and that is why we treat all of our patients based upon what they need.
Your dentist told you you have a cavity in your tooth. And that you need to have a filling done to fix it. So now what? Do you have to have it fixed? Will it go away? What will happen if you don’t fix it? Let’s discuss those questions a bit more since they are common and logical questions many patients have.
Cavity on a lower right primary molar in a child.
Do you have to have it fixed?
The short answer? No. No one is going to make you do anything. All patients have the right to make their own decisions about their oral health. Your dentists, hygienists and dental assistants are here to educate you on your diagnosis as well as your options. We can answer questions about risks and benefits of your options and help you make an educated decision on what you would like to do, but ultimately, the decision is yours.
Will it go away? What will happen if you don’t fix it?
Also no. Unfortunately, once the bacteria that cause cavities have created a hole in your tooth (the cavity), the only way to fix that hole is to have a filling done. If a filling is not done, the bacteria will continue to grow the cavity and it will get larger. As the cavity gets larger, it breaks down the structure of your tooth and can move closer to the nerve of the tooth.
The structural breakdown of the tooth puts you at greater risk of the tooth breaking on you. When a tooth breaks, there are a couple scenarios that you could be met with. Often times, the break just leads to you needing a larger filling than originally thought. Sometimes it leads to a structural issue that requires a crown to repair it. In rare but unfortunate circumstances though, the fracture can go under the gums and bone and require the tooth to be extracted.
If the cavity moves towards the nerve of your tooth, the bacteria causing the cavity can get into the nerve of your tooth and cause an infection. This infection causes a toothache. Once the tooth is infected, there are only two options to heal the infection. You can have a root canal done to remove the nerve of the tooth and the infection, or you can have the tooth extracted. Most teeth that need root canals will also need a crown placed afterwards.
Root canaled and crowned tooth on upper left.
If the cavity grows too close to the bone, then the tooth may need to be extracted. There is a limit as to how close a filling can be placed to the bone. If the cavity is too close to the bone, any filling material placed there will cause the body to react to the filling material leading to the eventual downfall of the tooth so it would be recommended to extract it instead.
This is why we recommend fixing cavities with fillings. The earlier we can repair a tooth, the less likely it is to have any of these unfortunate outcomes, especially an extraction. By finding cavities when they are small and repairing them early, we can help you keep your teeth. If you have questions about your cavity, make sure you ask your oral health team about what they would recommend to fix it. After all, you chose them as your oral health care providers because you trust their education and opinions. Use their knowledge to help you make an informed and educated decision about your oral health.
Cosmetic Injectables, like Botox and Dysport, have become one of the most common cosmetic procedures done in North America today.Something that used to be considered taboo or only for the rich and famous a few years ago is now quite common.The idea of aging gracefully is leading the shift in our society.Botox and Dysport treatments can now be performed by doctors, dentists, nurses and naturopaths in British Columbia.
Dr. Moreau was trained at the Pacific Training Institute for Facial Aesthetics and Theraputics (PTIFA), one of the most comprehensive training courses for Cosmetic Injectables in North America, and now offers treatment in the office.
We all know about Botox for the treatment of wrinkles.But how much do you really know about what it does?And about the therapeutic uses for Botox or Dysport?
The theory behind cosmetic injectables is that if you stop the muscle from crinkling the skin over and over again, you stop the wrinkle from forming.This is how Botox and Dysport help with wrinkles.The injection of Botox or Dysport, purified Botulinum Toxin-A proteins, into a wrinkle-forming muscle paralyzes the muscle. This prevents the muscle from folding the skin for 3-4 months until the effects wear off.Long term treatment will prevent the muscle from making these movements and wrinkling the skin.If the wrinkle is already there, treatment can help to soften the appearance of the wrinkle and help prevent it from worsening.
Therapeutic Botox and Dysport is used to treat pain, such as headaches and jaw pain.By relaxing the muscles causing tension in the face, the Botox or Dysport helps lessen the pain that these muscles are causing.Many of our patients notice a decrease in their headaches when they have treatment done on their upper face. Our jaw pain patients, the clenchers and grinders, often notice great improvement after receiving treatment to their overactive jaw muscles.Therapeutic Botox or Dysport is part of an overall treatment plan for managing these symptoms.
Interested in learning more?Schedule a consult with Dr. Moreau to discuss your options.
I talk to my patients all the time about grinding and clenching their teeth, but do they really know what that is and why it is bad? Do they understand why the need a nightguard? Sometimes I think they do but other times I wonder. So, I thought I would take a moment to explain it here.
First of all, what is the difference between grinding and clenching? Well, grinding is when a person rubs their teeth together over and over wearing them down over time. Clenching is when a person holds their teeth together very tightly over a period of time. Grinding causes excessive wear on the teeth and sore muscles and headaches. Clenching causes sensitive teeth, tooth chips and fractures, sore muscles and headaches. Clenching and grinding are grouped together under the term ‘bruxism.’
What causes it? Well, that is a great question. Most of us who grind or clench do so when we are sleeping. We are unconscious so we aren’t aware of what is causing us to do this. There are many theories out there but it remains to be seen if we have an overactive muscle, a bite discrepancy, a sleep-breath disorder or just a subconscious habit. I personally think it is likely a combination of a lot of factors. One thing I know for sure about clenching and grinding is that stress exacerbates it. I cannot tell you how many of my patients come in during or after periods of stress in their lives (global pandemic anyone?) and tell me that their teeth are sore, their jaw is sore or that they have been having more headaches. These are classic symptoms of grinding or clenching!
So what do we do about it? Since we don’t know what truly causes it, we cannot stop you from doing it. But we can manage it. My favourite treatment option is a night guard because it is a non-permanent option that protects your teeth. They are simple to use and last for years depending on the extent of your grinding or clenching. Most patients find them quite comfortable, once they get used to wearing them. Some other treatment options are eliminating stress from your life (if you figure out how, please let me know!), physiotherapy, massage therapy, orthodontics to realign your teeth and Botulinum Toxin-A therapy (better known as Botox or Dysport).
What is a night guard? It is a custom acrylic appliance made to fit around your teeth on one arch (usually the top teeth) that you wear while you are sleeping. The hard acrylic helps to distribute your clenching or grinding forces throughout your mouth so that you cannot take your stress out on specific teeth. It won’t stop you from doing it, but it will help protect your teeth. Most people find that it helps with their sensitivity, jaw soreness and headaches as well. For those that it doesn’t, we then look into adding other treatment modalities in to help with that like sensitivity toothpastes, massage, orthodontics or Botox therapy.
Not sure if you grind or clench? Take note over the next few days if you are waking up with tight or sore jaw muscles, sensitive teeth or headaches. Look at your teeth. Do they look worn? Are your canine teeth pointy or flat? They should be pointy. If they are flat, you have likely ground them down over the years. Still not sure? Ask us the next time you are in for a check up and we can help you determine if you are clenching and grinding and if a night guard would be a good prevention idea for your teeth. Remember, these are the last set of teeth you grow so you want to protect them as best you can for as long as you can!
What a year it has been for everyone. I won’t go into details as I am sure we are all more than well aware of the dramatic events of this year. What I did want to touch on though are some observations I have on the effects of the stress of this year on our patients’ mouths. We all know that stress can effect us in a number of ways. Let me tell you about a few of them that we have seen in your mouths.
Now, please keep in mind, there is no research backing up this post. This is purely based on my observations in our dental clinic in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. I recognize that this is not a science-based conclusion, nor may it represent the patient populations of other clinics. I just thought it was interesting so I thought I would share for those interested as well.
I would say the number one call I received during our COVID-19 shutdown this Spring was about broken teeth. Most of these patients were not in pain, but had broken part of their tooth off. These patients were able to manage their broken tooth at home with some TLC and in some cases, the application of some sensitivity toothpaste to the sensitive spot. Once we were able to reopen and see them, we were able to diagnose many fractured teeth. More than I have ever seen! And in talking to colleagues across Canada, they were seeing the same thing – an increased number of broken teeth. I can only assume that the increased stress people have been under caused them to grind or clench more, leading to these fractures.
I have also noticed an increase in the number of our patients coming in with jaw pain or Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD). The stress that we are under is often taken out on our mouths by grinding and/or clenching, and often while we are sleeping so we cannot control it. These increased forces in our jaws puts extra strain on the muscles, joints and bones that make up our jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ). Some of the patients we are seeing have long standing jaw issues that are being aggravated by the current situation but many of these patients are having jaw pain for the first time. It can be alarming but so far we have been able to manage these cases relatively easily.
My hygienists have also noticed that our patients have more buildup or calculus on their teeth. Now, that is to be expected with the patients who had to cancel their cleaning appointments due to our COVID shutdown. But they are also seeing it with our patients who are not overdue. The ones who were in just before the shutdown and then returned right on schedule. I can only assume that the increase in stress has affected the buildup somehow. Now, your guess is as good as mine as to why:
Did they slack on their brushing and flossing while they were on lockdown or working extra helping their kids with homeschooling?
Did the stress cause the chemistry of their saliva to change making it easier for the plaque to calcify?
Did the stress cause the amount of their saliva to decrease making it easier for the plaque to calcify?
Was it a combination of the above? We will never know. And it may be different for every patient. What we do know, is the need for our patients to get in for their regular dental hygiene appointments has not decreased. If anything, there are some patients who we will need to see more during this stressful time to keep their mouths as healthy as we can.
What can we learn from this?
Stress can do surprising things to our bodies and our mouths. This global pandemic has sure shown us that. It will be important to keep this in mind when our patients are going through stressful times in the future. We can be aware of these things and maybe even counsel them on it before they happen to try to prevent some of these stress-related dental events from happening.
The other thing we can learn from this year is that our community is strong and resourceful. We came together through this nightmare of a year and for the most part helped support each other. Our patients and team members seem to be coping with all the stresses they are under as best they can and that’s all we can truly hope for.
Here’s to us coming out the other side of this with a smile on our faces.
Having a tooth extracted is not something any of us look forward to. But sometimes, for some teeth, it is the only option. In these instances, we take the utmost care in making you feel comfortable throughout the procedure. And after the tooth is out, special care needs to be taken to care for the area so it heals well.
Instructions to Patients following Oral Surgery
Bite on gauze for ½ hour.
Brush your teeth and tongue tonight, avoiding the affected area(s) for 48 hours.
Do not rinse your mouth vigorously for 24 hours. Do not drink through a straw, spit or smoke for 24 hours.
Starting tomorrow, rinse your mouth frequently with a solution of ½ teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water. Continue the rinses for a few days.
If you have any discomfort, take whatever you normally take for a headache, as directed on the bottle. If necessary, a stronger medication will be prescribed for you.
Diet – cold or lukewarm liquids may be taken for the first 4-6 hours. After this, eat soft foods. Avoid small foods like rice, quinoa or seeds that can get stuck in the surgical site.
Bleeding – it is normal for the saliva in your mouth to be streaked with blood for a day or two. If frank bleeding is present, fold a sterile gauze into a firm wad and place it directly on the bleeding area. Maintain firm pressure by biting for 20 minutes. You can also bite on a damp tea bag.
Swelling & Discolouration – it is to be expected in certain areas, usually reaching its maximum 2 days after surgery. It will disappear gradually and is no cause for concern. Ice pads should be applied for the first 4-6 hours only, alternating 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.
Place an old towel on your pillow tonight in case you drool some blood so that you don’t stain your pillow.
Sutures (Stitches) – if required, they will dissolve on their own over the next week.
Do not hesitate to call the office if you are in doubt or have any questions.
As many of you may already be aware, Dr. Sue Randhawa, a Kelowna dentist, retired earlier this year after practicing here for 30 years. She is looking forward to slowing down and spending more time with her family. It was with great pleasure and excitement that we worked with Dr. Randhawa to welcome her patients to our dental office. We have known Dr. Randhawa for over 3 years now and are excited to get to know her wonderful patients!
We are located just down the hall from Dr. Randhawa’s office so it will be easy for her patients to find us. We share many of the same practice values as her so we anticipate a smooth transition for her patients. What we can offer over and above the excellent dental work that Dr. Randhawa did is expanded hours and two full time Registered Dental Hygienists, making booking your appointments easier. Our friendly team will welcome you to our office and help you maintain a healthy comfortable smile.
Dr. Randhawa has given us all of the charts and x-rays for her patients so we are able to reference their records and treatment plans. We offer digital x-rays so the next time her patients are due for x-rays, we will provide digital ones which have even less radiation than the traditional film ones.
Have any questions about continuing your dental care at our office? Please feel free to give us a call at 250-762-2223 to discuss them. We would love to hear from you.
And please join us in wishing Dr. Randhawa a happy retirement!
Following Dr. Bonnie Henry’s latest COVID-19 orders, masks are now mandatory in our clinic for all persons over age 2. They can be removed when treatment is being performed but must be worn throughout the clinic otherwise. Those with a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask will be required to wear a face shield. We will continue to update you as the situation evolves. Thank you for your patience with our extra COVID precautions.
In response to BC opening up dental offices in Phase 2 of the Reopening Plan, we are excited to announce that we are seeing patients again! Please bear with us as we enter this new phase and adapt to all of the new protocols we have put in place.
We have missed seeing your smiling faces so much! It is really hard to believe that we last saw patients in the middle of March. We truly hope that you all were safe and healthy through all of this and those that had dental emergencies, we will be seeing you first!
It has been really hard on me to not be able to treat your pain and discomfort. I became a dentist so that I could help people – I know that closing our office through this time has helped flatten the curve in BC and has been worth it in that respect, but it does sting to not be able to help our amazing patients when they need us. We really do love treating our patients!
New Protocols
So, in order to help our amazing patients and keep our patients and team as healthy as possible, we have instituted new protocols around the office:
When you speak to our team members on the phone to schedule or confirm an appointment, they will be asking you screening questions to see if it is appropriate for us to see you for a dental appointment. This is a precaution we are taking to be able to protect our patients and team members.
If you are sick, have been in contact with someone with suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 or have returned from outside of Canada in the last 14 days, please reschedule your dental appointment for 14 days from now.
Please wear a mask to your appointment.
We ask that you do not come more than 5 minutes early for your appointment as we are trying to minimize the number of people in the office at one time.
Please come alone to your appointment – leave kids and spouses at home where possible. If you must bring a parent/caregiver due to your child’s age or the patient requiring assistance, please only bring one caregiver to minimize the number of people in the office at one time.
When you enter the office, please wait at our screening station directly inside the door. A team member will offer you hand sanitizer and go through the screening questions with you again. They will then take your temperature. If nothing out of the ordinary comes up with this screening, you will be taken to your room. In the room, we will also be taking a reading of your oxygen saturation ( a simple finger test ). All of these screening measures are to ensure it is safe for us to treat you during this time.
Any patient who is suspected of having COVID-19 will be rescheduled for 14 days. If they have a dental emergency, we will arrange to manage them over the phone or arrange for emergency treatment in a facility that is set up to manage COVID-19 patients.
Prior to dental treatment, we will have you do a rinse with a hydrogen peroxide solution.
Please maintain physical distancing of at least 2 meters (6 feet) while in the office.
We have removed most of the chairs from our reception area to allow for proper physical distancing and placed decals on the floor as a reminder.
We have installed a barrier in the reception area to protect our reception team.
We have made the decision to go above and beyond the current government recommendations for personal protective equipment (PPE) in the dental field. We feel it is important to go the extra step during Phase 2 of reopening to keep both our team and our patients healthy. So you will notice that our team is wearing gowns and face shields during your appointment in addition to our usual masks and gloves. Please bear with us while we get used to wearing all of this for your treatment. We wear new gowns, masks and gloves for each patient and disinfect our face shields and eye wear between patients.
We have always had a high standard for infection control and prevention in our office. All dental tools are heat-sterilized between patients and all treatment rooms are disinfected between patients. We will continue to follow our high level of this as well as increasing the frequency that we clean common areas such as door knobs, reception room chairs and reception counters.
For the time being, we may be modifying how we do some of our procedures to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19, so please bear with us when things are done a little differently than usual.
For patients with preexisting conditions that put them at higher risk, please inform us when we call to schedule an appointment. Common conditions that put you at higher risk for COVID-19 include:
Over the age of 70
Lung disease
Heart disease
Diabetes
Immunocompromised or Immunosuppressed patients
Please, if you have any questions or concerns about our new protocols, please ask us. This is an unprecedented situation that we are all learning about as we go and following the recommendations of our Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafe BC, the BC Centre for Disease Control and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC. As the situation in BC changes and (hopefully) we continue to move forwards into Phase 3 and beyond, we will begin to relax some of our extra precautions back to a more normal level of infection control and prevention.
Rebooking Appointments
You missed your appointment with us…now what?
We are working our way through our list of patients who need appointments for dental treatment and for cleanings. Shirley is on the phone calling away to get ahold of everyone and get them scheduled. It will take us a bit of time to get everyone caught up but we will get there. I promise, we haven’t forgotten about you.
If you would like to be seen sooner or have a dental issue you think we should look at, please call the office at 250-762-2223 Monday to Wednesday 8:00-4:30 and Thursday 7:00-3:30. You can also email us at info@kelownafamilydental.ca.
As we all know, this is a very fluid situation that has the potential to change daily. We are monitoring the recommendations for our field and will adjust our protocols as needed accordingly.
Thank you everyone for your understanding during our closure these last few months. We know it has been a hard time for most people with closures of services, concerns about the health and wellbeing of family and friends and loss of work for many. We truly appreciate your support and confidence in our dental practice and are looking forward to seeing you all.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robyn Moreau, Dr. Tom Martin and the whole team at Kelowna Family Dental
As the Province of BC has lifted the shutdown on non-essential dental services, we are busy preparing our plan to reopen our dental office safely. Our primary concern is the health and safety of our patients and team. Please bear with us while we source the extra PPE we are implementing to keep everyone safe. We will update you once we have a set opening date. Right now, we are subject to shipping times.
May 14, 2020
We continue to patiently wait for an update on when we can reopen from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafeBC and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC.
Please see the following press release from the British Columbia Dental Association:
Dental Offices Not Open for Full Services May 19
May 14, 2020, 12:00pm: The BC Dental Association (BCDA) advises patients that dental offices will not be returning to regular practice May 19. Full dental services, including hygiene care, will be introduced gradually and when it is safe to do so. As evidenced in other provinces, there is no singular approach to restarting services. Plans for BC will consider the different circumstances in various areas, including access to required personal protective equipment (PPE).
When Premier John Horgan announced the provincial government’s BC Restart Plan on May 6, many patients assumed dental offices would be returning to regular services on May 19. However, as the Premier and Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, confirmed in media briefings May 13, WorkSafeBC and public health officials have begun to develop guidelines for various sectors, including dentistry, to extend services – but they have not been published yet.
As we can all appreciate, the guidelines to protect patients, dentists and dental staff need to be aligned based on the epidemiology of managing the risk of COVID-19 in BC.
On May 13, Dr. Henry indicated that new guidelines are currently being worked on with regulators, including the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, “Direction is going to be provided, and we’re working on that with the regulatory authorities, the colleges for all the regulated health professions, on incremental changes and the guidance they need to move forward over the next couple of weeks.”
“Dental teams are experts at infection control and dentists want to ensure their practices are appropriately set up to comply with physical distancing and other particular requirements to reduce the transmission of COVID-19”, says BCDA spokesperson, Dr. Alastair Nicoll.
Dr. Nicoll continued, “Dental offices have been limited to tele-dentistry and emergency care since March 23. When the public health orders change, and patients begin returning to dental offices, the dental visit will look different. For example, chairs, magazines and toys will be removed from waiting rooms, and the receptionist may be sitting behind a plexiglass screen. Patients will also be asked different health screening questions when making their appointment and on the day of their appointment; and asked to clean their hands before and after their appointment. These and other changes will be communicated by your dental office once the new guidelines are published.”
“By all means, dental patients should contact their dentist to schedule an appointment, but please understand that until further direction is provided by the Provincial Health Officer and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, dentists are only permitted to provide emergency and urgent services.”, said Dr. Nicoll.
BCDA encourages patients to contact their dentist for any dental emergency or dental concern. If you’re looking for a dentist, visit BCDA’s YourDentalHealth.ca website.
Cary Chan, Manager, Communications & Public Affairs
BCDA
May 3, 2020
Hi Everyone,
We miss you!
It has now been a month and a half since we closed our office for routine dental care due to the COVID-19 pandemic.We hope that this finds you all healthy and hopefully finding a few moments of peace and joy during this unprecedented time.I know that I am trying to make the most of it by enjoying some sunshine in my yard and tackling some projects around our house.
I thought I would touch base with you all regarding where we go from here.I am not sure if you are aware that Premier Horgan announced last week that dentistry will be one of the first sectors to open back up.We are anxiously awaiting more guidance from the provincial health authority and our dental college as to what extra precautions we will be putting in place to protect both our lovely patients and our amazing team.Our biggest concern is how to keep both our patients and our team healthy and safe during this all.As soon as we know more, we will be getting ready to welcome you back to our office.I know that many of you have dental concerns that need to be taken care of very soon before they become problematic.
As always, if you do have a dental emergency or just need some advice on how to proceed until you can be seen, please do not hesitate to call the office.My cell phone number is on the voicemail message so that you can reach me.
Dr. Robyn Moreau
March 18, 2020
We are sure that you have heard in the media that there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the Pacific Dental Conference that was recently held in Vancouver on March 5-7th. We wanted to reach out to you to keep you informed of up to date information that has been given to us by our governing bodies and the Provincial Health Team.
While our dentists were present at the Pacific Dental Conference and did return to work the following week (March 09th), we did so as it had not been announced that there was a possible case. We were informed by the Pacific Dental Conference on March 12th of the confirmed case and they advised us to monitor for symptoms but take no other measures. As our team was feeling healthy, we continued as usual treating our patients. As of yesterday afternoon, the province, the College of Dental Surgeons of BC and BC Health Services has instructed us to cease treating non-emergent patients, which we have done in closing our office.
Please take comfort in knowing that none of our team has any symptoms and has been back in Kelowna since March 8th. In all steps of this unprecedented situation we have followed all recommendations from our Dental College, and the Provincial Health Services. The risks of exposure to our dentists at the Conference are still considered low and the recommendation to self-isolate is a precaution we are taking seriously.
As a Dental Office, on a daily basis we go above and beyond in exercising the highest levels of cleanliness and sterilization. We are proud to have always adopted the highest standards in our practice and practice them daily.
If you have any concerns or are unsure about symptoms, please contact the provincial health link at 811 or 1-888-COVID19 or complete the online assessment. We will continue to follow the recommendations of the BC Provincial Health and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC.
The College of Dental Surgeons of BC has advised us to cancel all elective and non-essential dental services immediately until further notice. We have closed the office as of last night and Dr. Moreau and Dr. Martin are self-isolating until Sunday, March 22nd as recommended. After March 22nd, Dr. Moreau will be handling patients who require immediate treatment due to infection, acute pain and/or trauma. Please call the office if you are having a dental emergency to receive the emergency number.
Thank you for reaching out with your questions, we will be in contact with any updates that we may have.
We hope that everyone stays healthy out there and that our society can return to normal as soon as possible once this pandemic has passed.
Dr. Robyn Moreau, Dr. Tom Martin and the team at Kelowna Family Dental
As the kids are home during this time of COVID-19, we want to encourage them to stay active and busy. To make it fun, we will be having a coloring contest! 🎨🎨🎨
Participants will have a chance to win 🎁 a $25 gift card to Mosaic Books!🎁
All children living in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country are welcome to participate. Simply grab a colouring sheet here and post a picture of the artist with their final masterpiece to our Facebook page under the contest post. Feel free to share this with friends and family in the area so that they can participate too!
The winner will be announced on June 1st, 2020!🏆🏆🏆
Happy colouring!🙌 We can’t wait to see your masterpieces!
Straight teeth have minimal overlaps with their neighbouring teeth which makes them easier to clean. Teeth that are easier to clean tend to get less plaque built up on them which in turn helps prevent cavities and gingivitis from forming. By being easier to clean, this means that with less effort from you, you will have less dental problems over your lifetime. And who wouldn’t want less dental work done.
Not sure if you grind or clench? Take note over the next few days if you are waking up with tight or sore jaw muscles, sensitive teeth or headaches. Look at your teeth. Do they look worn? Are your canine teeth pointy or flat? They should be pointy. If they are flat, you have likely ground them down over the years. Still not sure? Ask us the next time you are in for a check up and we can help you determine if you are clenching and grinding and if a night guard would be a good prevention idea for your teeth. Remember, these are the last set of teeth you grow so you want to protect them as best you can for as long as you can!
I have also noticed an increase in the number of our patients coming in with jaw pain or Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD). The stress that we are under is often taken out on our mouths by grinding and/or clenching, and often while we are sleeping so we cannot control it. These increased forces in our jaws puts extra strain on the muscles, joints and bones that make up our jaw joint or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ). Some of the patients we are seeing have long standing jaw issues that are being aggravated by the current situation but many of these patients are having jaw pain for the first time. It can be alarming but so far we have been able to manage these cases relatively easily. 
