Hello and welcome to the brand new blog of Silver Valley Dental! For the longest time, we have wondered what the best way to interact with our community might be. After much back and forth discussion among the staff, as well as some clever insight from our patients, we decided to speak directly to our current and prospective patients through this blog. However, we want this blog to be about more than just dentistry. We want to also use this blog to talk about our community and the many awesome events that happen year round in the Silver Valley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Mission areas of Vancouver, BC. In order to get things started, Dr. Raymond L. Chow is blogging to talk about a common restoration dentistry question we often receive at our practice: what sets dental implants apart from dentures.
What sets dental implants apart from other teeth restoration treatments is a process that occurs during the recovery period called osseointegration. Because dental implants are made from titanium, your jawbone will believe that your implant fixture is no different from any of your natural tooth roots. As a result, it will accept your implant as a natural part of your oral anatomy, allowing your body to manipulate it just like it would one of your natural teeth.
Thanks to osseointegration, dental implants receive many exclusive benefits that simply cannot be matched by dentures alone. For instance, because your jawbone will have fully accepted your implants, they should never get loose or move out of place. One common complaint about dentures is the fact that they can require a messy adhesive in order to have any chance of staying in place. Even with this extra measure, it is still possible for dentures to move out of position, which can actually result in them damaging your remaining natural teeth.
Our patients also love how easy it is to care for their dental implants. In fact, all it takes to keep them good and clean is a good brushing and flossing every night. You will also need to attend your regularly scheduled cleanings but, with this minimal amount of work, your implants can end up lasting you far longer than any other restoration treatment. With dentures, you will need to remove them every night and soak them in a cleaning solution. However, even with this extra step, your dentures will only last about 7 years before you will have to have them replaced.
As you can see, dentures simply cannot match dental implants on their own. Fortunately, we can actually meld the two treatments, using dental implants to support dentures. This gives us a way of restoring a large number of missing teeth that is quicker and more affordable while still having the benefits that come with osseointegration. If you would like to learn more about dental implants and dentures, we encourage you to contact our office and schedule a no-obligation consultation with Dr. Raymond L. Chow. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Dear Patient:
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia (CDSBC), Canadian Dental Association (CDA), the BC Center for Disease Control and Prevention (BCCDC) and WorkSafeBC. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
-We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office.
-You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
-You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
-Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
-We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (604) 463-8262 or visit our website at www.silvervalleydental.com
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Silver Valley Dental Centre