The areas around McLeod Park are great places to live, work, and raise a family. Other people in Winnipeg might not understand why Raleigh and Gateway are divided the way they are, but people in Rossmere, East Kildonan, and River East know it’s so that kids, pedestrians, and cyclists can enjoy the beauty of the Northeast Pioneers Greenway without worrying about traffic, giving them a way to get around stress-free.
Living here doesn’t always mean living stress-free, but it should mean living a good, safe, and enjoyable life. At East Kildonan Dental Group, we believe that all dental appointments should be as stress-free as possible. Here’s how we do it:
When you walk into our Winnipeg dental clinic on Henderson Highway, you’ll be greeted by our friendly front office staff. They’ll ask you if you need anything before your appointment, then point you to our comfortable seating. You won’t have to wait long; our team values your time, so we’re pretty punctual.
Here’s the flow for most adult dental check-ups:
X-rays are typically taken every 6-36 months; there’s a good reason for that broad range. Most patients will only need X-rays every 12-24 months; patients with exceptionally good oral health may need X-rays less frequently, while patients who suffer from frequent cavities and other oral problems may need X-rays every time a dental exam is performed.
Dental X-rays allow your dentist to get detailed information about what’s going on below the surface of your gums and in between your teeth. This can help your dentist detect hidden cavities, bone loss, wisdom teeth, and even serious health problems like tumours. Not sure why your dentist wants you to get an X-ray? Ask!
Once the X-ray is done, your hygienist will perform a dental hygiene exam. This exam involves checking for plaque and tartar, evaluating the condition of the gums for gingivitis and other gum problems, and taking note of general oral hygiene.
Having completed the exam, your dental hygienist will clean your teeth. This cleaning may involve scaling to remove tartar (also called calculus), cleaning your teeth with specialized tools, and applying fluoride.
With your teeth cleaned, your dentist will complete your dental check-up with an exam. During this exam, they’ll consult with your dental hygienist, review your X-rays, and examine your mouth. During a dental exam, your dentist will look for:
Your dentist will also review your overall oral health and the function of your jaw.
The exam will give your dentist a lot of information; they’ll use that information to propose treatment plans, recommend when you should come in for your next check-up, and to help you better understand your own oral health.
Check-ups for kids and teens are very similar to check-ups for adults, but with a few key differences:
For kids, check-ups are quite age-dependent. Your child’s first check-up will mostly be about getting them used to going to the dentist; it will also involve ensuring that their baby teeth are coming in without any issues.
As children grow, check-ups mean making sure that everything is on schedule: Baby teeth have emerged on time, and adult teeth are coming in when expected and without problems. Dental sealant may be applied to back teeth during these check-ups to help prevent cavities.
With teens, dental exams are almost exactly like they are for adults, but with special attention paid to wisdom teeth. Should a wisdom tooth become impacted or not emerge properly, your dentist may recommend wisdom tooth removal. Mouthguards may also be recommended to teens who play high-risk sports.
Oral health problems, like many health problems, tend to be progressive: They start as small issues, but can develop into more serious problems. A cavity that isn’t treated can lead to a root canal infection, and a root canal infection that isn’t treated can turn into a dead tooth that needs to be extracted. Gum disease that isn’t treated can turn into severe periodontitis.
These more serious oral health problems are more expensive to treat, have a more dramatic impact on your oral health (and on your overall health), and lead to worse outcomes. Preventing these problems is key; the best way to prevent a problem is to catch it early, and the best way to do that is to visit your dentist regularly.
Adults should go to the dentist regularly - every 6 months to a year for most people - but that can be a hard habit to form. Life gets busy. The best way to form the habit? Start when you’re young.
As a parent, you want to help your kids and teens develop healthy habits they keep with them for life. By bringing them in for a dental exam early on and continuing to visit the dentist with them every 6 months, you can improve the likelihood that they’ll maintain better oral health as adults.
Most people should get a dental exam every six months, no matter their age. Your dentist might tell you that you only need an exam every 12 months if you have exceptionally good oral health.
Busy families around McLeod Park come to our clinic for a few reasons:
We recommend scheduling on a Saturday, a Sunday, or on a Thursday before a long weekend; we’re open until 7 PM on Thursdays, so it’s a great time to book a block before enjoying time off together!
Children are often nervous about visiting the dentist; that’s okay! There are a few tips that can help:
Most people do not need dental X-rays on every visit; it depends on their overall oral health and other factors. A more typical timeframe for X-rays is every 12-24 months, though some patients may need X-rays every 6 months. You can always ask your dentist why they want X-rays, and what each X-ray is for!
The answer depends on the size of your family, whether or not you need X-rays, and how long it’s been since your last exam. A typical dental exam and cleaning will take about an hour; if each family member is going at a separate time, multiply that hour by the number of family members!
