Total Patient Care

At Yonge & Steeles Dental Care, Dr. Shirley and Dr. Kenny believe in total patient care. Your mouth is a major part of your body. Your oral health is a major part of your total well being. Body systems are inter-related. It is very important for dentists to relate your systemic health, medication and social activities to the manifestations of oral diseases.

In your complete oral examination visit, we take an hour to understand your needs and preferences, collect evidence from clinical examination, digital radiography, special tests and finally correlate all findings with our clinical expertise to formulate treatment plans customised to your expectations.

Gum Disease

Many studies have shown gum disease has replaced dental decay as the number one reason for tooth loss. However it is not readily recognised by common people that they have this serious infection. Bleeding gums are one of nine warning signs. Think of gum tissue as the skin on your hand. If your hands bled every time you washed them, you would know something is wrong. Other signs of gum disease include: red, swollen or tender gums; sores in your mouth; gums that have pulled away from the teeth; persistent bad breath; pus between the teeth and gums (leaving bad breath); loose or separating teeth; a change in the way the teeth fit together; and a change in the fit of partial dentures.

Dr. Shirley and Dr. Kenny believe as dentists, we are your guardian of oral health. We routinely check for signs of gum disease with Periodontal Screening and Recording procedure recommended by Canadian Dental Association. We help our patients understand their role in gum disease prevention and treatment. We have installed a strong hygiene maintenance program with our experienced hygienists to protect your gum from infection.

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Tooth Decay

Tooth decay should be caught in the early stage. Our teeth are designed to physically break down food. They are very strong and tolerant to stimuli such as hot and cold temperature, sourly food, soft or crunchy food. However they are not designed to detect pain. In fact, the nerves can only be located in the deepest core of our teeth which is called pulp. Therefore it is in the very late stage of dental decay when you feel your tooth is hurting. At Yonge & Steeles Dental Care, our dentists employ Laser Caries Detector, Diagnodent™, together with clinical examination and digital radiography to detect early dental decay. Once verified, tooth decay is stopped by careful excavation of infected dental tissue and tooth restored with composite resin or ceramic fillings or crowns.

In the unlucky situations when tooth decay has gone into the deep part of the tooth, root canal treatment (endodontics) may have to be performed to remove infected tissue.

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White Fillings

At Yonge & Steeles Dental Care, we believe we must do no harm to our patients or the environment.

All of the dental materials we use have been tested for biocompatibility with the planet. In 2000 we stopped using metal fillings containing mercury. Old, unsightly fillings can now be replaced with aesthetic filling materials such as composite resins and porcelain fillings or crowns.

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Oral Cancer Screening

Do you know one American dies every hour from oral cancer? A death rate that has remained virtually unchanged for more than 40 years. Recent statistics published by the American Cancer Society indicate that while the incidence and death rates for cancers overall has decreased, the incidence of oral cancer has increased by 5.5% and the death rate has increased by 1.5%. The primary reason for the consistently high death rate is because oral cancer is far too often discovered in late stage development. Early detection and diagnosis can make a tremendous difference in life expectancy; oral cancer is 90% curable when found in its early stages.

An annual ViziLite exam, in combination with a regular visual examination, provides a comprehensive oral screening procedure for patients at increased risk for oral cancer. The ViziLite exam is painless and fast, and could help save your life.