A first dental visit is short, gentle, and mostly about familiarity. Here is what happens, when to book it, and the words to use at home beforehand.

A smile makeover is usually a combination of treatments rather than one procedure. Knowing what each one changes makes it much easier to decide where to begin.

Some dental problems need care within hours, some within days, and a few belong at a hospital rather than a dental office. Here is how to tell them apart.

Choosing a dental office is mostly about fit. Here are the criteria worth checking, the questions worth asking on the phone, and the signs a practice suits your household.

The Canadian Dental Care Plan does not cover dental implants. It does cover dentures and several other services that help when you are missing teeth, and knowing the difference changes how you plan treatment.

Whitening results usually hold from several months up to around two years. Diet, smoking, and whether you top up at home make more difference than the treatment itself.

Two people can be quoted very different amounts for what sounds like the same dental implant. The difference usually comes down to what has to happen before the implant goes in, how many teeth are involved, and what goes on top.

Replacing one missing tooth with an implant happens in stages across several months, and most of that time is your own bone healing around the post rather than chair time.

A knocked out baby tooth and a knocked out adult tooth need opposite responses, and getting that wrong matters. Here is how to tell what is urgent when your child hurts, and what to do first.

Modern root canal treatment is done under full local anaesthetic and is usually no more uncomfortable than a filling. The pain people fear is the infection, not the treatment.

When something goes wrong with a tooth, the question is rarely what is it. It is can someone see me today. Here is what a same day visit can usually cover and what tends to need more than one appointment.

An extraction is usually quicker and more comfortable than people expect. Here is what happens during the appointment, how healing progresses, and what protects the clot.

Cost is the reason most people give for putting off dental care, and putting it off is usually what makes it bigger. Here is what actually changes the arithmetic, from the Canadian Dental Care Plan to how treatment can be staged.

Oral sedation is a tablet taken before your appointment that leaves you relaxed and drowsy but awake. It suits many anxious patients, though not everyone is a candidate.

Most plans cover emergency examinations and the treatment that follows, but annual maximums, co payments, and the type of treatment needed all affect what you pay.