whole body dentistry

We Make Smiles takes a whole body approach to dentistry.  That means we don't just look at your teeth.  We look at how oral health and airways are related to your overall health - from how well you breathe to your overall risk for systemic disease and quality of life.  Your first appointment will be very different to your usual dental check-up and clean.  Here's what to expect - 

Your appointment starts with a postural assessment - how do you stand and are you breathing through your nose or your mouth and are your lips sealed when you are breathing?  These things are important because they give us clues about how efficiently and effectively your airways are working.  In children, they can be linked to proper growth of the face and airways and help prevents problems with attention, head-forward posture, higher risk of tooth decay and dental crowding problems.  If needed, we will take CBCT imaging to measure your airways and/or refer you on to a team of health professionals including ENTs, sleep physicians, chiropractors, physiotherapists, osteopaths and nutritionists.  

Next, we check for systemic diseases that appear first in mouth.  This is because oral health conditions are closely linked to many prevalent disease such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, strokes and Alzheimer's disease.  Every visit will take your blood pressure and oxygen levels which not only ensures your visit is safe but let's us detect any potential problems with your overall health well before you may notice something is wrong.  We will also check your salivary flow and overall oral hygiene to head-off any unwanted oral complications.

Once in the mouth, we take a closer look at your jaw joint and muscles.  Up to 50% of people with a clicking jaw have undetected airway issues, like sleep apnoea, that have a big impact on your day-to-day quality of life and your life expectancy.  For patients with jaw pain and clenching related headaches, we offer multi-modality treatment including oral orthotics, dry needling and laser treatment.  

Next we take a look at your gums and bones that support your teeth.  This is especially important for diabetics and women approaching menopause or living with osteoporosis who are at high risk for dental complications if not managed properly.  Our mission is to prevent problems with bone and tooth loss before it occurs to keep your smile and health as bright as it can be.

Finally, we look at your teeth themselves.  First we assess how well your teeth function - taking into account wear, sensitivity, how your teeth come together, missing teeth and their impact on jaw function and health,  We also take time to discuss whether you are happy with the way your teeth look or if you'd like to improve your smile with aesthetic treatment options.  Lastly but certainly not least, we check for pathology affecting your teeth such as cracks, decay and tartar build-up  that need intervention.  

Whole body dentistry is the way dentistry is meant to be practiced.   If you aren't getting all of this service with your usual check and clean, you should be.  We Make Smiles has cutting edge tools and technology to allow us to practice whole body dentistry and we do so at the normal cost of a check-up and clean.  Because a healthy mouth helps live a healthy life.  Come and see us today and let us help make you smile.