At the heart of our practice is a deep commitment to understanding your whole-body health, not just your teeth. Our comprehensive holistic dental hygiene exam is designed to uncover the full picture of your oral and systemic wellness:Comprehensive Medical & Dental History — Understanding your health journey, medications, and lifestyle is the foundation of truly personalized care.Blood Pressure & Pulse — Your cardiovascular health and oral health are deeply connected, and we screen both at your yearly exam.Saliva pH & Nitric Oxide Testing — A window into your body's internal environment, revealing inflammation levels, immune function, and cardiovascular health that standard exams often miss.Plaque & Tartar Assessment — Identifying bacterial buildup that drives inflammation and disease progression.Oral Cancer Screening — A thorough, potentially life-saving check of all oral tissues.Teeth & Restoration Assessment — Evaluating existing fillings and restorations for signs of disease, wear, or breakdown.Charting All Existing Restorations — A complete map of your oral health baseline.Six-Point Periodontal Probing — Our most critical diagnostic tool, measuring gum pocket depths, recession, bone loss, and bleeding response around every single tooth.Bone Loss & Tooth Mobility — Detecting early structural changes before they become irreversible.Home Care Assessment — Reviewing and refining your daily routine with holistic product recommendations tailored to your unique needs.
As part of your comprehensive exam, we offer digital X-rays with your full informed consent. As registered dental hygienists in Alberta, we are trained and authorized to take X-rays and make diagnoses within our scope of practice. We use digital imaging technology, which significantly reduces radiation exposure compared to traditional film, complemented by protective lead aprons and thyroid collars for your safety and peace of mind.
Following your appointment, your images are securely shared with you and your family dentist for continuity of care.
How Often Should You Have X-Rays?
The frequency of X-rays is individualized based on your unique risk factors and oral health history. It is important to know that decay between teeth and early tooth infections are simply not visible to the naked eye — X-rays are the only way to detect them. In fact, we have identified fully asymptomatic abscessed teeth through routine imaging — conditions that, left undetected, can have serious consequences for both oral and systemic health.
We respect your autonomy and your right to make informed decisions about your care. Ultimately, the choice is always yours.
Phase-Contrast for viewing live bacteria!
Microscopic Plaque Analysis
One of the most valuable diagnostic tools we offer is chairside microscopic plaque analysis — a simple, non-invasive way to identify exactly what is living in your mouth and assess your risk for active bone loss around your teeth. A small sample of plaque is collected and viewed under a microscope, allowing us to detect four key types of bacteria: Rods and Cocci, which are considered part of a normal oral environment, and Amoebas and Spirochetes, which are pathogenic organisms directly associated with periodontal bone destruction. Their presence is a significant indicator that your gum disease is active and progressing. What makes this tool so powerful from a holistic perspective is that it moves beyond guesswork — giving us a real-time window into your oral microbiome so we can build a targeted, personalized care plan to eliminate harmful bacteria and halt further damage before it becomes irreversible. We recommend microscopic analysis for all of our clients, and consider it especially essential for anyone presenting with gum pocket depths of 5 mm or greater. Early detection is everything — because when we can see what we are dealing with, we can treat it with precision, intention, and the least invasive approach possible.
OralDNA labs
Salivary Testing
Saliva is one of the most powerful and underutilized diagnostic tools in healthcare — and we are proud to offer comprehensive salivary testing as part of our holistic approach to your oral and whole-body wellness. Through advanced laboratory analysis, salivary testing allows us to identify the specific oral pathogens driving gum disease, detect genetic markers for inflammation that influence disease severity, and assess your risk for serious systemic conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It can also screen for high-risk HPV strains associated with oral cancer — making it a truly life-changing diagnostic tool. We offer a wide range of evidence-based salivary tests, including: My Perio Path · My Perio ID-IL-6 · OraRisk Caries · HPV · Candida · HSV · CT/NG · Celsius One Gene Markers · Whole Body Health Panel · Comprehensive Oral Test · and more. Our philosophy is simple — test, don't guess. Rather than treating blindly, salivary testing allows us to create a precise, personalized care plan based on what is actually happening in your body at a genetic and microbial level.
Radiation-free Caries Detection
Spectra Intra-oral Camera
Early detection is one of the most powerful forms of prevention — and the Spectra camera embodies that principle beautifully. This cutting-edge, non-invasive diagnostic tool uses harmless fluorescent light technology to reveal areas of demineralization and early tooth decay that are completely invisible to the naked eye and undetectable on X-rays alone. By illuminating subtle changes in tooth structure at the earliest possible stage — before decay causes damage, discomfort, or the need for more invasive treatment — the Spectra camera empowers us to take a truly proactive approach to your dental health. Rather than waiting for a cavity to fully develop, we can identify vulnerable areas and intervene with minimally invasive, holistically aligned strategies such as remineralization therapy, dietary guidance, and targeted home care protocols.
From a holistic perspective, this aligns perfectly with our core philosophy — that the least invasive path is always the best path.