Dental Conditions
Dental Conditions & Symptoms
Understanding your dental concern is the first step toward the right treatment. Here is a plain-English guide to what you may be experiencing and what can be done about it.
Most people arrive at a dental practice with a symptom rather than a diagnosis — a tooth that aches when they drink something cold, gums that bleed, a bite that no longer feels right.
This page groups the concerns we see most often into four categories. Each links to a fuller explanation of causes, treatment options, and what to expect.
Common concerns
Missing Teeth
Gaps affect far more than appearance — they change how your bite loads, how you chew, and over time how your jawbone holds its shape.
Dental Anxiety & Phobia
Anxiety is common and manageable. Sedation options range from light nitrous oxide to full IV sedation with a dental anesthesiologist.
Fear of Needles
Needle-free and needle-minimised approaches are available for patients whose anxiety centres on injection rather than treatment.
Severe Gag Reflex
A strong gag reflex can make routine dentistry feel impossible. There are practical techniques and sedation options that make treatment comfortable.
Toothache
Pain is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Its cause may be decay, infection, a crack, or referred pain from elsewhere — each treated differently.
Teeth & pain
Eight of the most frequent reasons patients call us about discomfort. Each has its own page explaining causes, urgency, and treatment.
- ✓ Cavities and tooth decay
- ✓ Chipped teeth
- ✓ Cracked or broken teeth
- ✓ Tooth sensitivity
- ✓ Worn enamel
- ✓ Tooth abscess
- ✓ Dry socket
- ✓ Wisdom teeth problems
Gums & jaw
Gum Disease
The leading cause of adult tooth loss — reversible in its early stage, manageable at every stage after.
Bleeding & Receding Gums
Blood when brushing is not normal. Recession exposes root surfaces and creates sensitivity.
TMJ Disorders & Bruxism
Jaw joint pain, clicking, and grinding damage teeth and cause headaches, often overnight and unnoticed.
Loose Teeth & Tooth Loss
Loose after a knock is a same-day problem. Loose over years usually means lost bone. Both are worth assessing early, because what can still be saved depends on when it is seen.
Bad Breath
Persistent halitosis that brushing does not resolve usually has a treatable clinical cause.
Periodontal Bone Loss
Bone lost to gum disease does not return on its own, but progression can usually be halted with treatment.
When a tooth feels loose
A permanent tooth should not move. How quickly it started moving tells us most of what we need to know.
It happened suddenly, after an injury
A blow to the mouth stretches or tears the ligament holding the tooth, and sometimes breaks the socket wall around it. The tooth itself is often undamaged. Leave it where it is, keep it out of your bite, do not test how loose it is, and be seen the same day — a displaced tooth needs repositioning and splinting, and that gets harder with every hour.
If the tooth came out altogether, the window is shorter still: what to do in the first hour. Otherwise, read what treatment involves or call (905) 479-7777.
It has loosened gradually, over years
Nothing has happened to the tooth — what holds it has been disappearing. Usually that is bone lost to periodontitis, which is slow and rarely causes pain, so movement is often the first thing anyone notices. Sometimes the bite is part of it: one tooth taking more force than its support can carry, whether from a high filling or grinding.
Bone does not come back on its own, so this is worth an appointment rather than an eye kept on it. What causes it and what can be done.
Alignment & appearance
Crooked & Crowded Teeth
Beyond appearance, crowding traps plaque where a brush cannot reach and accelerates decay and gum disease.
Gaps Between Teeth
Diastema can be closed orthodontically or restoratively with bonding or veneers, depending on the cause.
Bite Problems
An uneven bite loads some teeth far harder than others, causing wear, fractures, and jaw discomfort.
Gummy Smile
Excess gum display has several distinct causes, and the right treatment depends entirely on which one applies.
Stained Teeth
Surface staining and intrinsic discolouration respond to very different treatments.
Facial Collapse
Long-term tooth loss changes facial structure as the jawbone resorbs — largely preventable, and to a degree reversible.
Conditions we treat
Find what you have noticed rather than what it is called. Each one says what usually treats it, though the examination comes first.
- Toothache
pain that wakes you, or that lingers after something hot or cold
Usually treated with Emergency care
- Sensitive teeth
a sharp jolt from cold air, ice water or a spoonful of ice cream
Usually treated with Fillings and gum care
- Cavities and tooth decay
a dark spot, food packing into one place, or nothing at all until it is found
Usually treated with Tooth-coloured fillings
- Tooth abscess
swelling, a bad taste, a gum boil, sometimes a fever
Usually treated with Root canal treatment
- Cracked or broken tooth
pain on releasing a bite, or a piece that has come away
Usually treated with Crowns
- Chipped tooth
a rough edge your tongue keeps finding, or a visible notch
Usually treated with Bonding and veneers
- A knocked-out tooth
a tooth out of the socket — the first hour decides most of it
Usually treated with Emergency care
- Worn-down teeth
front teeth getting shorter, or back teeth flattening off
Usually treated with Crowns and bite correction
- Stained or discoloured teeth
teeth darker than they used to be, or one tooth darker than its neighbours
Usually treated with Teeth whitening
- Bleeding gums
blood in the sink when you brush, or on the floss
Usually treated with Periodontal treatment, then maintenance
- Gum disease
gums that bleed, a taste that will not shift, teeth that look longer
Usually treated with Periodontal treatment, then maintenance
- Receding gums
teeth looking longer, and a sensitive notch where the gum used to sit
Usually treated with Gum grafting
- Loose teeth
movement you can feel with your tongue, or a tooth that has shifted
Usually treated with Periodontal treatment, then maintenance
- Persistent bad breath
breath that brushing does not fix, or something someone has mentioned
Usually treated with Exams and cleanings
- Dry mouth
waking up parched, food sticking, new cavities out of nowhere
Usually treated with Preventive care
- Mouth sores and ulcers
an ulcer that keeps coming back, or one that has not healed in three weeks
Usually treated with Oral cancer screening
- Jaw pain and clicking
a jaw that clicks, locks, or aches by the end of the day
Usually treated with TMJ care and night guards
- Teeth grinding
waking with a tight jaw or a headache, or a partner who hears it
Usually treated with Night guards
- Crooked teeth
teeth out of line, or one that has rotated over the years
Usually treated with Orthodontics
- Crowded teeth
teeth overlapping, and floss that will not pass between them
Usually treated with Invisalign and braces
- Gaps between teeth
a space you would rather not have, or one that has opened up recently
Usually treated with Bonding, veneers or aligners
- Overbite, underbite, crossbite
a bite that does not meet evenly, or a jaw that sits forward or back
Usually treated with Orthodontics
- A gummy smile
more gum than tooth showing when you smile
Usually treated with Smile makeover
- Missing teeth
a gap, a tooth you have stopped chewing on, or a denture you never wear
Usually treated with Dental implants
- Facial collapse
a jawline that has shortened, and lips that have folded inward
Usually treated with Full-arch implants
- Loose dentures
a lower denture that lifts, sore spots, and adhesive that stops working by lunchtime
Usually treated with Implant-supported dentures
- Dental anxiety
putting off appointments, or the dread that starts days before one
Usually treated with Sedation dentistry
- Fear of needles
the injection being the part you cannot face
Usually treated with Sedation dentistry
- A strong gag reflex
impressions, X-rays or an instrument at the back that you cannot tolerate
Usually treated with Sedation dentistry
- Dental care in pregnancy
gums that have become tender, and questions about what is safe
Usually treated with Preventive care
- Dry socket after an extraction
pain that started two or three days after the tooth came out, and got worse
Usually treated with Emergency care
- After an extraction
what is normal, what is not, and what to do about each
Usually treated with Extractions
- Keeping teeth healthy at home
what actually works between appointments
Usually treated with Preventive care
More about the practice
Concerned about your symptoms?
If you are not sure what is wrong, book a diagnostic exam. We will find the cause before recommending any treatment. Call (905) 479-7777.