Lifepath Wellness has been serving the community of Chestermere with exceptional dental services, since 2006. The team at Lifepath takes pride in putting the patient first and ensuring that patient needs are fully met. Passionate and dedicated to serving the needs of the residents of Chestermere and surrounding communities, Dr. Jed Snatic is the driving force of change at Lifepath, recently expanding the realm of services provided at Lifepath Dental. Recognizing that many patients travel to Calgary to see specialists, Dr. Snatic has recruited two additional dentists to join the Lifepath team; Dr. Troy Basarab, a certified Periodontist and Dr. Alex Ko, whose focus is on treating children.
Dr. Troy Basarab joined the Lifepath family in August 2014. A certified Periodontist, Dr. Basarab is an expert in periodontal diseases, which comprises all forms of gingivitis, periodontitis and gingival recession, and the surgical placement and maintenance of dental implants. With seven years of dental training at accredited universities, his Masters in Periodontology, and over twenty years of dental experience, Dr. Basarab offers a very specialized service at Lifepath. Periodontal disease is the result of bacterial plaque building up on the teeth and in between the gingiva (gums). This, combined with other factors can lead to tooth decay and bone loss, and eventual tooth loss if left untreated. Other factors such as age, smoking, stress, diet and nutrition, and genetics affect the overall condition of the mouth causing periodontal problems. There is a direct link between periodontal disease and diabetes, heart disease, and other systemic problems.
Dr. Basarab specializes in patient education, prevention, treatment, and maintenance of periodontal disease. “The demographic of patients that I treat, are definitely mixed. From a disease stand point, the age group that we typically see is forty five and older. That is a group that is expanding because it used to be that they would just take your teeth out if you had any problems and, of course, people now retain their teeth longer” says Basarab. Prevention is essential for treatment longevity and oral health. “Preventative things are kind of things that people already know about already – flossing, brushing, healthy diet, and regular visits to their dentist and hygienist. That will fix the vast majority of the problems. There will still always be a segment of the population that even when they do that kind of stuff, will still need our help. The disease condition is in part what the bacteria do but it is also down the susceptibility that people have to disease. There are people that are just naturally more susceptible to the bacteria.
Treatment falls into two broader categories, one being surgical treatment and the other being non-surgical treatment. Non-surgical treatment works for the early to moderate cases – things like root planning. Moderate to advanced disease, would require surgery which we can do, right here at Lifepath. The beauty is that these procedures can be very gentle with patients being numb but wide awake. For those that are anxious, we do provide them with something to help relax them and take the edge off. Periodontal disease is a chronic disease and because of that, maintenance is very important. We do things surgically that are designed to help stabilize an area but for long term stability, they really need to maintain.” Many patients who required a Periodontist are referred to Calgary, for specialized treatment. Often times, patients are faced with long waiting periods for specialist appointments. Dr. Basarab works in the Lifepath clinic one day a month; he is able to accommodate appointments, minimizing the wait time to see a specialist and allowing the residents of Chestermere and surrounding communities the opportunity to not have to travel to Calgary to meet their periodontal needs. Referrals are welcome.
Dr. Alex Ko is the most recent dentist to join Team Lifepath. He graduated in 2013 from the University of the Pacific in San Francisco. Afterwards, he completed a one year AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) residency in Seattle, Washington with a special focus on treating children. Dr. Ko’s affinity for working with children adds another element to Lifepath Dental. Lifepath has three dental rooms specially designed to make younger patients feel welcome, comfortable, and calm. The dental chairs are colorful, painted murals on the wall add vibrancy, animal characters in the ceiling intrigue young eyes, and the cloud skylights offer calmness for the youngest patients of Lifepath. The perfect environment and atmosphere for Dr. Ko to complete children’s dentistry. Dr. Ko believes in prevention and education, to keep teeth healthy for a lifetime. “Parents should bring their child to the dentist for the first time at the age of six months. That is the ideal age for a child to have their first exposure to the dentist. When we are talking about dentistry with kids, we are talking about a gradual process and not just coming in for the first time at school aged.
If a kid comes to the clinic at the age of five, it might be too late as they are usually scared with it being their first time being in a dental chair and hearing the noises and seeing the tools that are in a dental office. It should be a gradual process exposing kids to what we do in a dental clinic. At the age of six months that is when their first baby teeth are coming in and it is important to start caring for those teeth and teaching parents how to take care of those teeth at home. At that first appointment, of course we look for anything that might already be going wrong, but it is more for getting the child familiar with the dental office and what we do here. Following that initial appointment, a child should be seen by a dentist every six months. Just come in for a little visit for a brush up on oral hygiene instructions at the same time we can see if there is anything new going on.
With seeing a child every six months, it allows us to address any issues that start arising like overcrowding and those types of things. Something that I really like about Lifepath is that they have something called the ‘Happy Visit’ which is free. It allows and encourages parents to bring in their really young toddlers in and we just sit down, have a chat and we take a quick look at the child’s mouth. It doesn’t cost anything, we don’t take any pictures – it’s just another tool to get a child introduced to the process of coming to the dentist. When they then hit the age of two that is when we start booking them for cleanings. If that child has been exposed to dentistry since being six months old, imagine how likely that child is to be calm during those visits as opposed to a child that doesn’t see a dentist at all until they are five or six. However, if a child comes to us that has not had any exposure to the dentist, we have some great things that can help put that child at ease.” Lifepath offers televisions, music, and when needed, sedation to help children relax. Dr. Ko is expanding his knowledge about sedation and will be able to offer more advanced treatment with sedation in the New Year. Providing this service will allow parents to bring their kids that require advanced treatment, to Lifepath, rather than travelling to a specialist in Calgary. Dr. Ko and the Lifepath team are dedicated to creating a gentle, relaxed environment for children, within the community of Chestermere. Preventing dental decay by offering patient education at an early age, helpful tools, and regular visits to the dentist will lead to a lifetime of dental wellness. Dr. Ko is accepting patient referrals and welcomes new patients.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Basarab or Dr. Ko, please contact Lifepath Wellness Dental at (403)235-6208. Our dedicated team of professionals is dedicated to meeting your dental needs.
