WELCOME
The Hickman Specialist Group is a single site specialist dental centre focused on total patient care. Currently we are heavily focussed on specialist orthodontics and continue to offer this core service to both children and adults. We also offer specialist prosthodontics care including crowns, bridges, dental implants, full mouth reconstructions, implant dentures, etc.
Our goal is to develop a collaborative specialist team to diagnose, treatment plan, and treat dental issues requiring specialist care. Not all treatment requires our entire specialist team. However, should the need arise, our patients have the ability to meet with them for an interdisciplinary consultation. If you would like to meet with us to discuss your dental treatment needs please feel free to get in touch with us via the information found at the bottom of this page.
Dr. James Hickman, specialist orthodontist, has been practicing at our purpose built facility since 1984. In 2018 we welcomed Dr. Sherwin Habibi, specialist orthodontist, and Dr. Sam Hickman, specialist prosthodontist, to our team. (Read More)
What is a Dental Specialist?
A dental specialist is a general dentist who has undertaken further study to dedicate their lives to a specific area of dentistry. Generally 3 or more years of undergraduate study plus 4 years of dental school are required to become a general dentist. Becoming a specialist requires an additional 3-6 years of post-graduate study, depending on the specialty. Specialists have dedicated their careers to a narrower scope of dentistry allowing for more detailed study.
In Canada there are 10 recognized dental specialties, each with its own very specific area of specialization. Below is a list a very brief description of a few of the more common specialties:
Orthodontist: Specialist who deals with preventing and correcting malocclusions (misalignment of how the teeth come together). Their core focus is on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. This is accomplished by using orthodontic appliances like braces or Invisalign aligners (Read More)
Prosthodontist: Specialist primarily focused on the reconstruction and replacement of broken down and missing teeth. This is accomplished with the use of dental implants, crowns, bridges, and dentures. (Meet out Prosthodontist)
Oral Surgeon: Specialist focused on the surgical procedures of face, mouth, and jaw areas.
Periodontist: Specialist focused on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of periodontal and peri-implant diseases.
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