Pathways Dental Clinic ★9.9

The practice built for people who stopped going

Pathways Dental Clinic works out of Marlborough in northeast Calgary, organized around the patient other offices treat as an exception: the one who has avoided the chair for years. Every rung of the sedation ladder is in-house — nitrous oxide, oral and intravenous — and the team is built for adults and children whose conditions complicate treatment. Two of its own dentists own and run it.

Services

General and family: examinations, hygiene and periodontal cleanings, fillings, root canals, extractions, wisdom teeth, oral pathology, children’s dentistry. Restorative: implants, crowns, bridges, dentures. Cosmetic: veneers, bonding, whitening. Orthodontics: Invisalign and fixed braces. Also: appliances for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, fitted after a take-home sleep test read with a sleep physician; bruxism and TMJ jaw pain; botulinum injections. Emergencies are taken the same day, the phone answered around the clock.

Lasers instead of a scalpel

Gum disease is where the technical difference shows. Instead of cutting and stitching, the practice offers laser-assisted periodontal therapy: a soft-tissue laser strips infected tissue, sterilizes the pocket and spares healthy gum, shortening recovery and suiting patients for whom conventional surgery is risky. The same lasers work inside root canals, reshape a gummy smile and take biopsies. Cone beam CT imaging is on-site.

Dentists

Dr. Tony Kim, born in Seoul and a University of Alberta dental graduate, is a certified intravenous sedation provider in Alberta with ACLS and airway management training; his interests are cosmetic dentistry and oral surgery. Dr. Derek Bouma qualified at Griffith University on Australia’s Gold Coast and flew with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to remote New South Wales. Dr. Adam Lei took his degree at James Cook University in Cairns and treated remote and Indigenous communities, including a placement at Alice Springs.

Languages and who it suits

The team lists English, Korean, Filipino, Spanish and Cantonese; Dr. Kim consults in fluent Korean. It fits nervous adults needing a lot of work in few sittings, northeast families, and anyone told they need gum surgery who wants the laser alternative first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who gives the IV sedation? Dr. Kim, certified in Alberta as an IV sedation provider.

A night-time emergency? Calls are answered around the clock, and urgent cases are seen the same day.

Gum disease without surgery? Laser-assisted periodontal therapy is the alternative here: no incision, no stitches.

How young can a child come? From the first tooth, with short introductory visits for under-threes.

Is a referral needed? No — implants, sedation, orthodontics and laser gum therapy stay in-house.

Opening hours