Patients at the Elmira Denture Clinic will notice a new face this week.
Licensed denturist Akram Ghassemiyan joins the Elmira Denture Clinic today (Oct. 6). She’s been working as a denturist since 2007 and previously worked in the Toronto area before making the move to Waterloo Region.
The move was an easy choice for her.
“I’ve always loved living in a smaller city. The people, they’re not in a rush, they’re more friendly. They have time for you to talk,” Ghassemiyan said.
She’s been working with Vinolea Jahandari at the Waterloo Denture Clinic since last year. This month she’s started seeing Jahandari’s patients and will begin taking Elmira patients this week.
Jahandari started her career in the dental care profession as a dental technician in 1987 and then became a denturist after earning her license in 1995. The Elmira Denture Clinic was established the same year.
“Right now she’s working only one day [in Elmira]. Hopefully we can extend it to more days, more hours there and we can give more service,” Ghassemiyan said.
She says she was drawn to the profession because she wanted to be in the healthcare profession and she enjoyed working with older generations. While working for a dentist in Toronto she discovered denturism as a career.
“We’re specialized in what we do. They get a better result,” she explained of why people with dentures should see licensed denturists rather than dentists.
They offer complete and partial dentures, same day repair, same day realignment, implants over dentures and immediate dentures.
They also accept walk-in emergencies, which are typically denture repairs if a denture breaks while cleaning or if it’s too loose in the mouth, and even after-hours emergencies.
She also provides free consultations and you can call for a free mini cleaning of your dentures. She will check the oral tissue, mouth and how the dentures are fitting.
“The mentality of some people is they get a denture and it is for their lifetime. It is not. It’s good if they come once a year. Then we check their oral tissue, mouth, we check their tongue if there are any lesions or anything that’s not supposed to be there. We can refer them to oral surgeons or other professionals,” she explained.
Also, as the teeth come out and you start wearing the denture the gums start shrinking. The denture then needs to be realigned to continue to be comfortable and fit the gums.
“We just make sure everything’s working properly because oral health, the whole body is connected together. When the denture is dull they won’t be able to chew their food,” she said.
That can become a digestive problem.
Sometimes patients come in with headaches which are related to their denture’s fit. She’s able to open their bite and realign the denture to alleviate the pain.
“It’s a constant care,” she said.
She’s accepting new patients. You don’t need a referral to make an appointment.
She sees an ongoing need for denture services in Elmira with an aging population, even as young families continue to move into town.
The best part of the job for her is seeing the before and the after effect of dentures, as well as giving someone a beautiful smile and fixing any related problems they have.
“I’ve been in Elmira a couple times now with Vinolea. I saw the place, the feel of it, the feel of the people, how nice people are. I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
Akram Ghassemiyan can be reached at the Elmira Denture Clinic on Memorial Avenue on Thursdays and at 519-669-1535 or at the Waterloo location the rest of the week on Weber Street.
