Every August the same thing happens: school supply lists come out, fall registration opens for hockey and dance, and somewhere between the pencil crayons and the equipment swap, dental checkups fall off the list. Then October arrives, a molar starts hurting during math class, and what would have been a small filling is now a toothache, a missed school day, and a bigger appointment.
I’m Dr. Zee, one of the dentists here at Redwater Dental Clinic. This is my pitch for doing the checkup now, in August — and a straight answer on what it costs, because parents deserve to know before they book, not after.
We publish our prices, so here are the real numbers. For everything below, we charge exactly the 2026 Alberta Dental Fee Guide rate — and you get a written, itemized quote before we do anything.
The full price list — for kids and adults — is on our 2026 dental prices page. For what a first visit looks like step by step, see your child’s first appointment.
The grooves on the chewing surfaces of molars are where the majority of childhood cavities start — they’re deep, sticky, and nearly impossible for a seven-year-old with a toothbrush to clean perfectly. A sealant is a thin protective coating that fills those grooves before decay can. It takes a few minutes per tooth, doesn’t hurt, and at $42.40 per tooth it costs a fraction of the filling it prevents. First adult molars usually arrive around age six; second molars around twelve — those are the two big windows.
Every winter we treat chipped and knocked-out teeth that a mouthguard would have prevented. The boil-and-bite guards from the sports store are better than nothing, but they fit loosely, kids chew through them, and half the time they end up in a glove instead of a mouth. A custom-fitted sports guard made from a mould of your child’s teeth stays put, lasts the season, and lets them breathe and talk normally — which means they’ll actually wear it. We’ll quote it in writing at your visit, and if a dental checkup is on the books anyway, we can take the impression the same day.
Back-to-school is also when we hear it from teenagers: “Can I get my teeth fixed before grad photos?” For teens and adults with crowding or gaps, our Redwater Smile Program offers complete clear aligner treatment at one flat price — $5,000 all-in with $0 down and 18 interest-free payments of $277.78 — and the 10-minute smile scan that tells you whether it would work is free. No commitment; it’s just information.
If your family is covered by the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), we accept it — checkups, cleanings, x-rays, and fillings are exactly the kind of routine care the plan was built for. If you have workplace benefits, we direct-bill most major plans, so you typically only pay whatever portion your plan doesn’t cover. And if you have no coverage at all, ask about our membership plan — from $35 a month, it exists precisely so uninsured families can keep up with checkups.
We’re open Monday to Friday 7:30–5:00 and Saturday 8:00–4:00 — the Saturday slots are the ones school families love, so grab them early. We see families from Redwater, Gibbons, Bon Accord, Thorhild, Fort Saskatchewan, and everywhere in between, and we can usually book siblings back-to-back so it’s one trip, not three.
Book your family’s back-to-school checkups at Redwater Dental Clinic.
Book online in two minutes, call 780-942-4691, or text 855-577-1105. Saturday appointments available.
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