Horizons Dental Care ★10

A west-end clinic that answers in seven languages

Ottawa’s best-known practices are downtown ones. Horizons Dental Care is a west-end one, near Carlingwood, drawing families out of Westboro, Woodpark, Bayshore and Nepean, and regulars from Kanata and Barrhaven. Dr. Gustavo Azevedo founded it in 2019 and still leads it — one independent office, not a branch of a chain. The clinic lists English, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Nepalese and Ukrainian among its team’s working languages, and asks you to name yours when you book.

Treatments

Family dentistry across the board: exams, hygiene, tooth-coloured fillings, crowns and bridges, sealants, night guards, oral cancer screening. Root canal work is a declared strength — therapy, post and core, and retreatment of a canal another office already opened. Then gum care and root planing, extractions and wisdom teeth, implants and implant-retained dentures. Veneers, Lumineers, bonding and Zoom whitening cover the cosmetic side; orthodontics runs on Invisalign, teens included. Children are treated here, and emergencies get a same-day slot, with after-hours care for pain that will not wait.

Technology and comfort

Each operatory has its own window rather than being a sealed box, and imaging sits in its own area. The equipment is aimed at precision: an operating microscope, digital x-rays, an intraoral camera, ultrasonics, bioceramic sealers for canal fills. Nervous patients have two routes — nitrous oxide, offered to children as well as adults, and IV sedation for longer surgical work. The clinic is fully wheelchair accessible.

The dentists

Dr. Azevedo belongs to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, the Ontario Dental Association and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Around him: Dr. Nalia Gurgel, an implantology resident and prosthodontics master whose doctoral work at the University of Ottawa covered older adults and stroke survivors, now a University of Manitoba professor; Dr. Isha Moza, on cosmetic work, implant surgery and sleep apnea; and Dr. Max Silver, certified in IV sedation and also a voice actor who puts Elmo and Mickey to work on frightened children.

Who it suits

Newcomer families who would rather describe a toothache in their own language. West-end households wanting one clinic for a toddler and a grandparent. Anyone whose canal was treated elsewhere and still aches.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be seen in Ukrainian? The clinic names Ukrainian among its working languages; say so when booking.

Will they see my child? Yes — pediatric dentistry is a listed direction, and nitrous oxide is offered to children.

I broke a tooth this morning. Same-day and next-day slots are kept open, plus after-hours emergency care.

Do they accept the CDCP? Yes, along with NIHB, IFHP and most Ontario insurance plans.

Opening hours