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– Medically Supervised Pain Management in Calgary SW
Led by Dr. Sabah, Family Physician. Drug-Free. Non-Invasive. Clinically Proven.
Chronic pain changes everything – the way you sleep, the way you work, the way you move through your day. At Westside Dental in West Springs, Calgary, our pain management program is unlike anything else available at a dental clinic in Alberta. Led by Dr. Sabah – our on-site family physician – and supported by Dr. Z’s dental expertise, we offer medically supervised, drug-free pain relief using the most advanced therapeutic technology available. Whether your pain is in your jaw, neck, shoulders, back, or beyond, Dr. Sabah assesses you with the full clinical lens of a family physician and designs a treatment plan built entirely around you.
Pain Management Led by a Family Physician
What makes Westside Dental’s pain relief program genuinely different starts here: our program is led by a licensed family physician.
Dr. Sabah is a family physician who brings his full medical expertise to our pain management program at Westside Dental. As a family physician, Dr. Sabah is trained to assess pain comprehensively – understanding not just the local site of discomfort, but the systemic factors, lifestyle contributors, and medical context that shape each patient’s experience of pain.
MEET DR. SABAH
At most dental or aesthetic clinics, pain treatments are administered by technicians or dental auxiliaries. At Westside Dental, your pain assessment is conducted by a medical doctor — someone who can take your full health history, consider how your medications and medical conditions interact with your pain, and make clinically informed decisions about which treatments are most appropriate and in what order.
Dr. Sabah works in close collaboration with Dr. Z to create a seamless bridge between your dental health and your broader physical wellbeing. For patients experiencing jaw pain, neck tension, or back discomfort that crosses the boundary between dentistry and medicine, this collaboration means you don’t have to go somewhere else to get a complete picture.
A Medical-Dental Approach to Pain – A First for Calgary SW
Pain doesn’t respect the boundaries between medical specialties. A patient with TMJ dysfunction may also have neck arthritis, anxiety, and disrupted sleep — all of which interact with and amplify each other. A dentist can address the jaw. A physician can address the whole body. When you put both in the same room, you get something that simply isn’t available anywhere else in West Springs — or most of Calgary.
Dr. Sabah’s presence at Westside Dental means
- Full medical history review – not just a dental intake form
- Medication awareness – understanding how your current prescriptions may affect your pain or your treatment response
- Differential assessment – distinguishing between musculoskeletal pain that responds well to our technology and pain that may need additional medical investigation
- Medically supervised treatment – every treatment plan is overseen by a licensed physician, giving you and your insurance provider a higher level of clinical accountability
- Coordinated care – Dr. Sabah can communicate with your existing family doctor, specialist, or physiotherapist as part of a broader care team
This is what separates our pain management program from anything else available at a dental clinic in Alberta.
What Can Our Pain Management Program Help With?
Dr. Sabah’s program is most effective for musculoskeletal pain – pain involving muscles, joints, and soft tissue. Conditions we commonly treat include:
Jaw & Facial Pain
- TMJ dysfunction and jaw soreness
- Jaw clicking, popping, or locking
- Facial muscle tension and tightness
- Headaches and migraines from jaw tension
- Masseter pain from grinding or clenching (bruxism)
Neck & Upper Body
- Neck stiffness and soreness
- Shoulder tension and muscle tightness
- Trapezius pain from posture or chronic stress
- Upper back discomfort
Lower Body & General Musculoskeletal
- Lower back pain and stiffness
- Minor arthritis pain in joints
- Muscle spasms and tightness
- Joint pain and reduced range of motion
- Inflammation and post-procedure discomfort
Important note: As a family physician, Dr. Sabah will assess whether our non-invasive treatments are the right fit for your specific condition. For pain related to serious underlying medical conditions, he will advise accordingly and help coordinate with the appropriate specialists.
The Technology Dr. Sabah Uses
EMVITAL® High-Intensity Laser Therapy
EMVITAL is the primary therapeutic tool in Dr. Sabah’s pain management program. It is the most powerful hands-free 1064 nm therapeutic laser available today, delivering deep, precise energy to muscles, joints, and soft tissue to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and promote healing – without needles, medication, or downtime.
How it works: EMVITAL’s TriHIL™ technology produces three simultaneous tissue effects in every session:
- Photomechanical effect – Stimulates nerve endings to interrupt pain signals and provide immediate relief
- Thermic effect – Gently heats tissue to widen blood vessels, improve circulation, and deliver more oxygen to the affected area
- Biostimulation effect – Activates mitochondria in your cells to boost ATP production and accelerate the body’s natural healing process
What the research shows:
- 97% of TMJ patients reported their jaw felt more relaxed after treatment
- 74% of back pain patients improved their disability scores after just 4 treatments
- Up to 3x lower inflammatory cell count when EMVITAL is used post-procedure
- Clinically significant results in as few as 4 treatments
- No serious adverse events in any clinical study
Treatment details:
- Sessions: 20-30 minutes
- Course: Typically 4 treatments, spaced a few days apart
- Downtime: None – return to your day immediately
- Safe for all skin types
- Hands-free – fully automated, consistent delivery every session
Treatment areas: TMJ and jaw | Neck and traps | Shoulders | Upper and lower back | Facial muscles | Elbows and wrists | Knees | Chest | Abdomen | Hips
Westside Dental is the first clinic in Alberta to offer EMVITAL®. Dr. Sabah’s physician oversight of this technology adds a level of clinical rigor to its application that is unique in the province.
EMFACE® – Functional Muscle Stimulation for Jaw & Facial Pain
For patients experiencing jaw pain, TMJ dysfunction, or facial muscle tension, EMFACE provides a Health Canada-approved treatment that directly targets the jaw muscles driving the dysfunction.
Using synchronized radiofrequency (RF) and HIFES® (High Intensity Facial Electrical Stimulation), EMFACE contracts and rehabilitates the jaw’s elevator muscles – reducing tension, easing pain, and restoring healthy range of motion from the muscle layer up.
What the research shows
- Health Canada approved and FDA-cleared for TMJ dysfunction and associated jaw pain
- 97% of patients reported their jaw felt more relaxed after treatment
- 84% improved TMD Disability Index scores
- 75% increased maximum jaw range of motion
- 74.2% reported reduced pain after 4 sessions
What to Expect at Your Pain Assessment
Step 1 — Full Medical & Pain History Dr. Sabah conducts a thorough intake — reviewing your current medications, past medical history, the nature and duration of your pain, previous treatments, and how your pain is affecting your quality of life. This is a proper medical consultation, not a brief intake form.
Step 2 — Physical Assessment Dr. Sabah assesses the affected area — range of motion, tenderness, muscle tone, joint function, and any neurological signs that may be relevant. For jaw pain patients, this is complemented by Dr. Z’s assessment of bite, tooth wear, and joint sounds.
Step 3 — Personalized Treatment Plan Based on your assessment, Dr. Sabah presents a clear, prioritized plan — which technology is most appropriate, in what order, and what realistic outcomes you can expect.
Step 4 — First Treatment In most cases, your first EMVITAL or EMFACE treatment can begin on the same day as your assessment.
Step 5 — Progress Monitoring Dr. Sabah reviews your progress at each session, adjusting your plan based on how you respond.
Calgary’s Only Physician-Led Pain Management at a Dental Clinic
- A licensed family physician leads every assessment. Dr. Sabah brings the clinical depth of a medical doctor to your pain consultation — something no other dental clinic in Calgary currently offers.
- First in Alberta with EMVITAL®. As the only clinic in Alberta to offer EMVITAL, we have more experience with this technology than any other provider in the province.
- Pain is treated at multiple levels simultaneously. EMVITAL (tissue and joint level) with EMFACE (muscle level).
- Everything is non-invasive and drug-free. No needles, no pharmaceuticals, no surgery, no recovery time.
- Fully integrated with your dental and health care. Dr. Sabah and Dr. Z collaborate across all departments.
How Pain Management Connects to Your Broader Care
Jaw Pain + Therapeutic Botox: Where jaw pain is driven by an overactive masseter, Dr. Sabah and Dr. Z may recommend therapeutic Botox alongside EMVITAL or EMFACE.
Jaw Pain + Custom Mouth Guard: A precision-fitted mouth guard protects teeth and reduces joint strain from nighttime bruxism.
Jaw Pain + Myofunctional Therapy: Where jaw pain is connected to tongue posture or mouth breathing, myofunctional therapy retrains the underlying muscle habits.
Chronic Pain + EXOMIND®: For patients whose persistent pain has affected their mood or anxiety, EXOMIND® — our Health Canada-approved, drug-free brain stimulation treatment — may be an important part of their broader recovery plan.
Pain + Sleep: If Dr. Sabah identifies that disrupted sleep may be contributing to or worsening your pain, he can refer you directly to our Advanced Sleep program — all within the same practice.
Evidence-Based Care
EMVITAL — Back Pain Study (19 participants, multi-center USA):
- 66.7% reported reduced back pain after treatment
- Average 45% reduction in perceived pain after the last session
- 73.7% had improved disability scores at 1 and 3 months post-treatment
- No serious adverse events
EMVITAL – TMJ-Facial Pain Study – 31 participants, multi-center USA
- 74.2% reported reduced facial pain
- Average 41% reduction in perceived pain
- 84% improved TMD Disability Index scores
- 96.8% reported their jaw felt more relaxed
- 75% increased maximum jaw range of motion
EMVITAL – Inflammation Study
- Up to 3x lower inflammatory cell count compared to control tissue
- 60% lower immune response immediately post-treatment
EMFACE – Functional TMJ
- Health Canada approved and FDA-cleared for TMJ dysfunction
- Clinically confirmed improvements in jaw pain, range of motion, and jaw relaxation at 1 and 3-month follow-up
Data on file. Individual results may vary. These treatments provide temporary relief of musculoskeletal pain and are not intended to replace professional medical care for serious conditions.
