Dr. Murray Knebel

I was asked to write a biography of who I was as a dentist for the website and patient brochures. Interesting question! Usually this is the part where I get to tell you when and where I went to school, how many courses I have taken and why you should find me smarter than the dentist down the street! How boring and who really cares!

I am a father, a partner and hopefully a great boss and leader for the team at Sierra. I love life. I am almost always happy and my goal is to share my joy with every patient, supplier, staff member and even the courier driver when they spend time coming to Sierra. I also want to make sure the cashier at Safeway, and anyone I come into contact each day within the community leaves my presence feeling more positive than they did before the met me.

So when a patient or friend refers you to Sierra, I hope they mention that I am one of the most passionate people they have ever met, and they could tell I loved my job as soon as they saw me. I hope they tell you about the diverse group of dentists and team members that I have been blessed to work with at Sierra. A team who all have like minded goals with their lives and careers. My passion to help people become healthier, look their best and bring joy to their lives is what stirs my soul. My passion and dedication to helping my patients reach the highest level of health and beauty that they desire has driven me to become an instructor with the International Association of Orthodontics and continually pursue growth through an ongoing commitment to continuing education in both dental and behavioral fields.

As a dentist, I don\'t believe we can really help people reach the highest level of health they aspire to unless we are truly happy ourselves. A health provider needs to learn to be vulnerable as well as having great listening skills. I believe the answers lie within our patients. It is our role as health care providers to ask the right questions to find out the goals and outcome desired for our patients and their family members.

Through listening intently to your goals regarding your oral and overall health, and then helping you see what is possible; it is my goal to work with you to ensure you keep your teeth for your lifetime, ensure your oral health is not contributing to any systemic health problems, and make sure we leave you with a smile that makes you feel confident and youthful.

I look forward to having the privilege of having you entrust your smile and health to myself and the team at Sierra.

Passion - "Follow that which matters most"

~ Murray Knebel

"What a gift, I cant stop grinning!"

I am truly amazed with the results of my recent orthodontics and the astonishing transformation of my smile. Experiencing the “new” smile has made me aware of how uncomfortable I was with the old one. Normally a modest person I wouldn’t dream of boasting, but my new smile is actually dazzling!

The process naturally seemed long, but if I would have decided against it the time would have passed anyway and I wouldn’t have these happy results. It has, indeed, been worth it. These results, as well as the improved dental health are clearly the best of all outcomes. I especially appreciate the support I received from everyone to guide me past my initial reluctance.

I have so much admiration for the remarkable skill and expertise in Dr. Knebel’s part, and on Lenore’s and on all the others I didn’t meet personally but are so important to the process. Wearing the braces was not the major inconvenience I had expected, nor was it distractingly uncomfortable.

Over the months I wondered many times what the results would be. Who reaches this age without a degree of skepticism? The results have exceeded even my most optimistic expectations.

Thank you!

Michelle Cook

"Longstanding headaches have gone away"

I write this letter as a thank you, to you and your staff and as a testimonial for the high regard I have for the knowledge, skills and capabilities you possess as a dental practitioner specializing in Restorative Dentistry.

For many years I had been plagued with excessive wear on my teeth due to bite misalignment and night grinding. This had caused me to fracture a number of molars and the wear on my front teeth had reached a stage where the damage was visibly apparent. I was embarrassed to show my teeth when I smiled.

Much more than just the cosmetic, I also suffered from constant,painful headaches/migraines from the excessive clenching. I had sought treatment options from a variety of specialists in Calgary who had proposed bite alignment and a restorative plan for my teeth. After many consultations, I felt that with your broad base of experience and the confidence you had shown, that the treatment plan you proposed would give me the best chance of alleviating my issues and restoring my smile.

Since undergoing the full reconstruction of my dental work, I must say the change has been amazing. My teeth have been restored to a very natural looking state where I am proud to showoff my teeth now and receive many compliments now on my smile. I feel very comfortable with the alignment, no longer feel a need to gnash or grind my teeth and most importantly, my longstanding headaches have gone away as has my penchant for pain relievers.

In closing, I would like to state that I am extremely pleased with my results. I would highly recommend you to anyone who is looking for relief from the perils of night grinding and seeking to have their dental work restored. The change has been amazing and I can’t thank you enough!

Best Regards,
Kevin King

"Integrity, professional ethics & standard"

Several years ago, excessive grinding of my teeth has caused severe wear to enamel and exposed dentin. My teeth were pretty much flattened out. I used to feel embarrassed even to open my mouth and smile. I could not even chew the food properly. Finally, in August of 2007 I decided to see Dr. Knebel about the reconstruction of my teeth. It took me few months to decide to proceed with the treatment.

In January 2008, Dr. Knebel started the reconstruction of my teeth. It took six months for the procedure to complete which involved inserting 26 crowns and one implant.

This was one of the best decisions I made in my life to have my teeth reconstructed and especially having Dr. Knebel to perform this treatment. Dr. Knebel demonstrated a best example of professionalism every step of the way. The thing I will remember most about this treatment is when Dr. Knebel observed a miniscule discrepancy while inserting upper crowns and he decided to have all the upper crowns re-done again. He wanted a perfect fit of upper crowns with the lower crowns. By doing so he demonstrated the highest interity, professional ethics and standard.

Yash P. Malhotra P.Eng

How braces changed my life…

When I first moved to Canada my teeth fit into the British stereotypical category of crooked and crowded. It never occurred to me that I could have them fixed, until I was actually sat in the office with pink gunk being forced into my mouth, for dental impressions. The two years of braces were painful at times, and not to mention very inconvenient when you wanted to eat a whole apple or popcorn, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Looking back at pictures of myself in grade eight, you can see how my jaw was off centre, and my teeth all shifted to one side. You compare it to a picture of me now and the difference is amazing. I have obviously grown in the last five years, since the pictures were taken, but you can still see the transformation. And this may sound crazy, but now when I’m smiling for a photo it’s a natural smile, not one where at the time you were saying to yourself, “I really hope this turns out better than the last picture.” And even then, before braces very few pictures showed my teeth. Most were a somewhat forced smile with my lips pressed together. No longer do I fit into the stereotypical group of British with bad teeth. People hear the accent but are confused by the fantastic smile. I find myself smiling all the time, and that’s no exaggeration. Even two years later, after having my braces removed, I still get compliments. People who have known me for ages still, when talking to me, stop me mid-sentence and say, “Wow, your teeth are perfect” It always manages to make my day and I absolutely love my smile now.

Amie Harrison