Learn more about treatments we offer and our guidelines for recommending care
Pola Light Take Home Whitening System
Whiter Teeth in 5 days
This is a great take home product that only has to be worn 10 minutes, twice a day for five days to get effectively whiter teeth!
3D Printed SprintRay Night guard
Night Guard
Scanned with our intraoral camera and 3D printed in our office, our custom night guards are designed to be worn during sleep to protect teeth from the damaging effects of bruxism, which includes teeth grinding and clenching. By creating a protective barrier between the upper and lower teeth, a dental night guard helps prevent enamel wear, tooth damage, and related issues associated with nocturnal teeth grinding.
Perio Protect Trays
ELIMINATE BACTERIA
Custom fitted Perio Protect trays deliver the hydrogen peroxide based Perio Protect gel into the space between the gums and the teeth. it is designed for use in patients who have generalized or localized chronic gingival inflammation that doesn’t resolve after regular hygiene appointments in our office. Patients may need this additional tool to use at home because of limited dexterity, inconsistent home hygiene practices, diabetes and/or other systemic inflammatory processes. This treatment addresses soft tissue inflammation as well as tooth decay.
INDIRECT RESTORATIONS
An indirect restoratin is when a tooth or portion of a tooth is created in the lab and then delivered perminantly into the mouth.
We offer same day milled cerec crowns. Our expert staff are able to create a beautiful and durable crown that is cuatom designed for your unique smile. Because this is accomplished with our state-of-the-art in office lab, you will get your singe tooth crown in under 2 hours from start to finish! Even more complex implant crowns can be compleded and delivered the same day. This means our patients will not need to deal with multiple appointments and temporary solutions.
We are able to create crowns, bridges, dental implants, veneers, inlays, onlays, and more. Examples of use include: restorations involving more than 50% of tooth structure, buccal or lingual cracks from the occlusal to gingival margin, broken cusps, recurrent breakdown of multi-surface restoration, restoration after root canals, anterior restorations involving more than 25% of incisal edge, and replacement of a missing tooth.
DIRECT RESTORATIONS
A direct restoration is when a damaged tooth is repaired or “restored” in the mouth. No use of a dental lab is required. This can be the best treatment for when the damage to the tooth is still relatively minor.
Direct restorations include fillings, using safe and durable composites that closely match your original tooth material. Other examples of direct restorations include: occlusal catches, abfraction lesions, recurrent decay, interproximal decay past the enamel, broken-down fillings, replacing amalgams, fractured restorations, replacement of poor filling (voids or overhangs), and cosmetic bonding.
As a conservative dental practice, our team can often directly restore a damaged tooth when that is in the best intrest of the patient. However, some examples may need indirect restoration instead depending on the severity and situation. We work individiually with each patient to indentfy the solution that will maximize their long-term oral health and overall systemic health.
HYGIENE APPOINTMENT
This is a one-hour appointment scheduled for the removal of plaque and tartar buildup. Generally, these appointments are once every 6 months. However, more frequent hygiene care is recommended for patients with periodontal disease (often every 3-4 months). If probing depths are 5-6mm and radiographic calculus is present then scaling and root planing are recommended.
Medical History Screening: Do you have a family history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or dementia? Do you personally have a history of heart disease or stroke, tooth decay, bleeding gums, oral cancer, dementia, dry mouth, diabetes, medications, or metal toxicity? Your oral health is directly connected to your overall systemic health. Our hygienists and dentists are specially trained to identify and treat inflammation and other conditions that can impact your overall well-being.
Oral Cancer Screening: At each Hygiene visit, a brief screening is conducted to identify oral cancers.
Intraoral Photographs: Our staff uses a variety of specialized photographic equipment to show and record current tooth conditions. This allows you to see exactly what we can see when thoroughly examining your overall oral health.
Routine dental X-rays: Regular X-rays allow us to see what is going on inside your teeth and in areas between the teeth that cannot be seen visually. We utilize state-of-the-art 100% digital X-ray systems that capture detailed images while minimizing your radiation exposure.
Periodontal Charting: This is done once a year to measure the distance between the height of your gum tissue beyond where it attaches to each tooth. Ideally, these measurements are in the 1-3 mm range and no bleeding or inflammation is present. If probing depths are 4+mm and bleeding on probing exists, then there is an inflammatory response. Inflammation anywhere in the body is a significant health concern. Addressing oral inflammation is critical for your overall systemic health. Healthy gums are also an important part of a beautiful, vibrant smile!
AMALGAM REMOVAL
Amalgam fillings are 50% mercury. This raises concerns for patients because mercury is a known toxin. Unlike the mercury from seafood, which is organic, mercury from dental amalgams is inorganic (although it may be converted to organic in the gut). Both organic and inorganic mercury can contribute to cognitive decline. There is not a simple linear relationship between how many amalgams you have in your mouth and how much mercury leaks from the amalgams since some leak more than others. Rather it is the surface area of the amalgams that correlates better with leak.
The Mercury Tri Test from QuickSilver (urine, blood, hair) can detect mercury levels quite accurately, as well as how well mercury is being eliminated.
Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry Mercury Guidelines:
No Mercury Amalgam Placement has occurred in our office in over 20 years.
Refer all high-risk individuals for mercury testing (Cognitive Decline, Family History of Alzheimer’s Disease, or ApoE4 Positive).
Visually assess all amalgams for breakdown.
If any breakdown is present, consider safe amalgam removal. Removal of several amalgam restorations should be done slowly. Approx.- 2-3 removals every few months. Laboratory Testing for Mercury Testing is optional.
If no breakdown is present, consider QuickSilver Mercury testing.
If testing reveals elevated levels of inorganic mercury greater than 50% consider safe amalgam removal. Retest after removal and if still greater than 50% refer to a medical colleague.
If inorganic mercury is less than 50%, monitor and retest annually. If stable after two years, no retest is necessary.
Saliva Test
MyPerioPath® is a saliva test used for the detection of oral pathogens that cause gum disease and threaten oral & systemic health. MyPerioPath provides early warning of oral pathogens to enable the personalization of periodontal treatment. The pathogens tested for in MyPerioPath® can help dettermine if a patient is at increased risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Stroke and Birth Complications.