Dental Treatments We Provide in Winnetka

Sixteen treatments, all under one roof at 20501 Roscoe Blvd. Below is what each one actually involves, how many visits to expect, and what insurance usually covers — written plainly, because you should know what you are agreeing to before you are in the chair. We accept all PPO plans and Medi-Cal, we offer CareCredit for larger treatment, and hablamos español.

Preventive & Diagnostic Care

The least expensive dentistry is the dentistry you never need. These are the visits that catch problems while they are still small.

Teeth Cleaning & Exams

A professional cleaning removes the hardened plaque, called tartar, that no amount of brushing at home will shift. We pair every cleaning with a full examination and, when it is time, a set of X-rays that show what is happening between and beneath the teeth. Most patients do well on a visit every six months; if you have a history of gum problems we may suggest every three or four. A typical appointment runs about an hour. This is also where we spot the small things — a hairline crack, an early cavity, a receding gumline — while they still have inexpensive answers. Cleanings and exams are covered at or near 100 percent by most PPO plans and by Medi-Cal, so for many of our patients this visit costs nothing out of pocket.

Oral Cancer Screening

A screening takes about two minutes and is part of every examination here. We check the tongue, the floor and roof of the mouth, the inside of the cheeks, and the lymph nodes of the neck for anything that looks or feels out of the ordinary. It is painless and there is no preparation. Oral cancer is highly treatable when it is found early and far less so when it is not, and the early signs are usually things a person would never notice on their own: a patch of colour, a sore that has not healed, a small firm area. If we find something worth a closer look we will tell you plainly and refer you to a specialist. If you use tobacco or drink regularly, or you have noticed a sore that has lasted more than two weeks, ask us to look.

Custom Mouth Guards

Two very different problems, one solution. If you grind or clench at night, a condition called bruxism, you may be flattening your molars, cracking fillings, or waking with a sore jaw and headaches without connecting the two. If you or your child plays a contact sport, an unprotected mouth is one collision away from a lost front tooth. Either way a custom guard, made from an impression of your own teeth, fits and protects in a way that a boil-and-bite guard from a pharmacy does not. It takes two short visits: one to take the impression, one to fit and adjust. A night guard costs a fraction of what it costs to rebuild the teeth it protects.

Restorative Dentistry

Repairing what is damaged and replacing what is missing, so you can eat, speak and smile without thinking about it.

Composite Tooth-Coloured Fillings

When decay has broken through the enamel, the decayed tissue has to come out and the space has to be filled. We use composite resin, a tooth-coloured material bonded directly to what remains of your tooth, rather than the silver amalgam you may remember from childhood. It is shaded to match the tooth beside it, so a filling on a front tooth is invisible and one on a molar does not announce itself when you laugh. Most fillings are done in a single visit of under an hour, and you can eat normally as soon as the numbness wears off. Some sensitivity to cold for a few days afterwards is normal. Fillings are covered by most PPO plans and by Medi-Cal.

Dental Crowns

A crown is a cap that covers the whole visible tooth. It is what we recommend when a tooth is too broken down for a filling to hold: a large old restoration that has failed, a tooth that has cracked, or a tooth that has had a root canal and needs protection from splitting. We shape the remaining tooth, take an impression, and fit the finished crown so that it matches your other teeth in colour and shape. Expect two visits a couple of weeks apart, with a temporary crown in between. A well-made crown that is kept clean commonly lasts ten to fifteen years and often longer. Crowns are usually covered in part by PPO plans; we will tell you your share before we begin, and CareCredit can spread the balance over time.

Dental Bridges

A bridge closes the gap left by one or more missing teeth by anchoring a replacement tooth to the healthy teeth on either side. It is fixed in place, so it does not come out for cleaning the way a partial denture does, and it restores your bite on that side. Gaps are worth closing for more than appearance: the teeth beside a gap drift into it over time and the tooth above or below it drifts down, which changes how your bite meets and can cause problems years later. A bridge takes two to three visits. It is often the right answer when the teeth on either side of the gap would benefit from crowns anyway, and it is generally less involved than an implant.

Root Canal & Endodontics

A root canal has an undeserved reputation. The pain people associate with it is the pain of the infection that makes it necessary, and the treatment is what takes that pain away. When decay or a crack reaches the nerve inside a tooth, that tissue becomes infected. We open the tooth, clean the infected tissue out of the canals, disinfect them, and seal them. The tooth stays in your mouth and keeps doing its job. With modern anaesthetic the appointment feels much like having a deep filling done. Most root canals are finished in one or two visits and are followed by a crown to protect the tooth from fracturing. The alternative is losing the tooth, which then needs replacing, so saving it is almost always the better deal.

Dentures & Partials

A full denture replaces all the teeth in an arch; a partial fills in around the natural teeth you still have and clasps onto them for stability. Both are made from impressions of your own mouth and fitted over several appointments, with adjustments along the way, because a denture that is nearly right is not good enough to live with. Give yourself a few weeks to adapt: speech and eating feel strange at first and then stop feeling strange. We will show you how to clean them and what to avoid. Dentures are covered by Medi-Cal for adults who qualify, and by most PPO plans in part. If you have been managing with a denture that no longer fits well, come in. A reline is often all that is needed.

Dental Implants

An implant is a small titanium post placed into the jawbone where the root of a missing tooth used to be. The bone fuses to it over a few months, and a crown is then fitted on top. The result is fixed, cleaned like a natural tooth, and does not rely on the teeth beside it for support. Implants also preserve the jawbone, which shrinks over the years wherever a tooth has been lost. This is a longer process than a bridge, usually spread over three to six months to allow healing, and not everyone is a candidate — it depends on how much bone is there and on your general health. We will tell you honestly whether an implant or a bridge is the better choice in your situation. CareCredit is commonly used for this treatment.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Treatments chosen for how the result looks. There is nothing frivolous about wanting to like your own smile.

Porcelain Veneers

A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain bonded to the front of a tooth. Veneers are the answer for teeth that are healthy but do not look the way you want them to: permanently stained, chipped, slightly crooked, worn short, or with gaps between them that you would rather not have. Because each one is made individually we can control the shape, the length and the shade, and we will agree all of that with you before anything is made. Expect two visits. Veneers involve removing a thin layer of enamel, which does not grow back, so it is a decision to make deliberately and not on the day — we will walk you through it and you should take the time you need. Cosmetic work is generally not covered by insurance; CareCredit is available.

Professional Teeth Whitening

Professional whitening uses a stronger agent than anything sold over the counter and, more importantly, it is applied under supervision with your gums protected. That is the difference between an even result and blotchy patches with a week of sensitivity. We start by checking that the discolouration is the kind whitening actually fixes, because staining from within a tooth, from an old filling, or from a crown will not respond, and we would rather tell you that up front than take your money. We offer both in-office treatment and custom take-home trays. Results vary with the starting shade and the cause of the staining, and they last longer if you go easy on coffee, tea, red wine and tobacco afterwards.

Clear Aligners

Clear aligners are a series of removable transparent trays that move your teeth a small amount at a time. You wear each set for a week or two before moving on to the next. For adults who want straighter teeth but do not want a mouth full of metal for two years, they are often the right answer, and because they come out for meals and brushing there is nothing you have to stop eating. They work well for mild to moderate crowding, spacing and mild bite issues; severe cases still do better with braces or a specialist, and we will say so if that is what we find. The trade-off is discipline: they only work if you actually wear them around 22 hours a day. Treatment commonly runs six to eighteen months.

Surgical & Urgent Care

When something hurts, when something has to come out, and when the gums need treatment rather than the teeth.

Emergency Dental Services

Call us at 818-350-4088 as early in the day as you can and we will do our best to see you the same day. Come in for: a tooth knocked out or knocked loose, a cracked or broken tooth, swelling of the face or gum, pain bad enough to wake you or stop you eating, a lost crown or filling, or bleeding that will not stop. If a permanent tooth has been knocked out, handle it by the crown and not the root, keep it in milk or in your own saliva, and get to us within the hour — that window is when a tooth can often be saved. For pain and swelling, an infection will not resolve on its own and gets harder to treat the longer it is left. Do not wait for Monday.

Tooth Extractions

Sometimes a tooth cannot be saved: it is broken below the gumline, decayed beyond what a crown can hold, or loose from advanced gum disease. Removing it is straightforward, done under local anaesthetic, and you should feel pressure rather than pain. We will go through the aftercare with you before you leave and give it to you in writing, because the first 24 hours matter — no rinsing, no smoking, no drinking through a straw, all of which can dislodge the clot and lead to a painful dry socket. We will also talk about what comes next, since a gap left permanently lets the neighbouring teeth drift. Whether that is a bridge, an implant or a partial, it is easier to plan before the extraction than after.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Wisdom teeth arrive in the late teens or early twenties into a jaw that often has no room for them. When they come in straight and can be cleaned, they can stay. When they are impacted, growing at an angle, or only partly through the gum, they cause trouble: pressure on the tooth in front, repeated infection of the gum flap over them, decay in a spot no toothbrush reaches, and in some cases cysts. An X-ray shows us which situation you are in. Removal is easier and heals faster in your twenties than it does later, so if yours are causing problems it is generally better not to postpone. Expect a few days of swelling and soft food, and we will tell you exactly what to expect for your particular case beforehand.

Periodontics & Deep Cleaning

Gum disease is the most common reason adults lose teeth, and it is close to painless until it is advanced, which is why so many people are surprised to be told they have it. Bleeding when you brush is not normal and is usually the first sign. When the infection has moved below the gumline, a regular cleaning cannot reach it. A deep cleaning, properly called scaling and root planing, cleans the root surfaces beneath the gum and smooths them so the gum can reattach. It is usually done over two visits, one side of the mouth at a time, with the area numbed. Afterwards we will put you on a shorter recall interval to keep it from returning. Treated early, gum disease is manageable. Left alone, it takes the bone that holds your teeth in.

Not sure which of these you need?

That is what the free consultation is for. Come in, we will look, and we will tell you what we see, what it will cost, and what your insurance covers before anything begins.

Book an Appointment Call 818-350-4088