Frequently Asked Questions

Call us for a broken or cracked tooth, a knocked-out tooth, a toothache that won't settle, a lost filling or crown, or swelling in your gum. Swelling that spreads to your face, eye or neck, trouble breathing or swallowing, or bleeding that won't stop means an emergency room or 911.

We hold time each day for urgent patients, when we can. Call while we are open and tell the front desk what happened. We tell you plainly whether we can see you today, and what to do until we can.

A member of our front desk answers during our posted hours, Monday through Saturday. We do not staff a phone line outside those hours. If you cannot wait for us to open, go to an emergency room, or call 911 for a life-threatening problem.

We bill PPO dental plans and file the claim for you. Whether we are in network depends on your plan, so the front desk checks your benefits and tells you before your visit. The plan types we work with are on our How fees work page.

You pay the fee for your visit, and we give you a written estimate before treatment starts. Financing is offered by third-party lenders. Approval and terms are set by the lender.

Call us and we will answer plainly, because it depends on the patient and the treatment. Our How fees work page says the same.

Yes. Ask at scheduling or at your visit. After your exam the dentist lists the treatment, the visits it takes and what it will cost, and the front desk goes through your benefits with you.

We numb the area before we treat a tooth, and we stop whenever you raise a hand. Some soreness afterward is normal, and your dentist tells you what to expect and what to do for it. If pain gets worse or swelling starts, call us.

Nitrous oxide, oral sedation and IV sedation are described on our Services page, along with who gives each one, how you are watched and what you need to arrange. Sedation is not right for everyone, and your dentist explains the risks first.

Your dentist decides, based on your history and your exam. Some patients come every six months and some more often, and we explain why.

A deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) cleans below the gumline when an exam finds gum disease or buildup there. Your dentist decides whether you need one, explains why, and gives you the estimate first.

Our urgent visits are for adults and teens. For a child with a dental emergency, call us. We tell you what to do first and where to go if we cannot see them.