Often there are questions that you may have about treatment, or insurance coverage, but either forget, or don't have the time to fully explain your question. Here is your opportunity to ask those questions. It could be anything from "When should I bring in my child for their first dental vist?" to "Will my insurance cover dental implants?".

It doesn't matter if you are a patient or not, I will do my best to answer your question within 72 hours.

Simply click on the email address here drlafrom@yahoo.com and type in your question!
If your question is of general interest, you might see it showing up on the FAQ's section of this page soon.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here are some prior questions that we have answered.

When should I bring in my child for their first dental visit? Generally we suggest that you bring your child in around age three and a half. Prior to that, they are welcome to come in to have us look inside their mouth and squirt water in their mouth and introduce them to counting their teeth and the suction. If you have dental concerns, however, you are certainly welcome to bring them in sooner. We work with some excellent specialists in cases for patients that require a little more attention or might be anxious. The pediatric dentists have more distractions and special training in dealing with our special little patients, allowing their visits to be more of an adventure.

My little boy is six years old and it looks like he has two sets of teeth on the bottom, one behind the other, is that ok? In the "mixed dentition" stage, we sometimes see the "baby" teeth not falling out in time to make room for the adult teeth. If this stage lasts for more than six months, then we would probably recommend "assisting" the baby teeth in coming out so that the adult teeth don't get crowded or grow out of line. Sometimes, we will help the baby teeth come out earlier to make room for the adult teeth, simply because there isn't enough room.

What do you use the LASER for? At our office, we use the laser for several things including desensitizing teeth, cutting out decay and mostly for "soft-tissue" applications, such as periodontal treatment. There are actually several types of lasers that we use and they each have different applications. The diode laser, for example, works great to help the gums heal after surgery, decontaminate pockets around teeth, help speed up healing and shrink pockets that have been caused by periodontal disease. We can use it also to help speed healing of an ulcer on the lip, or to seal up a cut. This same LASER is used for the LASERSMILE whitening, or POWER BLEACHING that we hear about all the time. This has proven to be an effective way to treat those difficult to whiten discolorations on teeth. It provides for the longest lasting and most profound whitening available on the market today! Our office has been using teeth whitening techniques for the past 20 years, and this is the fastest and most comfortable of the techniques that we have found. Our office was the first office in Cupertino to have a dental laser over 18 years ago and we were the first office in Cupertino to have the new WATERLASE "hard tissue" laser. This is one that can actually cut through the tooth or bone selectively and can replace or be used in conjunction with the drill. Depending upon the settings, it is a very accurate and comfortable tool for precisely trimming bone, tooth or gum tissue.

Do you do teeth whitening? If so, how does it differ from the stuff we see on TV? We do two different types of bleaching currently at our office. The first one involves taking an impression and making custom fitted splints for the patient to wear the bleaching agent in at home. The second method involves isolating the teeth with a plastic material and painting a bleaching agent over them. The advantage of this "in-office" technique is that we can treat areas that have "streaks" or dark spots and lighten up just certain areas of the teeth. This is especially helpful for patients with tetracycline stains. The advantage of the home technique is that you can do it at your own convenience. We also do a POWER LASER BLEACHING technique which combines both techniques and provides for the whitest teeth possible. We have added the ZOOM bleaching technique to our services we offer.

Do you use nitrous oxide? Yes. We have it available for those patients who request it either for anxiety or to help them relax more during treatment. Nitrous offers a quick and safe way for patients to relax during long treatments especially.

How come my teeth seem to stain more than other people's teeth? There are several factors that are involved in the "speed" that people's teeth stain. In addition to genetics and certain medications, there are factors such as smoking and diet (coffee, tea, red wines, colas) that can stain teeth quickly. If you rinse with water after you have any of those items just mentioned, it can radically help reduce the amount of stain. How frequently you brush, have a professional cleaning, and your saliva flow (related to your water intake, medications intake and age) can affect the deposits on your teeth as well.

Do you sterilize your handpieces? Absolutely, in fact, not only do we sterilize all of our metal instruments after every procedure, we also use disposable products for everything that we can such as suction tips, syringe tips, bibs, gloves, masks and covers. We have our sterilizer tested weekly to make sure that it is working properly and that it in fact is killing all the germs. Even though this procedure takes a heavy and expensive toll on the handpieces, we will continue to do it. We do everything possible to exceed OSHA standards to protect both our staff as well as our patients.

How many teeth do we have as adults? Most adults will develop 32 teeth. Around age 17 to 23 years, the wisdom teeth come in and often they are crowded, impacted or come in crooked and therefore, we will remove them to make more room for the 2nd molars which are more important chewing teeth (than the wisdom teeth - 3rd molars).

Do you provide braces? Our office is certified to provide the INVISALGIN care which is the clear alternative to metal braces. This technique can be used for as much as 80% of traditional braces. In many ways, the procedure is actually FASTER in many cases than traditional braces, because, with traditional braces the orthodontist is "tweaking" one or two areas at a time, whereas with INVISALIGN, we are working on the entire arch and aligning everything to fit into the grand program for faster results. The most ideal candidates are those who had braces in the past and their teeth have relapsed, as well as those with primarily concerns about minor crowding and rotation. If there are spaces of larger than 5mm or severe tipping or skeletal discrepancies where one arch is much larger or smaller than the other, then INVISALIGN is not going to be the best alternative. The typical case of INVISALIGN takes between 12-14 months to complete. More on this in our orthodontic section.

How much are dental IMPLANTS? First thing to realize is that dental implants need two phases. The first phase is the surgical phase where the implant fixture is placed into the bone. There must be enough bone thickness and height to support the implant. If not, then we are looking at doing bone augmentation prior to the implant surgery. Once the implant is placed, then there is a restorative phase, where the patient is fitted for a crown. Typically, these crowns are on specially fit abutments and they are precision milled by the implant company to secure tightly to the fixture which has integrated into the bone. So, there is a surgical fee, and a restorative fee. There are so many options on type of implants, how many you are doing at once, whether we need to place bone augmentation prior, or use a surgical stent to guide the implant placement and what type of temporary crown or bridge will the patient be wearing in the meantime, that it would be unwise to present a fee without the big picture. We will be happy to provide consultations regarding the placement of implants. More on that can also be found in the implant section of our web site..

Dental implants have been used in dentistry for over 25 years. In the past ten years alone over 1 million dental implants have been successfully placed in patients mouths in the United States. Dr. LaFrom in Cupertino has been restoring dental implants for the past 20 years. We have provided this section for our patients and friends so they can learn more about the benefits, applications and options available for dental implants.
What are DENTAL Implants? Dental implants, simply put, are replacements for missing roots. Most implants are typically titanium posts that are imbedded into the jawbone and then either a metal base with plastic or porcelain teeth are placed over the portion of the implant that sticks out of the gums. They usually take several months to complete since the bone must fuse to the posts before any kind of pressure can be put on the implant itself.

How would I know if I'm a candidate for DENTAL Implants? Dental implants are not for everybody. Typically, we don't place them on young children because their jaws are still growing and changing shapes. Patients with diabetes and who are heavy smokers are typically candidates that might need to take extra measures before considering implants. It is critical that you have the proper thickness and height of bone in order to place the implant. In other words, if you have a narrow ridge that is short and narrower, an oral surgeon may have to do some preparatory work prior to being able to place an implant. While there are 'mini' implants available, those have limited usage if you are missing one large tooth. Technology has advanced tremendously and the healing and difficulty level of preparing the bone when there is a shortage of bone available has gotten to the point that if the patient is willing to wait a few more months to allow specific procedures such as grafting or sinus lift or bone augmentation are done, then they might be a candidate. Bone tends to regrow faster in younger people and therefore, even though a patient has a tooth with a periodontal pocket around it and the patient wants to hang on to it as long as possible, it might make sense to remove it and place the implant while there is still bone available to support the implant. If you wait too long, sometimes the periodontal disease will 'eat away' the bone and not leave much left to support an implant.

What are the advantages of DENTAL Implants? Dental implants allow a patient to have a sturdy base to put teeth on, when the only other option is a bridge, or a partial denture. A bridge requires that the adjacent teeth be drilled down to allow a crown to fit on top of them to support a connector between two teeth where the middle tooth is missing. If the two adjacent teeth both either already have crowns or need crowns, then this is not as big of an advantage from that perspective. However, the average lifespan of a bridge is less than a single crown because if either of the two supporting crowns gets new decay under them then the entire bridge usually needs to be replaced. Because the bridge is a little more difficult to clean under, it often will trap plaque and be more at risk than a single crown would be to decay. An implant fixture is made of titanium and the crown that sits on top of it is usually made of gold or porcelain, there is no tooth interface that can decay. Therefore, from a long term cost point of view, the implants are considered to be a onetime investment, whereas, the patient can look forward to replacing the bridge in 8-20 years depending upon the location, the length of it and how well they take care of it.

What are the disadvantages of DENTAL Implants? Dental implants require several visits over the period of several months to complete. Although newer techniques are allowing us to restore teeth in fewer visits than before, and sometimes within only a few visits, it does require more precision and patience.
Can DENTAL Implants be put under a partial denture? Absolutely, in fact, many times several implants in the jaw allow for a person to have a very stable partial denture or full denture, when they couldn't have done one before.

How much are DENTAL Implants? Dental implants consist of several parts to consider when comparing fees. The fee could vary from area to area and from brand to brand, and whether or not a surgical stent to assist the surgeon is made and whether a temporary 'flipper' to keep the space intact or for esthetics, while the tissue is healing around the implant. In addition, special x-rays may be needed to assist in determining the position and depth of the implants that can be placed, along with a specialist consultation fee and anesthesia. If a patient needs an extraction prior to the extraction and bone augmentation done in the area prior to being able to place the implant that can also affect the fee. In the most basic stages, there is fixture which goes into the bone, an abutment that is placed on top of the implant when it heals, and then a crown or framework that fits on top of that to support the new teeth. When a fee is quoted for an IMPLANT, you need to ask what is included. In a difficult location, it might be necessary to use a custom abutment due to an angulation challenge with either a tight bite or jaws that don't line up well, and we need to have the lab create a special connector rather than being able to use a stock abutment. This can add a couple hundred dollars to the fee. Also, many specialists will do a 'perio test' where they use a specific instrument to test the stability of the implant prior to loading it up with a tooth on top of it. Added together, the implants could run as little as $2,800 up to $5,000 per site to complete. In addition, if you have more than one done at a time, then the fee to anesthesia is a onetime fee, along with the x-ray, consult and surgical stent. The type of material used to restore the teeth can also vary considerably, depending upon whether it is a single tooth with a porcelain core, or metal core, and whether it is a partial denture with a precision attachment or it sits independently on the tissue. These can all be discussed with your dentist in advance.