How can we help you?
If you've got questions, we've got answers! Look through our FAQs for easy-to-find answers to some of the questions we hear most often.
If you have a question that is not covered here, please don’t hesitate to call our Los Alamitos dental office. We're happy to help!
Hygiene Visit
Dr. Luong recommends a professional cleaning and examination at least every six months to ensure good oral health. Some patients with greater dental conditions or other health problems that can affect the health of your teeth may be advised to see our hygienist even more frequently, every four months, three months, or even every other month depending on your personal situation and oral care needs.
Regular professional teeth cleanings by a trained dental hygienist are crucial to your oral health. Even the most conscientious brushers can't reach every tooth surface with a toothbrush and floss. Our trained hygienist will make sure that whatever you missed while brushing your teeth every day is thoroughly debrided and cleaned.
Professional cleanings also help to keep tartar under control, something that can't be achieved with regular brushing. Tartar forms a hard, yellow crust on your teeth that no amount of brushing can remove. Our experienced hygienists can remove tartar to help prevent gum disease and keep your teeth both looking and feeling healthy. Cleanings also allow us to monitor for other issues that can develop, such as gum disease and oral cancer. Catching these issues early makes treatment much easier for you and offers a better potential outcome.
If you are overdue for a professional teeth cleaning, call today to schedule an appointment at our Los Alamitos dental office.
Dr. Luong is a minimalist dentist, so we will not take x-rays if they are unnecessary. Each patient is different, so the frequency of x-rays depends on the patient's needs and dental condition. Bite-wings may be needed as often as every six months in cases such as a teenager with high caries risk, or as seldom as every 18 months for an adult who has had some fillings before but no cavities in a while.
Our Los Alamitos dental office uses digital x-ray technology, which offers many benefits to both the patient and the dentist. The digital x-ray process uses up to 90% less radiation than traditional x-rays, and most patients find the digital sensor more comfortable than the older bite-wing films that were inserted directly into the mouth.
Digital x-rays also offer faster and better diagnostics. The x-ray can be pulled up on a monitor almost immediately and can be enlarged to see details that may be missed in a traditional x-ray. We can also use the monitor display of your x-rays to help you better understand what is happening inside your mouth, so you can make more informed and better choices about your dental care and feel confident in your decisions.
If you would like to learn more about the digital x-ray technology we offer or you need to schedule an appointment, call us today!
Dental anxiety is actually very common, so you're not alone! Dr. Luong and our dental team are experienced in helping anxious patients relax and putting you at ease. Don't let dental anxiety keep you from getting the care you need! Let us help!
We offer pillows and blankets to make you comfortable, music by Pandora, and television and movies through Netflix while you're in the dentist's chair. Many patients find that having music to listen to or their favorite movie to watch helps them relax and makes the appointment seem to go by quickly!
For more extreme cases of dental anxiety, we offer anxiety-free dentistry. We prescribe a mild sedative to be taken approximately an hour before your appointment. This allows you to be relaxed and calm during your dental treatment, but you are still completely conscious and able to respond to the dentist. If you are using this treatment to relieve your dental anxiety, make sure you arrange to have someone drive you to and from your appointment, as the sedative will take a few hours to wear off.
If you have been putting off a visit to the dentist because of anxiety, call our Los Alamitos dental office today to find out more about how we can help.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends your child have their first dental visit when they get their first tooth or by the age of one year, whichever comes first. During the first visit, your child will get to "ride in the chair" and learn about the sights, sounds, and smells of our office so they can create positive associations with visiting the dentist.
Dr. Luong will meet with you and discuss brushing as your child's teeth come in, how to develop good oral habits from a young age, how to brush your child's emerging teeth, bottle use, thumb sucking, and any other relevant information. If you have questions about your child's oral health, we'll be happy to answer them during this first "well patient" visit. During subsequent visits, we can teach your child proper brushing habits as they grow old enough to manage this on their own.
"Baby bottle tooth decay," or early childhood caries, is a growing concern in younger patients. It's important to take care of your child's teeth from the start, as baby teeth serve many important functions and it's vital to preserve them and keep them healthy. Missing baby teeth can cause permanent teeth to shift and grow in crooked or with gaps, as well as causing unnecessary pain for your child from infections and extractions.
If your child has recently had their first tooth come in or is over one year old and has not yet seen a dentist, call today to schedule their first appointment with Los Alamitos dentist Dr. Luong.
There are many dental diseases that are silent killers. Periodontal disease, or gum disease, may not cause any pain or give you any signs until it is too late and irreversible damage has been done to your teeth and gums. Dental cavities may not ache until it is too late and you need root canal therapy or an extraction.
With regular examinations and cleanings, we can catch these potentially large problems early and offer you a much more conservative treatment. By finding decay early, a small filling can be used to treat a cavity before it can grow and make its way deeper into your tooth. Gum disease in its early stages is very treatable with scaling and root planing, but left untreated it can lead to infections, tooth loss, and a need for surgery to repair the damage.
Keeping your teeth clean and healthy will make you feel better, too! There's nothing like the feeling of clean, shiny teeth after a professional cleaning, or a clean bill of health after your dental exam. If you are overdue for a cleaning and check-up, call our Los Alamitos dental office today to schedule an appointment.