The Advantages:

Stronger Teeth: The bigger a filling the weaker the tooth. MID focuses upon removing as little tooth structure as possible. MID never removes any more tooth structure that is absolutely necessary.

More Natural: MID means always using materials to fill or restore a tooth which resembles natural tooth structure and color and will not wear down opposing teeth.

Fewer Crowns: MID stresses the use of Inlays and Onlays where possible instead of crowns. Inlays and Onlays replace a broken portion of the tooth or large decay, but allows the good tooth structure to remain.

Conservative Gum Care: MID focuses on disease prevention. Ridding the teeth of disease-causing bacteria and plaque often prevents gum surgery. Decreased plaque lowers the risk of heart disease in adults and low birth weight for babies.

Fewer Appointments & Less Pain: MID uses technology and materials that keep the number of necessary appointments to a minimum. Fewer injections and in many cases, no injections at all.

The Technogies:

Dental Lasers: Promote healing by stimulating cell growth and cell regeneration, reduce bleeding and act as an anti-inflammatory, reduce pain and swelling and stimulate nerve function.

Digital X-Rays: Instant & enhanced diagnosis, less radiation, no harmful chemicals.

Intraoral Cameras: Enhanced diagnosis at 28x. Increased patient understanding and education.

Laser Decay Detection: Reliable caries diagnosis at a very early stage. Early detection preserves more tooth structure.

Magnification: Dentists see everything 2-20 power. More accurate diagnosis and treatment. Better technique = better results.

Before cleaning your teeth, the laser is used under the gum tissue on a very low setting. This setting disrupts the cell wall of the bacteria. In effect, the laser stuns the bacteria so you are not having active bacteria introduced into your bloodstream. Before the laser was used, we could not control the bacterial levels in your blood during your teeth cleaning.

The calculus is removed with the help of an ultrasonic scaler. It uses water and vibration to remove and wash out much of the bacteria and calculus deposits. Although it is a very effective tool, it can't remove all the deposits.

After the hard and soft deposits have been removed, a very strong topical anesthetic cream is placed in the pocket around each tooth. The laser is then reset to sterilize and remove the lining of the pocket. This allows the tissue to attach and heal to the tooth starting at the bottom of the pocket. One millimeter of attachment is usually gained each time we use the laser. We usually need a minimum of 4 laser treatments as well as the polish appointment. After the pockets are sterilized, Vitamin E oil is applied to the tissue and the pockets are irrigated with a betadine solution.

Sometimes the pockets are so deep that the laser treatment needs to have some help. In those cases with unresolved infection, we place a tetracycline medication in the pockets.

Three month Supported Periodontal Therapy appointments are almost always recommended. It takes a few weeks to get the tissue to heal and attach to the tooth, but it take 6-9 months for the bone to regenerate in the space. We need to maintain a healthy environment for bone to regenerate in the new tissue attachment space.

We are a preferred provider for MetLife, Premera Blue Cross and Regence Washington Dental Service.

Insurance: If you are not insured, payment is due in full at each visit. If you are insured by a dental plan but don't have up-to-date insurance card, payment in full for each visit is required until we can verify your coverage. Please contact your insurance company with any questions you may have regarding your coverage.

Claims submission: We will submit your claims as a courtesy to you . Your insurance company may need you to supply certain information directly. Please be aware that the balance of your claim is your responsibility whether or not your insurance company pays your claim. We are not a party to the contract between you and your insurance company.

Coverage changes: If your insurance changes, please notify us before your next visit so we can make the appropriate changes to help you receive your maximum benefits.

Non Covered Services: Payment is due in full. We gladly accept Visa, Master Card, cash, or checks.

Payment Partner: We also offer the services of CareCredit that allow for easy and flexible terms of payment.

Our office is dedicated to protect the privacy rights of our patients and the confidential information entrusted to us.

Protecting Your Personal Healthcare Information: We use and disclose the information we collect from you only as allowed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountablity Act and the State of Washington. This includes issues relating to your treatment, payment, and health care operations. Your personal health information will never be otherwise given to anyone - even family members - without your written consent.

Our offices and electronic systems are secure from unauthorized access and our employess are trained to make certain that the confidentiality of your records is always protected.

Patient Rights: You have a right to request copies of your healthcare information; to request copies in a variety of formats; and to request a list of instances in which we, or our business associates, have disclosed your protected information for uses other than stated above. If you believe your rights have been violated, we urge you to notify us immediately.