Four Levels Of Care

My philosophy of dentistry is simple; I believe that dental disease is 100% preventable and, in most cases, 100% treatable or controllable. We have the choice of being healthy or not. There are four philosophies of care. We strive to work with patients who aspire to at least the third level of care as described below. This is where true health and freedom from dental pain can occur.
1. Urgent care – crisis care or emergency: Fix it only when it hurts. We are very happy to see emergencies, but we do not believe it to be healthy for the patient to be maintained in a long-term emergency or crisis-only status. After the emergency is treated and the patient is no longer in a ‘crisis mode’, we expect the patient to move forward to a higher level of care.
2. Remedial care – Don’t fix it unless it breaks or falls out. When it does then fix as quick and inexpensively as possible. This is the type of dental care that just gets a person by. It is treating problems with the quickest and least expensive treatment available. Often patients choosing this type of treatment find themselves in the above emergency or crisis care mode.
3. Maintenance care – The patient takes an active role in the prevention of present and future disease problems, but chooses repair solutions that are more short or intermediate range in duration knowing that it will have to be replaced in the no to distant future. Problems are treated, and treated well, but the causes are not.
4. Optimum care – patients at this level are similar to those in level 3. They have chosen to have a comprehensive examination and a Master Plan to formulate a long-term treatment plan for health and repair. We call this Oral Fitness for Life. They wish to achieve a future based on choice, their choice, and not chance. The dental treatment done at this level is completed in the most lasting fashion possible. The causes of the problems are addressed and this results in long-term predictable optimal health. This is the finest form of dentistry and is called Systems-Based Dentistry. It is the ultimate in durability, esthetics and function.
All dental insurance plans focus on Levels 1 and 2 only. Both of these levels, in our judgment, are neither preventive nor curative in nature.
Our team welcomes any questions that you may have. We want you to share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns with us in an open, comfortable manner. You deserve to have the standard of dental care consistent with your value for health. When communication and concern for each other’s welfare is high, successful results are more likely to occur.