General Dentistry · San Ramon
The routine care that keeps everything else simple
Most of dentistry is unglamorous and quiet. That is exactly the point.
Who this is for
- You’re due a cleaning and check-up
- Something has started to twinge and you’d rather catch it early
- An old filling has cracked or fallen out
- You want one practice that handles the everyday and the occasional
What we actually do at a routine visit
Clean, examine, and compare. The cleaning removes what brushing genuinely can’t reach. The exam looks at teeth, gums, bite and soft tissue. The comparison — against your own records from six months and six years ago — is the part that finds things early.
That last part is why staying with one practice matters more than most people realize. A new dentist sees a photograph. A dentist who has your history sees a trend.
Fillings, and knowing when you need one
A small cavity caught early is a twenty-minute appointment and a tooth-colored filling nobody will ever notice. The same cavity ignored for two years is a crown, and sometimes a root canal.
We use composite rather than amalgam — it bonds to the tooth, needs less healthy structure removed to hold it, and doesn’t show. It’s the right default for almost every filling we place.
And to be plain about the thing patients worry about: not every dark spot on an x-ray is a cavity that needs filling. Some are stable and have been for years. We’ll show you the image, tell you which kind it is, and write down what we’re watching.
The unglamorous things that matter most
Oral cancer screening at every exam — ninety seconds, painless, and occasionally the most important thing we do all week.
Gum measurements charted and compared, because more adults lose teeth to gum disease than to decay and it doesn’t hurt until it’s late.
Checking existing work. Crowns, fillings and bridges all have a lifespan, and catching a failing margin early is the difference between a repair and a replacement.
What to expect
Here’s how the visit actually goes.
No surprises. That’s the whole idea.
01
Before you arrive
Paperwork by text or email so there’s no clipboard. We check your insurance benefits ahead of time.
02
Arriving
Greeted by name, and seen close to your actual appointment time.
03
The cleaning
At whatever pace suits you. Tell us if anything is sensitive and we’ll adjust rather than push through.
04
The exam
Teeth, gums, bite, soft tissue and an oral cancer screening — then your own images on the screen with you.
05
Afterwards
A written summary with real costs, and your next visit booked before you leave.
Questions
Answered before you ask.
How long does a routine visit take?
About an hour and a half for a new patient, forty-five minutes for a regular check-up. We book longer slots than most practices, which is why we’re rarely running late.
Do you use amalgam (silver) fillings?
No, we place tooth-colored composite. If you have existing amalgam fillings that are sound, we generally leave them alone — replacing healthy work costs you tooth structure for no clinical gain.
My tooth only hurts sometimes. Is that worth mentioning?
Yes, and please do. Intermittent pain on biting is one of the classic signs of a cracked tooth, and cracks are far easier to deal with before they spread.
How often do I need x-rays?
Bitewings roughly every one to two years for most adults, adjusted to your actual risk. Our digital sensors use a fraction of the dose of old film, and we don’t take images without a reason.
In their words
Thirty years of families who stayed.
Every quote below is a patient's own, unedited, from our reviews.
“We LOVE LOVE LOVE Avalon Dental! Dr. B is the best dentist we’ve ever gone to”
Cassondra H. “Dr B. always does a great job and you don’t feel the work getting done”
Marie T. “The staff always make my experiences with them the best and most comfortable”
Rebecca C.