Preventive Care · San Ramon
The appointments that stop you needing the other ones
Nothing about this is dramatic. It’s also the entire reason our long-term patients need so little done.
Who this is for
- You want to keep your own teeth, comfortably, into your eighties
- Gum disease or heavy fillings run in your family
- You’d rather spend on prevention than on crowns
- You’ve had a lot of dental work and want to stop the cycle
What we’re actually looking for
Decay, obviously. But also the things patients don’t feel yet: gum pockets that have deepened a millimeter since last year, a hairline crack in a molar, wear facets that say you’re grinding at night, changes in the soft tissue.
Almost everything we treat would have been smaller, cheaper, and more comfortable if we’d found it six months earlier. That’s not a scare tactic — it’s just arithmetic, and it’s why we’re mildly insistent about the six-month visit.
Gum health is the one people underestimate
More adults lose teeth to gum disease than to cavities, and it’s largely painless until it’s advanced. That combination is what makes it worth measuring properly rather than eyeballing.
So we chart pocket depths, and we compare them to last year. Numbers that are stable are good news even if they aren’t perfect. Numbers that are moving get our attention early, when the answer is still a deeper cleaning rather than surgery.
When numbers do move, the answer is usually a deeper cleaning below the gumline rather than anything surgical — and we use a diode laser alongside it to disinfect the pockets, which reaches bacteria the instruments miss and leaves most patients noticeably less sore afterwards. We do this here; you won’t be sent elsewhere for it.
There’s also reasonable evidence linking gum inflammation to cardiovascular and metabolic health. We won’t overstate it — the research is still developing — but it’s another reason not to dismiss bleeding gums as normal. They aren’t.
What genuinely helps at home
Two minutes, twice a day, with a soft brush at the gumline — angled into it, not scrubbed across. An electric brush does help, mostly because it enforces the time.
Something between the teeth once a day. Floss if you’ll use it, interdental brushes if you find those easier — the best one is the one you’ll actually do. Roughly a third of every tooth’s surface is between teeth, and a brush never touches it.
And the one worth repeating: it’s how often you eat sugar, not how much. Grazing all afternoon is meaningfully worse for your teeth than dessert.
Questions
Answered before you ask.
Do I really need to come every six months?
Most people, yes. Some patients with excellent gum health genuinely do fine annually, and some with periodontal history need to come every three or four months. We’ll tell you which you are rather than defaulting everyone to the same interval.
My gums bleed when I brush. Is that normal?
Common, but not normal. Bleeding is inflammation. It usually settles within a couple of weeks of consistent cleaning at the gumline — and if it doesn’t, that’s worth looking at properly.
How often do I need x-rays?
Bitewings roughly every one to two years for most adults, adjusted for your actual risk. Our digital sensors use a fraction of the radiation of old film, and we don’t take images we don’t have a reason for.
Is an electric toothbrush worth it?
For most people, modestly better than manual — largely because the timer makes you brush for the full two minutes. Technique matters more than the device. We’re happy to show you on your own mouth.
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.