Dr. Mikowicz finished his undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences at U.C. Santa Barbara, and earned his D.D.S. degree at UCLA Dental School. Afterwards, he associated for two years with a specialist in pediatric dentistry in San Jose and then spent four years at the Policlinique Dentaire in Lausanne, Switzerland where he practiced all phases of dentistry including oral surgery and hospital dentistry. After coming back home, Dr. Ed decided that Lompoc was not just a great place to raise kids but also a fine place to have a dental practice, so these have been his ongoing projects since 1987. Dr. Mikowicz is a member of the Santa Barbara/Ventura County Dental Society, the CDA and the ADA. He is a firm believer in continuing education and takes as many courses as possible during the year to stay updated in clinical dentistry.

We offer preventative dental procedures, such as sealants and fluoride treatment. Sealants are a resin coating, bonded over the teeth, used to prevent decay. We offer space maintainers for premature loss of baby teeth, maintaining room for the permanent teeth.

Even with good daily dental care and flossing, your child might still have a dental accident (such as cracking a tooth) or get cavities. We fill cavities, clean plaque and tartar deposits and check for disease.

Practice good home care. This means proper brushing for at least two minutes twice a day and flossing at least once a day. Use a toothpaste containing fluoride (for children under six, only a small pea-sized dab on their toothbrush). For people at risk of gum disease, including children and teenagers with braces, use a proxabrush or other inter-dental cleaner. Diet is extremely important. Avoid foods with lots of sugar which promotes the growth of plaque and the plaque-produced acid that dissolves tooth enamel and gets the cavity process going. Sodas are especially bad, with their combination of high sugar and citric or phosphoric acid.

Despite your best efforts and your best efforts on behalf of your children, problems may arise, such as plaque and tartar deposits, red and puffy gums, small cavities starting between the teeth where they cant be seen, and cracks or recurrent decay in existing restorations. For this reason, it is a good idea to schedule regular check-ups, and for most children and adults, this means every six months. We can clean your teeth to remove the tartar and plaque that causes decay and gum disease. We take x-rays to detect cavities when they are small and more easily treated. We check your mouth for soft tissue problems including gum disease and do an oral cancer screening. Finally, we give you instructions in brushing and flossing, inter-dental cleaning and the use of extra fluoride or anti bacterial rinses if necessary.

Yes. There are several preventive dental procedures we use. First and foremost are sealants. Sealants are a resin coating that is bonded over the pits and fissures of teeth, usually the permanent first and second molars. These are some of the most common places where cavities form and sealants keep them from getting a foothold. When a small cavity does form, especially on a permanent tooth, we prefer to place a small composite (resin) restoration because we dont have to take away as much tooth structure as we do when we place a silver amalgam filling. We also recommend space maintainer appliances when children have prematurely lost baby teeth so there will be enough room for the permanent teeth to erupt. We recommend a panoramic x-ray sometime between the age of 8 and 10 to screen for missing or impacted teeth, with a referral to the orthodontist if indicated. Finally, for those children, teenagers and the occasional adult who engage in physical contact sports, we offer to make you a custom mouth-guard to prevent dental injury.

Preventive dentistry is a great investment in your health, the same way eating right and getting exercise are. It helps prevent cavities and maintains healthy gums. Neglecting your or your childs teeth can lead to serious problems and serious expense! And yet it is so easy to stay on that path of good dental maintenance. You only have to do three things:

Floss at least once each day, and preferably after each meal. Flossing helps keep those areas between your teeth clean, which helps prevent build up of tartar and plaque. Tartar and plaque lead to tooth decay (cavities) and to gum problems.

Use a toothpaste containing fluoride (for children under six, only a small pea-sized dab on their toothbrush). For people at risk of gum disease, including children and teenagers with braces, use a proxabrush or other inter-dental cleaner. When they are very young, you will want to brush their teeth for them. As they get older, teach them to hold the brush and do it themselves, but follow up with your own cleaning to make sure they have done all their teeth. Come on in and we can teach you how!