For over 25 years, Dr. Lawrence Chen has been providing the Niles-Warren area with superior dental care with his professional staff of hygienists. Each patient leaves our office with that fresh-mouth feeling and a smile! At our office, we offer both maintenance, restorative, and cosmetic procedures.

We understand that the dentists office can cause some anxiety, but we are always focused on taking that anxiety away. We cant get much done if you dont trust us to do whats best, so we take pride in creating a friendly, family-like atmosphere so that everyone feels comfortable and relaxed. Youll see how each exam room has its own personality, including our room dedicated to Kevin Costner. We know its silly, but well do just about anything to make you feel comfortable under our care.

Maintaining your teeth and practicing general dental health is an important part of keeping your whole body healthy. When you dont keep up on your dental health, it can lead to periodontal disease, bone loss, and (of course) bad breath. We offer periodontal maintenance examsa fancy term for a dental examand pediatric dental exams. Well make sure your teeth are nice and clean, as well as take x-rays to make sure there arent any issues under the enamel. For children, it is also important to use fluoride treatments to strengthen their teeth while they are still growing and learning good brushing habits.

When youre looking to restore confidence in your smile, we know its important to find a dentist that understands the look you are going for. We offer cosmetic procedures including teeth whitening, veneers, bridges, and more. We want you to show off your gorgeous smile, and make people jealous! We offer the latest breakthroughs in all of our dental practices, so youll walk away knowing that your smile will be at its best.

If youre looking for a new dentist, we want to meet you! Well be glad to talk over the phone or meet you at our office, just to chat for a few. If youre ready to be a patient now, just fill out our new patient forms; mail, fax, or drop them off at our office; and well take care of the rest.

Yes. Dental x-rays use low rates of radiation, especially when compared to other types of medical radiography. Additionally, at Dr. Chen's office, we use digital x-rays and digital photography to capture the information we need about your teeth, gums and overall mouth. Using digital capturing further decreases the amount of radiation you are exposed to while allowing for the best diagnostic images. Also, lead aprons and other shielding techniques are used to ensure you are exposed to the least amount of radiation. Progress in X-ray technology has provided some advanced features. For example, with digital imaging, we can zoom in on suspicious areas for better definition, and attach your images directly to your patient record so that we can recall them in an instant at future visits. We're excited to offer this modern technology to our patients and thrilled at the advances in dental care that it offers.

Yes! Flossing is the best way to prevent gum disease outside the dental office. Gum disease is very preventable, yet nearly 50% of adults 30 and over in the U.S are affected. If you want to feel more comfortable at your regular checkups, flossing regularly. When you visit for a cleaning, and you haven't flossed regularly, your gums tend to be sore and may bleed. Brushing for two minutes, twice each day and flossing once per day is part of a home care routine that helps you keep a healthy smile for the rest of your life.

It depends. Each person and wisdom teeth growth is different. If you are not experiencing pain or crowding, your dentist may advise removing the wisdom teeth as preventive to future pain or problems. Wisdom teeth can come in very slowly, so problems can sometimes take years to develop. When we get older, wisdom tooth extraction can become more complicated and painful, and may require the services of an oral surgeon.

Dr. Chen recommends replacing fillings when there is an issue such as wear, decay, pain, cracking or breaking of the tooth or filling. If you notice any of these issues, we recommend you see us right away for an exam. Sometimes, tiny cracks and wear in fillings are detected during regular exams and x-rays at a dental checkup.

Amalgam is commonly called a metal or silver fillings. An Amalgam filling contains a mix of metals including mercury. A Composite filling is a resin material that is a white or tooth-colored filling. The material used for the resin is a mixture of polymers that can adhere to the tooth surface and is set with a blue light. Most patients prefer this filling since it does not contain mercury. But most importantly, it is tooth-colored, so it is not easily distinguishable in our mouth. Composite fillings are strong enough to withstand pressures from the back teeth, and can last ten or more years, making them a practical, comfortable, and attractive alternative to metal amalgam.

Yes. Nitrous Oxide or laughing gasis a safe and effective conscious sedation technique for both adults and children to help patients feel relaxed, relieve dental anxiety, and help make certain dental procedures easy and stress-free for patients. Nitrous oxide may also be used in combinations with other sedative agents. It has a rapid onset, is reversible, can be adjusted in various concentrations and is non-allergenic. The patient remains fully conscious and maintains all natural reflexes. It is important to keep your childs medical information up to date and advise your doctor if there have been any changes since the last visit.

Baby teeth are important to children's healthy dental development. These teeth help to hold space that adult teeth will fill. Not treating children's cavities can cause toothaches, possible infection, and even medical emergencies. Teeth that are not treated will need to be extracted resulting causing a gap. Early loss of baby teeth may allow adult teeth to grow in out of place or crooked. These problems can affect your childs ability to eat and breathe, as well their self-esteem as they get older. Orthodontic treatment or braces may be required.

Maintaining a daily oral hygiene routine is the first step to preventing cavities. Also, bring your child to our office for their necessary dental treatment to help them have a healthy smile for life.

Always refer to going to the dentist in a positive way. Children are sensitive to your anxiety. Discuss the importance of dental hygiene. Reassure your child that the dentist is a friend, and will help take care of his teeth. Speak with us about pediatric treatment and educate yourself about procedures as well as conscious sedation options such as nitrous oxide.