Dr. John P. Rich DDS

Our office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8-5 and Tuesday 7-12:30.

A crown is needed when decay or fracture does not leave enough tooth structure to adequately support you chewing without further damage. Typically a crown requires an impression to be taken and the crown fabricated at a dental laboratory. This process takes about 2-3 weeks. in the interim you have a temporary crown that is easily removable when the crown is placed. The most common problem with crown procedures is that the temporary falls off prematurely requiring an extra visit to the office. Same day crowns allows us to see you in one appointment and have you walk out the door with the procedure finished. Using a 3D intraoral camera we create a virtual model and design the crown chairside. The crown is then milled in our office while you watch. There are several systems for same day crown fabrication and after a lot of research we have settled on the CERAC system from Sirona because they have 30 years experience with the technology but are on the forefront with their innovation.

Our commitment to using technology to better treat our patients has led to introducing a Solea Laser into practice. For most patients we use a CO2 laser that allows us to remove existing failed fillings and decayed tooth without the use of a numbing shot. Patients can return to their day without waiting 1-3 hours for the numbness to wear off and the drooling to stop. The laser is focused and precise so fillings stay small. Most patients report that the experience was a 1 or 2 on a pain scale of 10 and report the experience as mildly annoying. Almost everyone prefers laser dentistry to old fashioned shots and drills. For those very few we can easily stop the laser treatment and go back to numbing in the same appointment time. We use Solea Model 3 from Convergent Dental

One of the fads in cosmetic dentistry is laser whitening. The procedure involves placing a concentrated bleaching gel on your teeth and then using a laser to heat it up, which will theoretically whiten your teeth. Because the increased concentration level of the bleach, there are several precautions that must be taken to protect the patient's gums,lips and oral tissues, including the use of rubber dams, cheek retractors, and desensitizing pastes. In addition to the increased risk, laser teeth whitening is also considerably more expensive than other whitening methods. There is ongoing debate about the efficacy of the procedure in whitening teeth. Because of these problems, and the fact that other methods are equally effective with fewer problems, we have elected to perform other whitening procedures in our office.

We prefer custom trays with a high concentration bleach that you will use at home. This requires us to take impressions of your mouth to fabricate custom fitted trays. You then take them home and apply bleach at home. Typically patients achieve the whiteness they desire in 10-14 treatments, but you can continue bleaching if you desire a whiter shade. The advantage to custom trays is that whitening typically fades slightly over an 8-12 month period. With custom trays you can easily apply bleach again without incurring a major new expense. We also offer in-office bleaching which we recommend if you have a life event that you want to be ready for and don't have the time to bleach at home for 14 days. The results are about the same as custom trays but are achieved in a single 1 hour visit.

Yes, we love treating kids. It is a very rare occurrence that even very young children cannot be treated in our office. We offer "Happy Visits" when children are young to accustom them to sitting in the chair and having someone look in their mouth. There are a variety of techniques we can use to help kids feel comfortable in our office. We have resolved to never be the dentist that has traumatized a patient so they hate going to the dentist for the rest of their life.

A question that is difficult to answer on a website. Like much in life, it depends. To avoid confusion and miscommunication we don't give prices here and really prefer to not do so over the phone. We really need to perform an exam and take x-rays to diagnose and prepare to treat you. Rest assured we will always give you a detailed treatment plan where we can go over costs and insurance benefits before beginning treatment. We hate surprises in costs just as much as you do.

Never fear, there are many like you. We have created a dental program that will allow you to receive excellent dental care at a reasonable cost. Our idea to create a dental program actually came from patients who were looking at retirement and realized the high cost of purchasing dental insurance. When we looked at the numbers we realized we could provide the same care that was covered at a cost to the patient that was less than the insurance premiums. Please call the office to learn more about our program.

Yes, we proudly accept new patients and welcome new families to our dental practice. We provide a full-service general dentistry with experience in preventive , restorative, cosmetic, endodontic, periodontic and implant dentistry.

We are a preferred provider for many insurances. Honestly dental insurances are so varied these days that it is impossible to give a fair assessment on a website. Please call our office to speak with our insurance specialist if you have specific questions.