Procedures and    Barbara Friedman DDS.
Insurance.             (818) 991-6718

Dental Procedures.
Dental care is divided into three categories, preventative, basic restorative and major restorative. If you have insurance it will use this terminology to determine coverage. Cosmetic and other procedures are also available to enhance appearance and protect the teeth.

Preventative Dental Treatment.
Aside from regular brushing and flossing on your part, teeth cleaning or 'dental hygiene' at the dentist's office, along with a dentist's exam should form the basis of your dental preventative care.

Cleanings and examinations (sometimes called dental checkups or dental examinations) should be done on a regular basis. These can be every three, four, or six months depending on your needs. In addition to the cleanings and exams, x-rays are also necessary for diagnosis of your treatment needs.

Basic Dental Restorative Treatment.
This group of procedures includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Periodontal (gum) disease treatment
• Tooth extraction
• White or silver fillings

Major Dental Restorative Treatment.
This group of procedures includes, but is not limited to:

Crowns. These are used when a white or silver restoration cannot be placed. Crowns are commonly made of porcelain (ceramic) fused to precious metal.

Replacement of missing teeth.

• Bridges. These can be gold, porcelain, or metal and porcelain.
• Dentures and partial dentures.
• Restoration of dental implants

Cosmetic and other Dental Procedures

• Teeth bleaching and bleaching trays and products
• Teeth whitening
• Inlay, onlay, veneer, bonding
• Some patients 'grind' their teeth at night. For these patients we make a custom fitted mouthguard to protect the teeth.
• Some patients snore, and in some cases this robs them of needed sleep or even endangers breathing. We make custom fitted snore appliances to help with this problem.
• Some patients are involved in contact sports. For these patients we make custom sport guards.
• Treatment of halitosis.

Insurance.
We accept many insurance plans. Insurance commonly accepted include Delta Dental of California PPO and MetLife Preferred Dentist Program (PDP).  Other insurance plans include Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross, Guardian, PacifiCare, Blue Shield, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, Prudential, HealthNet, Kaiser, Great Western and United Concordia.