Some people find it difficult to sit in a dentist’s chair. Others cannot travel to a dental office due to limited mobility. Dental visits can be stressful for the healthiest patients, but for those struggling with chronic issues and medical conditions, a simple trip across town, a strange environment, and unfamiliar faces can be impossible to cope with.

Home dentist visits provide a comfortable solution for patients who are best cared for in their own homes, especially seniors, patients with special needs, people struggling with dental anxiety, and individuals with moderate to severe medical conditions and disorders.

Home Dentist Visits

House Call Dentist is a division of the Blende Dental Group, a dental practice in San Francisco, which has treated patients with special needs, disabilities, medical conditions, and anxiety for over 20 years.

The Blende Dental Group still sees patients in their offices but now they also visit patients at home.

Dr. Blende is dedicated to patients with physical, emotional, or cognitive challenges. Because home dentist visits bring better oral health to patients who have difficulties in a traditional dental office setting, House Call Dentist was a natural extension to the work Dr. Blende has done throughout his entire career.

Dr. Blende’s team of dental professionals is committed to bringing top-notch, compassionate dental care to patients, regardless of their age or infirmity. House Call Dentist treats patients at their own private homes and in residence facilities throughout San Francisco and Marin County.

Safety and Comfort at Home

Home dentist visits keeps seniors and special needs patients safe, healthy, and comfortable. House Call Dentist can conduct a number of treatments and procedures right in a patient’s home:

• Exams, x-rays, and diagnoses
• Consultations and treatment planning
• Hygiene (professional cleanings), fluoride trays, and cancer screenings
• Denture creation and adjustment, night guards
• Sedation dentistry and basic restorations and extractions
• Emergency dental care

The team has even been able to set up surgery in a patient’s home.

House Call Dentist works closely with family members, caregivers, facility personnel, and medical practitioners to make sure all patients have the best dental care possible. We are often referred patients by doctors and other dentist throughout the Bay Area.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group has been treating seniors and patients with special needs for over 20 years. Our team of San Francisco dentists is ready to take your questions and schedule an appointment or home dentist visit. Please call 1-800-575-3375 to learn more.

However, nobody can guarantee a 100% pain free dentist visit.

Patients should be wary of dentists that issue any kind of guarantee that treatments will be painless. While many procedures are indeed painless and modern advances have certainly minimized (and in some cases eliminated) pain related to dentistry, it’s almost impossible to know for certain whether a patient will experience pain, soreness, or discomfort during or after a procedure.

Predicting Discomfort for Dental Patients

Dentists may be able to predict how a patient will respond to treatments and a good sedation dentist can advise you and your family about what you can expect in terms of discomfort associated with various treatments and procedures.

In some cases, a dentist can be fairly certain that there will be no pain during a procedure. For example, patients who are rendered unconscious will not experience pain because they are asleep. However, these patients may experience tenderness or soreness upon waking. These effects can usually be managed with pain medication.

For most patients, dental exams and x-rays are easy and painless. But patients with extra sensitive teeth and gums could experience discomfort, even during non-intrusive procedures.

And not all pain is physical. For patients who struggle with anxiety or special needs, the stress of a dental appointment could be emotionally or mentally painful before and during a visit.

Making Pain Free Dentist Visits a Reality

Sedation dentistry has helped patients eliminate stress and anxiety associated with dental visits and sedation has also made pain free dentist visits a reality for many patients.

Fewer patients today complain about pain associated with treatments and procedures and more patients are embracing sedation dentistry and finding that seeing the dentist is a lot easier than it was just a few years ago.

Unfortunately, not all patients are candidates for every type of sedation. Conflicts with health conditions and medications may render some forms of sedation high-risk. In these cases, an alternative type of sedation or dentistry technique might help, which is why it’s essential for patients who are concerned about pain to enlist a well qualified dentist with experience, one who provides a full suite of sedation and pain management options.

It is, of course, possible that your dentist visit will be completely painless. Also, it’s important to note that pain from toothaches and dental health problems is usually far more severe than any pain resulting from treatment.

The Blende Dental Group

Here at the Blende Dental Group, we do everything we can to provide pain free dentist visits. We offer a full suite of sedation dentistry solutions, including our One-Sleep-Visits, in which patients sleep through entire appointments. While we cannot guarantee that any visit will be 100% painless, we can promise that we will do everything in our power to make it so.

The Blende Dental Group is committed to making pain free dentist visits a reality. Our work in sedation dentistry has been instrumental in helping us treat seniors and patients with special needs for over 20 years.

Our team of San Francisco dentists is ready to take your questions and schedule an appointment. Please call 1-800-575-3375 to learn more.

Studies show that 1 in 7 Americans avoids seeing a dentist regularly due to dental anxiety. In recent years, sedatives have been instrumental in helping patients overcome anxiety so that they can maintain good oral health. In many cases, an expert sedation dentist can even guide patients toward eliminating dental anxiety altogether.

People who are fearful of dentist appointments aren’t the only ones who benefit from seeing a sedation dentist. Seniors, patients with special needs, and people who need extensive work also find that sedatives make optimum oral health easier to achieve.

How to Find a Sedation Dentist

Here are some tips for finding, choosing, and starting a comprehensive course of treatment with a sedation dentist:

1. Before you start your search for a sedation dentist, make a list of what you are looking for in a dental professional. Do you need work done immediately? Are you working within a strict budget? Do you have dental insurance? Do any of your family members have special needs? How far are you willing to travel to see your dentist?
2. Compile a list of prospective dentists in your area who offer sedation dentistry. You can find local dentists by using online search engines, the yellow pages, and various consumer review sites.
3. Check each dentist’s website to learn about the range of procedures and services offered. This is a great way to narrow your list down. Make sure you review the dentist’s credentials, schooling, experience, and areas of specialization or expertise. Also, check to ensure that the dentists you’re considering meet the criteria you set in step one.
4. There are several different types of sedation dentistry. Review the websites to find out which methods each dental practice uses. Dental offices that provide all four types of sedation offer the greatest range in service and choice.
5. Does the practice have a single sedation dentist or a full team of dental professionals? Many modern practices employ a team of dentists and specialists, which makes dental visits more convenient for you and your family.
6. Write a list of any questions that you have and call or email the dentists you’re considering. If you feel uncomfortable or if any of them avoid your questions, cross them off. You should always work with health care professionals who are clear and cooperative and willing to put your comfort first.
7. Before committing to a new dentist, it’s a good idea to have an in-person consultation. Sit down with the sedation dentist to talk about the treatments and procedures they offer and types of sedation they use.
8. Once you have selected your new dentist, make sure you have all of your family’s previous dental records forwarded to your new dentist.
9. Most dentists will want to conduct an initial exam and take X-rays. This introductory procedure is quick and painless and ensures that your new dentist has assessed the current health of your teeth and gums.

10. Make sure you discuss a short- and long-term treatment plan with your new dentist and schedule regular cleanings and exams twice a year.

It’s important that you feel comfortable with your sedation dentist. You should never work with a dentist who makes you feel uncomfortable or who refuses to clearly answer your questions.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group has been serving patients in San Francisco for over 20 years. To speak with our sedation dentist or to schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-575-3375.

However, special needs patient face additional and unique challenges in obtaining professional dental care.

For patients with limited mobility, traveling to a dental office can be difficult or even impossible. Some special needs patients struggle to sit still in the dentist’s chair for the duration of an appointment. For many others, the strange environment and unfamiliar people in a dentist’s office are frightening.

Sedation dentistry makes dental appointments easier for special needs patients. Seniors and people with disabilities and health conditions, such as cerebral palsy, autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and patients with moderate to severe anxiety all benefit from sedation dentistry.

What is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is the practical use of sedatives during dental treatments and procedures. Sedatives range from mild relaxants to full anesthesia.

There are four basic types of sedation dentistry:

• General Anesthesia – patient is fully unconscious for the duration of a procedure.
• Intravenous Sedation – patient experiences a lowered level of consciousness during treatment.
• Oral Conscious Sedation – patient takes a pill that produces a relaxed, sleepy state.
• Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) – patient experiences decreased anxiety and enhanced relaxation.

Learn more about the different types of sedation dentistry.

Blende Dental Group Sedation Dentistry in San Francisco

The Blende Dental Group has been providing sedation dentistry and working with special needs patients for over 20 years. Founded by Dr. David Blende and internationally recognized for their work with special needs patients and sedation dentistry, the team of dental professionals at the Blende Dental Group has attracted patients from around the globe for highly specialized, expert dental care.

The Blende Dental Group offers a full range of options in sedation dentistry and works closely with patients and their families to determine the best possible course of treatment for each patient.

Some patients just need a little help relaxing during an appointment. Others can sleep through entire procedures and have a large amount of dental work completed in a single day through One-Sleep-Visits. The Blende Dental Group’s sister organization, House Call Dentist makes house calls for patients who cannot travel.

The Blende Dental Group’s commitment to serving special needs patients and providing optimum care in sedation dentistry has brought dental health and well being to patients in the bay area and around the world.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group has been using sedation dentistry and treating seniors and patients with special needs for over 20 years. Our team of San Francisco dentists is ready to take your questions and schedule an appointment. Please call 1-800-575-3375 to learn more.

An emergency dental situation is not like other emergencies. Often, a dental problem is one aspect of a greater emergency. For example, physical injuries sustained in an accident could include damage to the teeth, gums, or jaw.

In other cases, a dental emergency is not critical or life threatening. Such emergencies include severe toothaches or chipping a front tooth the evening before you are scheduled to make some kind of important appearance.

When Are Emergency Dental Services in San Francisco Necessary?

Some emergencies arise in which a patient’s life is not at risk but they are in great pain or need immediate dental assistance that cannot wait for a regularly scheduled appointment.

If someone’s life is at risk, you should always call 9-1-1. This service is for any kind of serious emergency, including medical emergencies. Critical, life-threatening dental emergencies are medical emergencies.

What if nobody’s life is at risk, but they are in unbearable pain, which is making it difficult or impossible to function? In these cases, you would most likely call your regular dentist, especially if the problem is persisting during your dentist’s business hours. But if the pain strikes after hours or on weekends, you may need to contact an emergency dentist instead.

Some emergencies are of a cosmetic nature. There may or may not be pain involved, but these are cases in which a regular dentist won’t be available to solve a dental problem in time for some important event. A classic example is the bride who chips a front tooth the night before her wedding.

What does an emergency dentist do?

The service that any emergency dentist provides is making dental care available to patients at any time, including evenings and weekends.

But emergency dentists may do more than meet a bride with a chipped tooth late Friday night for a quick fix. Emergency dentists may be called to hospitals or to patients’ homes to handle serious emergencies.

Here at the Blende Dental Group, we handle all types of dental emergencies. Our top priority is making sure our patients get the care they need. Some are handled in our office. Others are treated at the hospital. And we even make house calls through our sister organization, House Call Dentist.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group has provided emergency dental services in San Francisco for over 20 years. If you need to contact an emergency dentist, please call 1-800-575-3375.

When to Call an Emergency Dentist

In any emergency where a life is at risk, you should always call 9-1-1. If a life-threatening medical emergency requires an emergency dentist, the emergency workers (paramedics, emergency room staff) will engage an emergency dentist.

However, people often face dental emergencies that are not life threatening. Some of these emergencies are health related while others are of a cosmetic nature.

For example, if a patient is experiencing severe pain, which over-the-counter pain relievers do not alleviate, and that patient is unable to function normally, it would be a good idea to contact an emergency dentist. In these cases, the patient’s regular dentist would be called during business hours, but if the problems occur during the evening or over a weekend, then an emergency dentist may be required.

A cosmetic emergency is usually not health related or life threatening, although if these situations are not resolved, eventually, they could pose a health risk. For example a patient who chips a tooth or loses a crown just before an important event like graduation, wedding, or some type of performance, would constitute a cosmetic dental emergency.

Seniors and Special Needs Dental Emergencies

Seniors and patients with special needs have to deal with extra challenges in the face of an emergency. They may have greater difficulty getting access to emergency care because transportation is difficult or impossible for them. They may also have a much harder time coping with the emergency itself or be more susceptible to the stress of a strange environment (like an ambulance or hospital) and unfamiliar people (emergency workers).

While an emergency may require these patients to be transported to a hospital, it is much better to treat them where they are most comfortable: at home.

House call dentistry is perfect for seniors and special needs patients. But during a dental emergency, a house call can drastically reduce the stress that these patients experience.

Again, house calls may not always be possible in an emergency, but for seniors and special needs patients, emergency house calls can mean the difference between a highly stressful episode and a mildly inconvenient situation.

The Blende Dental Group’s Emergency Services

The Blende Dental Group has specialized in treating seniors and patients with special needs for over 20 years. We are committed to our patients’ overall health and provide emergency dental services for a variety of emergency dental situations.

We are available to help with all types of dental emergencies:

• Our team of highly trained dental professionals is available for emergencies involving seniors and special needs patients.
• Member of our team are on-call through local hospitals for medical emergencies that include a dental component.
• Our sister organization, House Call Dentist visits patients in their homes and is available in case of an emergency.

The Blende Dental Group has provided emergency dental services in San Francisco for over 20 years. If you need to contact an emergency dentist, please call 1-800-575-3375.

Cosmetic dentistry refers to any dental work that improves the appearance of teeth and gums and enhances the smile. Cosmetic dentistry is either performed in conjunction with restorative dentistry or as a stand-alone service in which no restoration is necessary for the health of the patients’ teeth but cosmetic treatments such as whitening or straightening are applied to improve the appearance of the teeth.

Almost every dentist does some cosmetic work, particularly alongside restorative procedures, such as filling a cavity. Some dentists specialize in cosmetic treatments rather than restorative procedures.

Cosmetic Dentistry and Aesthetics

Some cosmetic dentistry services are provided solely for aesthetic purposes. For example, teeth whitening treatments are often applied to patients whose oral health is in great condition.

A cosmetic dentist specializes in dental treatments that are solely aimed at improving the look, rather than the health or function, of patients’ teeth. Many patients report that they can smile more easily and more often when they feel that they have straight teeth and a whiter smile.

Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry

In most cases, cosmetic dental procedures put the finishing touches on restorative procedures. By default, the finishing touches of a restoration to the teeth and gums will affect an improvement to appearance of a patient’s teeth.

A tooth might need to be filed down or built up so that the patient can better chew food. However, the procedure will also even out the teeth and therefore improve the patients’ smile by making the tooth-line straight.

There are many cosmetic services, which are applied in conjunction with restorative procedures. For example, fillings arrest the development of decay and invisible fillings add a cosmetic component to the procedure.

Cosmetic Dentist, San Francisco

Cosmetic dentistry, as part of a restorative dental procedure, ensures that teeth and gums that are healthy also look good.

Here at the Blende Dental Group, we practice cosmetic dentistry for patients who simply want a whiter, brighter smile and for patients who need restorative work. Some of the cosmetic dentistry services and treatments we offer include the following:

• Bleaching, whitening, and veneers
• Invisible fillings, crowns and bridges, and bonding
• Misaligned and crowded teeth, tooth spacing, and large/small teeth
• Damaged teeth, stained teeth, gummy smiles, and stained teeth

While some of our cosmetic services are performed alongside regular dental procedures, we also provide our patients with cosmetic dentistry treatments, such as tooth whitening.

The Blende Dental Group

To schedule an appointment with a cosmetic dentist in San Francisco or to learn more, please call 1-800-575-3375.

Please click the following link for the ABC story, narrated by Health Reporter Carolyn Johnson: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/health&id=8339315.

The other videos can be viewed from our website at http://www.housecalldentist.com.

Dental Care. Delivered.

Next month we will be the featured practice in the American Academy of House Call Physicians Digest! We are excited about the growth in this area of dentistry and look forward to being able to continue to educate dentists on why it is the right choice to start offering house calls in their own practices.

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Why do we do House Call Dentistry and why should you care?

After we started receiving calls from patients who could no longer travel to see us, we realized that dental patients deserved a choice — the choice of receiving quality dental care, whether they came to us or we went to them. With more and more evidence of poor dental health being linked to poor overall health (Seen Dr. Oz lately?), there is no longer a reason to delay providing a check-up to your loved one or patient.

This is why we offer in-office and home visits for patients in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Most of the calls we receive are from the family members and caregivers of the frail, elderly, disabled, or those with special needs. The reason being is that it’s nearly impossible to bring their loved ones in for a simple dental visit, even when they know that visit is necessary and long overdue.

Why is it so difficult to get a doctor or dentist to come to my home?

We’re a bit surprised as well. We initially stepped into this void for our patients when we began receiving calls from their caregivers and family members letting us know they could no longer leave their home for their dental appointments. We recognized this as a tremendous calling to address access to care issues for hundreds of thousands of people in our country that have difficulty leaving home or need to rely on others to get them out of the house. Our goals are your goals — Compassionate dental care for our patients and your loved ones.

Guiding Principles:

1. We understand the complexity of taking off a day of work to drive your loved one to a dental appointment as well as the added stress of traffic jams or other delays.

2. We understand the health and safety risks of unecessesarily bringing a frail or elderly person out of their home — their anxiety, the increased risk for infection, the possibility of falling, or even the bruising or abscesses that can occur with basic transportation.

3. We believe house call visits offer insights not available during an office visit. During these visits, we learn more about a patient’s lifestyle, eating habits, their ability to take medicine and their forms of exercise. We know that in their home, patients are much more relaxed, comfortable and willing to reveal their concerns. All of this helps lead to simplified and improved treatment plans.

PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL THE MEDICAL AND DENTAL PROFESSIONALS YOU KNOW. IT IS TIME TO START EXPANDING THE PRACTICE OF HOUSE CALL MEDICINE.

Sincerely,

Dr. David Blende, D.D.S.

www.drblende.com

www.housecalldentist.com

• One-Sleep-Visits – During a single appointment, a number of procedures can be completed while patients are unconscious (sedated).
• Special Needs – We provide specialized care for seniors and patients with diseases, disabilities, and a host of or other conditions, including anxiety.
• House Calls – Our sister organization, House Call Dentist, is a group of dentists in San Francisco who treat patients throughout the bay area by visiting them in their own home locations.

Our office is staffed with doctors, specialists, and staff members who work together as a cohesive team to bring patients the best possible oral health care.

Blende Dentists, San Francisco

Our team includes doctors, specialists, and staff members. Today, we’d like to introduce you to the Blende Dental Group’s doctors:

Dr. David M. Blende, DDS has over 20 years of experience in providing comprehensive dental care in hospitals and private practices. His areas of concentration include aesthetic crown and bridge work, complex dental rehabilitation, and general anesthesia in hospital dentistry. Dr. Blende is the founder of The Blende Dental Group, which is internationally recognized for its work with special needs patients.

Dr. Erica Haskett, DDS completed her post-graduate training and general practice residency at Community Regional Medical Center of Fresno in California and the Veterans’ Administration. She is extensively trained and experienced in treating geriatric, disabled, and other special needs patients. Here at the Blende Dental Group, she leads a team that specializes in complex restorative care for special needs patients.

Dr. Cheryl E. Elacio, DMD received a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio in 2005, and then completed her general practice residency at St. Francis Hospital in Connecticut. Dr. Elacio has advanced training and experience in treating patients with special needs and those who are medically compromised.

Dr. Michael Lam, MD is a board-certified anesthesiologist who has been practicing for over 30 years. Dr. Lam provides anesthetic care for major surgical sub-specialties, including general medicine and dentistry: cardiac, neuro, high-risk obstetrical, pediatric, spinal cord, burn, major orthopedic, and multiple trauma surgery.

Our dentists in San Francisco come together to bring patients a wide range of expertise in professional oral health care.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group’s team of dentists in San Francisco is ready to take your questions. To schedule an appointment or to learn more, please call 1-800-575-3375.

San Francisco is one of the most-visited, culturally diverse, and historical cities in the world. Famous, in part, for its beautiful red bridge, known as the Golden Gate, San Francisco has always attracted adventurers, artists, entrepreneurs, and people who want to live in a clean, comfortable, and diverse city.

In 1776, Spanish colonists established a fort at the Golden Gate, and the California Gold Rush of 1849 propelled the little city into a period of rapid growth. San Francisco’s population grew 1,000 to 25,000 in a single year during the Gold Rush, and it became the largest city on the West Coast at the time.

It isn’t the biggest city on the West Coast anymore, but it’s still a big city. Newcomers to the city by the bay are met with a wide range of choices in shopping and services, and for folks who are visiting or who have recently relocated, one of the hardest choices to make is selecting a new dentist in San Francisco.

Choosing a Dentist in San Francisco

Today, patients are looking for a comprehensive, flexible dental office that can handle all of their dental needs ranging from regular checkups and cleanings to root canals and oral surgery, and cosmetic dentistry.

The Blende Dental Group is committed to making dental visits as convenient and comfortable as possible. We have brought together a team of some of the Bay Area’s finest dental professionals to create an office that truly meets all of our patients’ needs:

• Regular Checkups, Cleanings, and General Dentistry
• One-Sleep-Visit
• Cosmetic Dentistry
• Seniors and Special Needs Dentistry
• Endodontics, Periodontics, and Oral Surgery

Our office is perfect for families because we provide personalized care for everyone, from young children to aging grandparents. We’re also available for emergency care and our sister organization, Bay Area House Call Dentists, provides dental care in our patients’ homes.

About The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group is an internationally recognized team of dental professionals. Patients have traveled from around the world to San Francisco in order to receive our excellent care in dentistry.

Our top priority is our patients’ comfort. We make dental visits as painless and comfortable as possible. Our personalized treatment plans ensure that our patients’ oral health is on track and works within their schedules.

The Blende Dental Group has been providing the best in professional dental care for over 20 years. Our team of dental professionals is ready to take your questions. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-575-3375.