Our fun and friendly staff at Gateway Portland Dentistry offer the best in dental care while providing comfort for each individual patient. Equipped with state-of-the-art general dentistry equipment, Dr. Lusch uses the tools and information he needs to help you make the best decisions for your dental health. Saving you time and money in the long run, these valuable tools allow Dr. Lusch to identify any problems at their earliest appearance.
Prevention extends from Gateway Portland Dentistry to your dental hygiene habits at home. Dr. Lusch and his friendly staff take time to teach you the best ways to keep smiles healthy and bright for your whole family!
For Your Comfort
At Gateway Portland Dentistry, we understand that coming to the dentist can involve an increase in anxiety.
There are many ways that we can help you relax while trusting us with your care:
Movies and AM/FM Headphones – Feel at ease with a variety of music choices or select a movie to watch!
Neck Pillows – Decrease tension in your neck and shoulders with a supportive neck pillow.
Blankets – Relax and snuggle up under one of our fleece blankets.
Light Oral Sedation and Nitrous Oxide – Pre-operative prescriptions for oral medications that cause light sedation are provided as needed. These medications allow patients to remain fully awake for the procedures, but the oral sedation medication provides increased comfort and reduces anxiety.
Infection Control – The infection controls that we use at Gateway Portland Dentistry protect both staff and patients.
Dr. Lusch and our entire team follow procedures recommended by several federal agencies: the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These measures include:
- Disinfectant hand soap
- Gloves and face masks
- Chemical disinfection of countertops and surfaces
- Sterilization of all equipment before every use
- Disposable materials
Facilities and Equipment
Gateway Portland Dentistry staff utilize the latest in technology to enhance the quality and fit for your dental care.
Digital X-Rays
Digital imaging allows Dr. Lusch to see beyond what can be detected during a visual exam, providing information to diagnose cavities in between your teeth, determine bone level, and analyze the health of your bone. We can also examine the roots and nerves of your teeth, diagnose lesions such as cysts or tumors, and assess damage when trauma occurs.
Dr. Lusch chooses carefully when it comes to the timing of x-rays. With digital imaging, exposure time is about 50% less when compared to traditional methods. Digital imaging also provides patient images that can be quickly and easily transferred to specialists or insurance companies.
Intraoral Camera Technology
Our intraoral camera technology enhances your understanding of your dental needs. An intraoral camera is a very small camera – in some cases, just a few millimeters long – that enables Dr. Lusch to view exact images of your mouth, teeth and gums.
With these accurate, enlarged images, Dr. Lusch can see details that may be missed by standard mirror examinations. The images captured by intraoral cameras can also be saved in our office computer to provide a permanent record of treatments, be printed for you, other specialists, and your lab or insurance companies.
Diagnodent
Identifying and filling cavities is essential to maintaining a healthy smile. In years past, it was necessary to poke and prod teeth in order to detect cavities.
However, cavities can be tricky to find, hiding and developing in hard-to-reach areas. Diagnodent takes the guesswork out of cavity detection through laser technology.
First, Dr. Lusch uses the Diagnodent on the surface of a healthy tooth to get a benchmark reading. Then the laser is used on all surfaces of your teeth, and whenever there’s a reading that is different from the healthy benchmark, the technology records the finding so that Dr. Lusch can recommend the proper treatment.
Peizo
A build-up of tartar can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. A piezo scaler helps to efficiently and comfortably remove tartar that has built up on your teeth. It works by using ultrasonic vibrations along with a water stream that washes debris away from the tooth. Part of a regular teeth cleaning, the peizo scaler provides a more convenient and quicker way to remove harmful tartar from your smile.
Prophyflex
Prophyflex treatments help remove stains using a combination of air, water and carbonated particles that is projected at high pressure onto the surface of a tooth. This treatment removes stains from coffee, tea, smoking and red wine that have accumulated over a long period of time. Quick and painless, this prophyflex stain removal takes about fifteen minutes to complete, and poses no damage to teeth.
Payment, Insurance, Billing and Financing Options
We are participating providers with ODS, Delta Dental, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. We accept all types of dental insurance, whether we are considered in or out of network.
As a courtesy, we will file your insurance claims for you. It is your responsibility to check that you are not restricted from seeing us. We will try to accommodate a payment plan on certain circumstances.
We also accept Care Credit, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express credit cards.