Our Services

Welcome to Gallo Michels Family Dental Group, a leading dental care group in San Diego.  We understand the importance of good dental hygiene and oral care and are committed to providing you the best care in a professional, pleasant environment.  The dentists of the Gallo Michels Family Dental Group have been serving the greater San Diego county area for more then 10 years.
From common problems to specialty care, we provide a complete array of dental services to meet your oral care needs in 5 convenient locations. Using the latest technology, our experienced staff works together as a team to give you exceptional care from the moment you walk in the door.
We are proud to give the San Diego communities a reason to smile!

General Dentistry

Our practices provide the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease and injury, and the common problems that require cosmetic care.  Our primary goal for our patients is to help them achieve and maintain optimum oral health through advanced techniques and technologies, and by maintaining regular dental exams.

Crowns

A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is decayed, damaged or cracked.  Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials. Porcelain generally has the most natural appearance.

The treatment procedures for a patient receiving a crown involves:

• Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it.
• Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown.
• Making an impression of the tooth in order to create a custom-made crown (this usually takes two weeks).
• Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crown is being created.
• Applying the permanent crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the permanent one onto the tooth.
• After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place.
• This process generally consists of a minimum of 2 visits over a three to four week period.

Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain a healthy, bacteria-free environment around the teeth.  This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime.
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Bridges

A bridge is a non-removable dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied.

A bridge may be necessary to prevent:

• Shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite and/or jaw problems as well as periodontal (gum) disease.
• Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.

There are two main types of bridges, namely:

• Fixed Bridge: this is the most popular and consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns which fit over the existing teeth on either side of the space and hold the bridge in place.
• Cantilever Bridge: is often used when there are teeth on only one side of the missing tooth.  A typical three-unit cantilever bridge consists of two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space.

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Fillings

A “filling” replaces tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with specific types of materials.  We can replace old, broken-down amalgam/metal fillings with new white fillings (composites) to restore your smile and teeth to a more natural look and feel.
With today’s advancements, no longer will you have to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly silver fillings.  We can eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth with new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials.

Comparing White Fillings versus Silver Amalgam Fillings:

• White (composites) fillings bond to the tooth; they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original shape. Silver amalgam fillings, on the other hand, weaken the teeth and make them more susceptible to breaking. Broken teeth can be very expensive to replace.
• White (composite) fillings are preferred by most patients because of their natural color, strength, and overall appearance and feel.  In addition, sensitivity to hot and cold is greatly reduced with composite materials compared to the silver amalgams.
• Restorations with composites require less tooth structure to be removed, especially with new cavities.  Dramatically smaller holes are needed when a composite material is used.

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Root Canal

A root canal is a procedure that removes decayed material from the central part of the tooth, and replaces it with strengthening filler.
A cavity is the result of decay to the enamel of the tooth.  If they untreated, this decay can burrow into the deeper reaches of the tooth, causing extensive damage to the internal tooth structure.  When the damage goes beyond what can be treated with a filling, dentists must perform a root canal to preserve the tooth and retain its original integrity; thereby saving a tooth that in the past would have been lost.
Procedure:

• The tooth is anesthetized
• The tooth is isolated.
• The tooth is opened to allow for removal of infected or dead dental pulp.
• The tooth is comprehensively cleaned, including any cracks and canals.
• With special tools, the doctor reshapes the canals.
• The tooth is filled again with cutting edge biocompatible filling materials.
• A temporary covering is used to cover the access opening.
• Patients quickly have a permanent restoration placed over the tooth.

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Implants

Do you wish that you could replace one or more of your teeth but don’t want to get dentures?  Dental implants are a natural looking, long lasting, comfortable and safe alternative to bridgework or dentures.  For people with good oral health, replacing a lost tooth with an implant is an ideal option.  Implants look like your natural teeth, and because of their “root” being secured to your jaw like a real tooth, neither you nor anyone else will know the difference.  You don’t have to worry about implants coming loose and embarrassing you; you won’t have to take them out to soak; and you won’t worry about losing them, either.  Not everyone is a candidate for implants.  We will inform you about the different factors that determine whether or not a patient fits the criteria of an implant recipient.  Factors like pre-existing disease and bone loss can affect a patient’s ability to receive implants.
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Whitening

Your teeth will darken over time.  Changes in the color of your teeth can be caused by such factors as the food and beverages consumed (like coffee, tea and soda).  Other known factors for discoloration may include childhood medications or illnesses, tobacco use or improper oral hygiene.  Restoring your natural white smile is one of the priorities of our team.  We can provide a variety of options for whitening your smile.  Over-the-counter, “too good to be true” solutions typically don’t work.
We use industry-approved methods.  Our goal is to meet the needs of every patient, and every patient’s needs are different.  One of the methods used by our practice is a gentle hydrogen-peroxide gel-activated solution. Our process will whiten your entire smile in one visit.  
Nothing improves your appearance more than a Bright, White SMILE!
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Veneers

Veneers are thin, semi-translucent “shells” typically attached to your front teeth.  Veneers are customized from porcelain material and permanently bonded to your teeth.  Veneers are often a great alternative to other dental procedures to improve the appearance of your smile.

Common problems that veneers are used for:

• Spaces between the teeth
• Broken or chipped teeth
• Unsightly, stained or discolored teeth
• Crooked or misshapen teeth

Veneers are a great esthetic solution for your smile and may even help you avoid orthodontic treatment.  Subtle changes to your smile can be achieved with veneers, and in most cases, veneer application is completed in only two office visits.
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Composite Bonding

Bonding is a common solution for:

• Repairing chipped or cracked teeth
• Reducing unsightly gaps or spaces between teeth
• Hiding discoloration or faded areas on the tooth’s surface
• Bonding is often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile.  As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth.  Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

• It is a quick process, which typically takes less than one hour.
• It does not reduce the tooth’s original structure and is relatively inexpensive.
• Composite resins come in many different shades and provide better matching of shades to the natural color of your teeth.
• Composite bonds, however, are not as durable and long-lasting as veneers and crowns and may need to be re-touched or replaced in the future.
• Composite bonds stain more easily and therefore require proper care and regular cleaning.  In order to ensure the longest possible duration of the bonding, composites should be brushed and flossed daily. Common staining elements include coffee, tea, tobacco, foods and candy.

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Dentures

Periodontal disease, injury and tooth decay can all cause a loss of your natural teeth.  However, we can bring back the smile on your face with dentures to restore your missing teeth.  With improved technology and updated materials, dentists can now make dentures appear more natural and more comfortable.
There are two types of dentures: complete and partial. Complete dentures cover the patient’s entire jaw, while partial dentures, with their metal framework, replace multiple missing teeth.
It may take some time to adjust to your dentures.  Speaking and eating may feel different at first, but these regular activities will resume normally once you are accustomed to your dentures.
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Vizilite Plus

Over 30,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year.  The Gallo Michels Family Dental Group now offers Vizilite Plus technology to aid in the early detection of oral cancer.   We examine your mouth with the Vizilite Plus light technology, which helps identify abnormal tissue that could be deemed cancerous.  The exam is quick and painless and could be a lifesaver.