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Dental Arts Center of
Rancho Santa Margarita
26111 Antonio Parkway,
Suite# 200,
Rancho Santa Marg.,CA 92688
Phone : (949) 713-6720
Fax : (949) 713-6721
Map : Click here 
Dental Arts Center of
Laguna Hills
24953 Paseo de Valencia,
Suite# 3-C,
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Phone : (949) 837-7112
Map : Click here
Dental Arts Center of
Irvine
62 Corporate Park
Suite# 210,
Irvine, CA 92606
Phone : (949) 261 - 7500
Map : Click here
Dr. Orest Frangopol: State-of-the-Art Dental Care
(Article as printed in Doctor of Dentistry: Los Angeles Edition)
When Orest Frangopol was born in Timisoara, Romania, in 1968, it was the first year out of 21 years of presidency for Romanian Communist dictator, Ceausescu.
I lived my first 21 years under one of the most restrictive and oppressive communist regimes, he says.
Dr. Frangopol says he decided to enter the world of dentistry because as a child, he always had problems with his own teeth.
Preventive dentistry was not an option during Communism he says. We could barely find toothpaste, so fluoride and sealants were words not found in our dictionary. Going so often to my school dentist to solve my dental problems allowed me to eliminate the fear of a dentist. Then, the curiosity set in about what he was doing and ultimately, I became interested in doing it myself. During college, I was spending a lot of time watching and asking questions in a dental office, where one of my parents close friends was practicing.
All of his education primary school, high school and college was accomplished at local schools. He attended dental school at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara where he graduated as a general dentist in 1994 at the age of 26.
One great thing about graduating from a dental school in an eastern European country is the fact that due to a poor economy, a lot of patients could not afford dental treatment so they would seek it at dental school clinics, he says. We had so many patients to work on during our five years of dental school that we could work in the clinics all day long every day. We didn't have many specialists, so students are trained better and are exposed to much more during their dental school years than in schools in the West.
BUILDING A NEW PRACTICE IN ORANGE COUNTY
The primary reason that caused him to leave Romania and move to the U.S. was the fact that after practicing for five years in his own office where patients did not have any kind of insurance and their average monthly income was $100 he realized that he could offer better dentistry, but people could not afford it. Also, he could not invest in education and technology.
He decided to come to the U.S. in June 1999, arriving in Houston with only $500 in his pocket and belief that he could make his dream happen. After going through all of the exams required and all of the hassles of maintaining a legal immigrant status, Dr. Frangopol received his license to practice in California in 2002.
And after researching the demographics, Dr. Frangopol decided that the far edge of Orange County was a growing area with a lot of potential, and he opened his office two years ago in Rancho Santa Margarita. Thanks to companies like Patterson Dental Supply, he was able to create a cutting-edge office with high tech equipment that allows him to manage a thriving practice.
As a general practitioner, Dr. Frangopol says he decided not to follow any one specialty because he wanted to be able to practice a broad spectrum of procedures and treatments.
Dr. Frangopol notes that because Rancho Santa Margarita is primarily a residential community, the office is mostly family-oriented, with a well-defined esthetic emphasis in the services available. He has a database of more than 700 patients with more than 30 new patients monthly.
I knew right away that it was time to do my best to let the community know about me and my dental office,he says, surrounded by a large array of certificates and diplomas in his consultation room. So, I approached it in two different ways one was intense advertising in all of the local newspapers about the extent of services offered. The second was getting strongly involved in the local community, giving back to the community through the local Rotary Club and other charity events. Through these efforts, I was able to introduce myself to a variety of people that could value my services and appreciate my interests in the well being of the community. The new patients started to come into the office and by the end of the second month, I was above my overhead, he reflects.
THE BEST EQUIPMENT
Patterson was the company I decided to work with when I built my office, and that has been a great working relationship for me ever since, explains Dr. Frangopol. They offer the best and most comfortable chairs for patients and units for us, the latest technology, all the supplies I work with, and great support every time it is needed. And financing, he adds.
From early on, Dr. Frangopol says he wanted to have a paperless and digital office, thus he purchased all of the software and hardware from Patterson including PCs, monitors, CAESY Patient Education systems, Schick digital X-ray and intraoral camera, signature pads, scanners, and printers.
A few months into his practice, he recalls that he purchased the CEREC® 3D System for making porcelain single-tooth restorations and the soft tissue laser, later on the hard tissue laser was added too.
Patterson is the company that was able to offer me almost everything I needed. I opted for A-DEC units and chairs with 12 o'clock delivery systems, so all of the patient chairs would not have anything attached to them, he says. Ultimately, this makes it much more relaxing for them.
Dr. Frangopol uses The CEREC® 3D system, which, he says, has brought the quality of the restorations equal to or better than the ones produced by a dental laboratory.
The technique is very easy, he explains. After the tooth has been prepared for the restoration, instead of taking an impression and sending it to a laboratory, I scan the tooth and get a 3D model on the computer, where I design the restoration in a few minutes. I then mill it out of a porcelain block in another 10 minutes and stain and glaze it to have it ready for cementation. This is the same restoration that would come back from a laboratory in two weeks using the conventional way, he says.
The benefits to the dentist of this procedure are tremendous: cutting chair time by eliminating the seating appointment, cutting the lab bill by not paying a third party to make the restoration, and reducing the cost of supplies by not using temporary material or impression material, and more. The benefits for the patient are great, too: eliminating the second visit, as well as the uncomfortable impressions, the temporary restorations for two weeks with all the restrictions, and also all the sensitivity and contamination that could occur on the tooth during this time.
I have had the system for more than a year and when I got it; my motto was every single tooth restoration would be a CEREC®. I can say that today, with just a few exceptions, that's exactly what happened, he says. I have milled over 1,000 restorations.
SINGLE-VISIT DENTAL IMPLANTS
Dr. Frangopol also uses the Nobel Guide and Procera Software, manufactured by Nobel Biocare™ to provide his patients with implants in just a single visit.
It is all about guided surgery, he says. For example, a patient that is missing all of his teeth, after having a CT scan of his jaw made, I use that information and convert it with the software into a 3D replication of his jaw on the computer screen. This is where I can evaluate in complete detail all of the information that I need and then perform a virtual surgery, where I position the implants exactly where I need them, he states.
With the CEREC® in-house laboratory, restorations or even a full-smile makeover can be completed in a single appointment.
Then, Dr. Frangopol sends the information via the Internet to the company that will produce a surgical guide. Based on this guide, the laboratory will be able to produce the final prosthesis that will restore the patient's smile and function. The last step is the actual Teeth-in-an-Hour™ procedure, which involves the placement of the implants in the patient's jaw with the help of the surgical guide and the attachment of the new prosthesis to the implants, all done in about one hour, he says.
It is much more comfortable for the patient, versus the old traditional way, much faster and more predictable, he notes.
Also an important part of Dr. Frangopol's approach is CAESY, the patient education system that plays in the reception area and on the monitors from each operatory. It allows the dentist to show the patient short movies about all of the procedures required for the treatment, as well as the alternatives, implications, post-operative homecare or complications.
It is a great tool to better inform the patients, so that they can make more educated decisions, he says.
He also uses a 5X magnification system while diagnosing and performing treatments on all of his patients. It gives a more detailed view and allows for shorter treatment time.
Referring to lasers Dr. Frangopol says, I use both soft-tissue laser and hard-tissue laser as they are a great acquisition in a dental office considering that between the two of them, I can work on any structure in the mouth, from tooth and bone to gingiva, lip or tongue.
The applications are numerous and his diode soft tissue laser, manufactured by Ivoclar-Vivadent, has been in his office for one year. His Er:YAG hard tissue laser, from Hoya-con-Bio, he has used for half a year.
As of right now, there is still a small percentage of dentists using the laser, but I am sure that considering all of their benefits, more and more dentists will embrace this technology, despite the relatively high cost of the equipment, he says.
THE FUTURE OF DENTISTRY
Dr. Frangopol foresees the work of general dentists changing significantly in four major areas in the next few years.
One is in the digital field, where computers will make the doctor's work better, easier and faster.
From front management software to clinical software, going paperless, digital radiography, digital cameras, intraoral cameras and magnification, these will help us diagnose patients, manage the office, prevent disease and store information in a more accurate way, he notes.
Second is CAD-CAM dentistry, which will help dentists deliver better quality work in less time and be more predictable.
The impressions taken these days are replaced by 3D scanning that could be done in the office, designed and milled, or they could be sent via Internet to the laboratory and have the dental technician work on designing and milling the restorations, then have them back in the office the same day, he says.
The third area of progress will be in laser dentistry.
Patients love the idea of not getting a shot for a filling, or not going through periosurgery if laser treatment can help, or healing faster and with less discomfort from performing laser surgery versus the traditional way, he says.
The last area, but not the least, is cosmetic dentistry. Dr. Frangopol says more patients are becoming aware through the media of what smile enhancements are available. He believes there will be a higher demand for more esthetic restorations, closer to the golden proportions and perfection.
I started practicing at a very intense level and I always pushed the envelope in each dental specialty to learn where the limits were, he comments. Continuing education is absolutely a must. I spend a lot of time taking courses, I am involved in a few study groups and I read a lot.
After attending DSI, a California-based international dental institute that trains foreign dentists and provides continuing education to practicing dentists, he stayed on to teach.
Dr. Frangopol says he looks forward to a long and successful dental practice in Rancho Santa Margarita.
As the office grows in its number of patients, I plan to open another two operatories, probably bring an associate in, as well as another hygienist. I do have other plans in the teaching field. so my time will be limited to probably three days a week for seeing patients, he says. I'd also enjoy opening a training facility for CAD-CAM dentistry.
It's nice to be at the cutting-edge of 21st century dentistry.
Orest Frangopol, D.D.S., Inc.
26111 Antonio Parkway, Suite 200
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Tel (949) 713.6720
Website: www.ofdds.com
E-mail: info@ofdds.com
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