Dentist in San Clemente CA | Blue Wave Smiles

Welcome to Blue Wave Smiles!

Welcome to Blue Wave Smiles! We are a family oriented, patient driven dental practice serving South Orange County. Our belief is to treat all of our patients with the same level of care we would want to receive. We value our strengths in compassion and respect, treating you with the utmost care to help put you at ease. We offer a variety of comprehensive services to suit you and your family’s needs. Our office treats patients of all ages, dedicated to educating you to make empowered decisions affecting your health and smile. We speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Come visit Blue Wave Smiles, we look forward to serving you today and in the years to come!

Family Dentistry

Family dentistry, also known as general dentistry, covers each of the areas described below.

Dental Bonding/Composites:

When Dr. Andrew Nguyen removes a cavity, it sometimes creates an extra space in the tooth. A composite is a tooth colored, metal-free filling that acts as a tooth substitute and helps fill the space created by the old cavity. The treatment is virtually indistinguishable to others since Dr. Nguyen carefully matches the shade of the filling material with that of your other teeth.

Crowns

The most common reasons for needing a dental crown include a crack, chip, or large amount of decay in the tooth that Dr. Nguyen cannot treat as a typical cavity. A dental crown goes over the top of the affected tooth to provide it with added stability and prevent Dr. Nguyen from having to extract it. The crown protects the tooth from the daily stresses of chewing, biting, and speaking.

Root Canal Therapy

An untreated cavity can reach the nerve of the tooth, causing extreme pain and infection. A root canal removes the infection and eliminates your pain. After cleaning the inside of the tooth and removing all bacteria and irritants, Dr. Nguyen fills the inside of the tooth with a biocompatible material. We know that you have probably heard stories about root canals, so we understand the apprehension. Our staff always strives to make the experience as comfortable and as painless of a process as possible, including offering you several sedation options.

Tooth Extractions

Restoration of your tooth is always our goal. However, sometimes the tooth is so broken down that Dr. Nguyen must extract it. Here at Blue Wave Smiles, we understand that you may feel hesitant about the thought of having a tooth removed. Because of this, we strive to make you as comfortable by making it a painless and stress-free process. You may also choose sedation if you wish.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry is any procedure we complete for the primary purpose of improving your smile. Here are some of the most commonly requested ones.

Dental Veneers

Whether it’s discoloration of the teeth, small gaps, chips, or mismatched teeth, veneers can be a great option to give you that instant smile makeover. Veneers are thin porcelain that overlays the teeth to give you a beautiful and radiant smile. Dr. Nguyen may need to remove a small amount of tooth enamel before placing dental adhesive on your front tooth surface that will hold the veneer in place.

Invisalign Clear Aligners

When teeth are misaligned or not in the right place, it can affect your overall bite or smile. Braces can be a good option in these situations to help correct the issue. You are probably familiar with traditional braces that contain metal wires. We now have newer and better technology that allows us to correct a smile without metal braces. Invisalign uses clear trays that fit over your teeth and move them into the preferred position. Although treatment time is typically shorter than traditional braces, we must consider your unique factors before providing you with an estimate.

Teeth Whitening

The things you do every day, such as taking certain medications, eating or drinking something with dark coloring, drinking coffee, or possibly smoking, can take a toll on the brightness of your teeth. If you desire for your teeth to look more radiant, we offer several options for whitening them. These include in-office whitening, custom trays whitening, and preset trays whitening. Please schedule a consultation to learn which one is right for you.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are a common option to restore missing teeth. We also offer two other options that we highlight below.

Dental Implants

Not only can missing teeth be esthetically unappealing, the lack of teeth also greatly decreases the ability to properly break down foods and can put more wear and tear on your remaining teeth. An implant is a titanium grade tooth substitute that is extremely biocompatible and integrated with your own natural bone. The implant allows Dr. Nguyen to restore that missing space into a functional and natural looking tooth.

Bridges

If you have a missing tooth but don’t want to pursue oral surgery, a dental bridge can make a great alternative. Bridges replace missing teeth by using the surrounding teeth as support. They bond into your mouth permanently and look, feel, and function just as a natural tooth does.

Partial and Full Dentures

Dentures can help restore chewing functions to patients that have lost most or all of their natural teeth. These prosthetics also help restore a patient’s smile and confidence. Full dentures consist of one row of artificial teeth for the top jaw and a second row for the bottom jaw. They bind to your jaw with the help of dental adhesive and you remove dentures each night for cleaning. A partial denture can replace a single tooth or several consecutive teeth on the same arch.

Dental Sedation

You may have developed dental anxiety if you had a frightening experience as a child or even as an adult if a dentist was not sensitive to ensuring your comfort. Unfortunately, this type of anxiety can keep people from receiving the dental work they need for optimal oral health. Blue Wave Smiles offers the following types of dental sedation to meet your needs:

Inhalation sedation: Also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas, this type of sedation requires you to breathe in medicine and oxygen through a mask. This brings about an immediate feeling of relaxation. Although you will feel sleepy, you will actually remain awake and retain the ability to respond to questions and commands.
Oral sedation: This requires you to take a pill shortly before your appointment to ensure that you feel relaxed and comfortable throughout it. Someone else must drive you to your appointment since the medication will have already taken effect. You will also need a ride home because the medication can take longer than nitrous oxide to wear off.
IV conscious sedation: With this type, you receive medication through an intravenous tube. Dr. Nguyen first inserts a needle with the IV tube attached and then pours the liquid medication into the tube. We typically reserve this for the most severe cases of dental anxiety since it’s the most powerful form of sedation.

Dental Emergencies

At Blue Wave Dental, we realize that urgent dental problems rarely happen at a convenient time. Perhaps you attended your child’s baseball game on a weekend and had a foul ball hit you in the mouth, breaking a tooth. You can’t very well wait until Monday morning to address the situation. Partially broken teeth, broken dental restorations, and a sudden onset of oral pain are other common reasons that people need to see a dentist right away.

Regardless of the day or time of your dental emergency, we encourage you to contact our office at 949-498-6840 for help. When our office is closed, the call will roll to an answering service. The person taking your call has instructions available for determining the urgency of the situation as well as how to get a hold of a dentist to help you. Blue Wave Dental also accepts same-day walk-in appointments for your convenience.

If you need emergency dental treatment but do not have insurance, we are happy to provide you with financing information. We work with two local financial organizations and accept cash, checks, and credit cards at the time of service. Our dental staff never wants to see finances hold you back from receiving the treatment you need.

Personalized Family Dentistry in San Clemente, CA near Dana Point & San Juan Capistrano

Welcome to Blue Wave Smiles!

Our mission is to provide quality patient care and education with exceptional patient comfort

Family Dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry

Dental Implants

Dental Sedation

Monday	8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Tuesday	8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday	7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday	7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday	Closed
Saturday by appointment only