Dr. Greg Carlson has a lot to smile about.
Valley Center’s newest dentist has a young family, an office full of the latest dental technology, and he says he’s looking forward to becoming an integral part of our town.
“We’re new to Valley Center, but I grew up in unincorporated Escondido, so this area appeals to me with all this open space,” he says. “We’re excited to get involved with the community here.”
Dr. Carlson comes to Valley Center with his wife B.B. and their three children—Riley, age four; McKenna, age three; and Huck, age one—to open Valley Center Smiles, a dentist’s office located on Valley Center Rd. at the corner of Woods Valley Rd.
The grand opening for the office will be on March 14, and Dr. Carlson says that his experiences in the world of dentistry so far have prepared him well for opening his own practice.
“Right out of dental school, I worked with the Indian Health Service in Montana, on a reservation with about a thousand people,” he says. “There was a shortage of dental care, so I saw a lot of things you wouldn’t normally see, which helped me hone my skills.”
Now in his third year of dentistry, Dr. Carlson has also picked up plenty of tips from his family.
“When I got back to California last August, I started working with my dad and brother, who have a family practice in Escondido,” he says. “I’ve learned a lot of new procedures and picked up some complex cases while I’ve been there. The two of them have more than fifty years of combined experience, and it’s been great to draw from that before I venture out on my own.”
Dr. Carlson says that a primary focus in his new practice is to make his patients as comfortable and at ease as he can.
“I find that the best way to go about things is to treat everyone like you want you and your family to be treated,” he says. “We’ve got state-of-the-art equipment, as new as you can get, and we offer dental care for the whole family. We cater to all ages, we do most procedures right here, and I’m comfortable doing a lot of the special aspects as well.”
Two pieces of equipment at VC Smiles that will help keep patients as comfortable as possible are the Digital Panoramic X-Ray machine and the electric hand piece drill.
Dr. Carlson says that the Digital Panoramic X-Ray will help cut down on the number of x-rays that need to be taken on each patient.
“In one shot, we can get the whole mouth, even the shots that we used to have to go inside the mouth to get,” he says. “This machine converts the image to show us what we need to see without having to take more shots. That means we’re limiting the number of x-rays taken, which means less radiation, and we can help the comfort level of each patient.”
The electric hand piece for the drill isn’t designed to do anything different than the standard air drills. But one slight difference in the design will hopefully help the mental state of each patient undergoing a drilling procedure.
“With the traditional air-driven hand pieces, you get that high pitched sound that makes you cringe,” Dr. Carlson says. “The electric hand piece operates with considerably less of that sound, which should help take the edge off. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I thought it was a no-brainer if it meant that my patients would be more comfortable. It’s a conscious decision to make that a priority in my practice.”
To help patients work a visit to the dentist into their busy schedules, Valley Center Smiles will offer a variety of hours during the week.
“I want to make the hours more accessible for people who work elsewhere,” Dr. Carlson says. “Some days, we’ll open at seven to be able to see people before they head off to work. Other days, we’ll stay open a little later to catch people after work. We want to make sure we make it convenient for people who work in Escondido or San Marcos, as well as for those who stay right here in Valley Center.”
To help keep Valley Center’s smiles healthy, Dr. Carlson is offering a special to his new patients.
“For any new patient, we’re offering free whitening for life,” he says. “Everyone wants a nice, bright smile, so new patients will get a custom tray to use at home, plus the whitening paste. That’s typically something that costs in the hundreds of dollars, but we’re giving that to our new patients who stay current on their cleanings and yearly exams.”
For more information about Dr. Carlson and his new practice, search for Valley Center Smiles on Facebook, or call the office at 760-749-4700.
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