Your Dental Questions

How does Dr. Crabtree keep up to date with the latest dental techniques and technologies?

Dr. Crabtree has made a real commitment to continuing education to enable him to stay at the top of his field and provide the highest quality dental care. Dr. Crabtree was awarded a Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). To earn that designation, Dr. Crabtree had to take more than 1,100 hours of dental continuing education programs and study 16 different disciplines in dentistry.

In 37 years, the AGD Master designation has been achieved by fewer than 2,000 dentists in the United States. Dr. Crabtree is one of only 4 masters in the Katy area.

Is it going to hurt?

Dental care today doesn’t have to hurt, and Dr. Crabtree and his entire staff want to make you feel as comfortable as possible during your treatment. If you’re having a dental procedure that may cause some discomfort, we’ll first numb the area with a local anesthetic patch then follow it up with a slow, gentle injection that will numb the area. Most of our patients never feel no more than a pinch.

The only time you may have pain is if you have a severe infection or abscess in one of your teeth. If you take care of your teeth with regular checkups and a preventive care program, you’re not likely to have this kind of painful infection. We encourage everyone to avoid such problems by becoming partnering with us in their dental care.

How much will my treatment cost?

Before we begin any dental treatment, we’ll discuss all the costs involved so that you will be fully informed of your financial obligation. Financial considerations don’t have to be an obstacle to optimal dental health. Being sensitive to the fact that people have different needs in fulfilling their financial obligations, we do provide a variety of payment options. Our business staff is trained to help you explore different ways to accommodate your budget.

What’s the best way to whiten my teeth?

We recommend custom-made, professional-strength, take-home tray teeth whitening. We believe it provides the longest-lasting and brightest results. Although you may have seen one-hour teeth whitening procedures advertised, we have not found them to be as effective as a teeth whitening process that takes place over a few weeks. It takes time for bleach to penetrate your tooth enamel; the deeper the penetration, the longer the effects of bleaching will last.

Can you show me how you’ll improve my smile?

We have before-and-after photos that we can show you of patients who have come to us because they were unhappy with their smiles; looking at these actual photographs, you’ll get a good idea of how your smile can be improved. Seeing the transformation that a new smile has made for these patients will make you impatient to get started on your own dental treatment!