Drs. Greg Frodel and Lawrence Braithwaite of West Pasco Family Dental announce the availability of tooth-colored fillings and crowns, formed to exact tooth dimensions in a single office visit. The new approach to tooth restoration is made possible by innovative CEREC® CAD/CAM technology that designs and mills a custom ceramic restoration in less than 10 minutes.

“We are pleased to offer our patients the most convenient and esthetically pleasing tooth restoration process available today,” said Dr. Frodel. “Time is increasingly precious, and we recognize that most people don’t see the dentist office as a favorite past time. Using the CEREC equipment we can provide a great looking smile to our patients in a single visit, letting them get back to the more important things in life.”

CEREC is comprised of a Bluecam which features a blue LED light source, a medical grade computer and a milling machine, all located on site at the West Pasco Family Dental office. The system allows Drs. Greg Frodel and Lawrence Braithwaite  to repair a damaged tooth in about one hour using tooth-colored ceramic restorations. The camera takes an optical impression of the damaged tooth, eliminating the need for cumbersome and uncomfortable impression molds, and uploads the image to the computer. Once in the system, the dentist uses 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to design the restoration. Then the CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) system takes over to automatically create the restoration while the patient waits. Finally, the new custom-crafted restoration is bonded to the remaining healthy tooth tissue of the damaged tooth.

Restorations created using CEREC technology offer dental patients a long-lasting, esthetic alternative to silver or plastic fillings, crowns and veneers. Better yet, the patient can receive this smile-altering care in a shorter period of time. Traditional approaches often required a return appointment after the patient waited for the restoration to be manufactured in a separate lab. On-site milling eliminates the wait. CEREC restorations are as durable as traditionally fabricated restorations and are similar to patients’ natural dentition in form and function.

“This equipment greatly enhances the efficiency, accuracy and visual appeal of the restorations we can provide,” said Frodel. “Patients will benefit from more timely and more comfortable care that puts them back on track quickly. We are optimistic that the availability of CEREC restorations will help some patients overcome their fears when they see how fast and painless the treatment process can be. We believe everyone should have access to their best smile, and CEREC will make that possible for more people.”

CEREC has more than two decades of clinical research and documentation to support the technology. The restorations have been proven precise, safe and effective, with more than 25 million performed worldwide.

Read more about CEREC here.

West Pasco Family Dental serves the Tri-Cities, WA area with family friendly dentistry while leading the industry in convenience and technology.

On behalf of the entire team at West Pasco Family Dental,
Happy New Year! We wish you health, happiness and prosperity in 2012. Thank you
for choosing our family at West Pasco Family Dental and continuing to trust us
with the dental health of your family. Our biggest highlight in 2011 was
celebrating our 30^th year as West Pasco Family Dental along with Dr.
Frodel’s 30^th anniversary of his graduation from dental school. We
are pleased to have served the Tri-Cities since 1981 and look forward to serving
you in 2012 and the years to come.

In 2011 we continued to make improvements to the practice in
the form of updated dental equipment and technology, along with continuing
education and training for both doctors and the entire staff. For your
convenience we have also increased our staff and added new positions throughout
the past year. A big highlight was updating our website www.westpascofamilydental.com
and launching a presence on Facebook.

Dr Frodel began 2011 with continued training in implant
dentistry and is continuing advanced training in 2012. In August, Dr.
Braithwaite became the first certified Six-Month-Smiles
provider in Eastern Washington. The staff has taken continuing education
classes in Nevada and Texas. We added a CEREC one appointment crown device,
and updated our practice management software. These are huge investments we
take great pride in at WPFD, so that we can offer our patients the very best in dental care. I
commend every staff member for their commitment to our patients, along with their
willingness to grow and learn. We have had a few blips and bugs to work through,
and commend you, our valued patients, for your patience and understanding as we
grow. In short, we have acquired the most cutting edge technolgy in our office so that
you can be comfortable, while saving you both time and money. Ask anyone in our office about our technological acquisitions and how they can benefit you today!

We always look forward to adding new patients just like you, and as a testament to this
our new referral program has been quite a success. Thank you sharing your positive experiences
here at West Pasco Family Dental with your friends and family. There is no limit to the
amount of gift cards you can receive for you, your friends, and your extended
family (i.e not those living in the same household).

Please keep checking our website for future drawings!
Our wish in 2012 is to continue providing our patients with
excellent care while utilizing cutting edge technology and techniques; along with the best,
brightest dental staff in the Tri-Cities.

As always if you ever have any concerns or questions, please
feel free to contact us. Again, thank you for entrusting us with your dental care. All the best
in this New Year from our Family to Yours…

Sincerely,

Greg Frodel, DDS

Larry Braithwaite, DMD

WPFD Mailer (Front)

Back in October of 1981 Dr. Greg Frodel, fresh out of dental school from the UW, came back to his hometown of Pasco, WA to start his new practice: West Pasco Family Dental. For more than 30 years Dr. Frodel and the caring staff at West Pasco Family Dental have treated patients of all ages, and varying backgrounds, in the Tri-Cities area. It has been an incredible experience growing with the Mid-Columbia community over these past 30 years and we look forward to many more years…

Dr. Frodel Graduation Day 1981

Over the course of this next year we here at WPFD intend to show our gratitude to Tri-City area residents by offering new promotions regularly. The first of these promotions is a $500 discount on orthodontic services from both Invisalign and Six Month Smiles. West Pasco Family Dental is a preferred provider of Invisalign and the only Six Month Smiles provider in SE Washington. Please call our office today to find out more about these amazing services.

WPFD Mailer (Back)

We strongly urge our valued patients to take part in our new “Refer-a-Friend” program. The West Pasco Family Dental Refer-a-Friend program allows you to receive great gifts for telling your friends or family about us. Our Refer-a-Friend program gives you a $30 gift card of your choice when your friend becomes a new patient in our office. The more people you refer, the more great gifts you receive. And once they become new patients we will give them a gift card too! It’s our way of saying thank you to our loyal patients and welcoming new ones…

Click to Enlarge

West Pasco Family Dental

Back in August, West Pasco Family Dental sent out a mailer to Pasco residents. The mailer was meant to act as a reminder to have kids get a dental check-up as part of the back-to-school routine. On the reverse side of the mailer we also had a special New Patient offer for the big kids–along with the short bios of both Doctors. The front-side of the mailer also touted our Back-to-School Drawing which featured a new prize each week. This years prizes included a back pack stuffed full of school supplies, iPod Shuffles, and Oral-B Electric Toothbrushes.

Each Friday throughout September a WPFD staff member would pull a name from a box along with a corresponding prize. This particular drawing was open to all WPFD patients who dropped their name in the proverbial hat at the Road 68 office. We’ll be doing drawings often over the next year as we celebrate 30 years of growing smiles at West Pasco Family Dental. Don’t forget to sign-up for the WPFD newsletter on the new website so that you’ll know when the next drawing is held.

The first week saw Juan Martinez take home the back pack full of supplies, which he divided between his 3 children who are also patients at WPFD. This was perfect timing as the 2011 school year was just kicking off! The second week we gave away a brand new iPod along with an iTunes gift card to Jonathan Anderson which left him singing a good tune. The following two weeks were Oral-B give-aways, as Ray Espinoza and Toni Maldonado left the office with something to smile about! The final drawing winner of September’s Back-to-School prize give-away was Taylor O’Toole. Taylor took home an iPod and iTunes gift card just for being a part of the family. Congrats to all the winners! Be sure to sign-up for the West Pasco Family Dental newsletter and check your mailboxes, email and snail mail, for the upcoming 30th Anniversary drawing!!!

   Juan Martinez…Backpack Winner!

Ray Espinoza...Oral-B Electric Winner!

Taylor O'Toole...iPod and iTunes Winner!

Toni Maldonado...Oral-B Winner!

By Michelle Dupler, Tri-City Herald

KENNEWICK – For many of us, eating a salad is that thing we do instead of biting into a juicy hamburger or gooey slice of pizza — we don’t really want it, but we know it’s good for us.
But Linda Cochrane of Kennewick dreams of the day when she can sink her teeth into a crisp salad loaded with vegetables fresh from the garden.
Right now, Cochrane can’t eat much of anything at all unless it’s soft and doesn’t require much chewing. Her gums are swollen from having all of her teeth pulled in preparation to get dentures.
And the new dentures she is wearing have a tendency to slip and slide, making chewing and even talking uncomfortable.
But it’s a situation more hopeful than the one Cochrane was experiencing when she was profiled in the Herald in March.
A few months ago, Cochrane was suffering chronic pain and infection in her mouth. Her teeth were rotting from years of using prescription pain medications after tripping and breaking her neck in 2002.
She has permanent spinal cord damage that cost her some mobility and has left her disabled for nine years.
Then she started losing teeth — three in one day in February.
Cochrane applied to the state’s Medicaid program and was approved to have it pay for dentures in 2009, but through twists and turns of circumstances, her paperwork fell through the cracks and her approval expired.
By the time she reapplied, the state stopped covering dental services for low-income adults. She waited months to hear whether her approval could be reinstated when the Herald wrote about her in March.
Because of the article, two local dental offices offered to do Cochrane’s dental work for free. Dr. Greg Frodel at West Pasco Family Dental did her evaluation and tooth extractions, and denturist Joseph Vize of First Choice Denture Service made her dentures.
Cochrane said Frodel and Vize have been godsends.
“I recommend that dental office to everyone,” she said of West Pasco Family Dental. “It was less pain than any dentist I’ve ever been to. (Frodel) was fantastic.”
Kevin Hare, Cochrane’s caregiver, said that Cochrane immediately saw improvements after being treated by Frodel.
“Her pain level improved right away,” Hare said.
Frodel pulled her teeth in groups of three or four during a couple of months. Then Cochrane took a mold of her teeth that had been made when her dental problems began to Vize so that he could make dentures modeled on her own teeth.
Vize said when he met Cochrane, it was immediately apparent that her teeth couldn’t be saved.
“Her teeth were so far gone, there was nothing to do to salvage them,” he said. “She absolutely had to have an extraction and dentures.”
His recommendation is that Cochrane get implants — a set of screws permanently embedded in her jaw that can be used to snap her dentures into place to prevent the kind of slippage that can come with dentures held in place by adhesive.
“Implants would be best for her,” Vize said. “The quality of life really is much better. … I think most people in my field would agree it’s the standard of care.”
Hare said the implants also would allow Cochrane to eat a wider range of foods — such as the salad she has been craving — and wouldn’t interfere with taste buds the way adhesive might.
Six implants would be optimal to hold the upper and lower dentures permanently in place.
But they cost $1,000 each, and Cochrane somehow has to raise or find the money to pay for the hardware.
Hare opened a donation account in Cochrane’s name at Tri-Cities Federal Credit Union on Kennewick Avenue after a few Herald readers said they wanted to help.
He is hopeful community members will help Cochrane over this final hurdle toward once again having a healthy mouth.
“She’s lost so much. If she could just get back the sensation of taste and being able to eat, it would do wonders for her,” he said.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/07/25/1578718/dentists-help-kennewick-woman.html#ixzz1YXgKGIkS

Pasco, Washington, June 5, 2011 — Dr Greg Frodel, a cosmetic dentist at West Pasco Family Dental, recently returned from an intensive 4 day medical mission in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Frodel flew into Santo Domingo, DR and took a bus with several other medical professionals to the Universidad Central del Este medical clinic in San Pedro de Macorís.

Dr. Frodel, along with other health professionals from across the United States packed medical and dental supplies to the hospital facilities in San Pedro. At the University clinics Dr. Frodel performed numerous dental implant surgeries on its residents. The pan-Dominican medical mission is spearheaded by Dr. Arun Garg, a renowned surgeon from Miami and a mentor of Dr. Frodel.

“By the end of the third day we had seen hundreds of patients, many of whom needed to be seen very badly . It puts things in perspective…” said Dr. Frodel, ” the people of San Pedro waited hours and hours in line for the care.”

The operative cost over the course of the year is estimated at $1.5 million USD and has been a very successful medical and dental mission in the Dominican Republic.

“The people were so appreciative of the work we were doing. It feels good to be rewarded with a smile.” said Dr .Frodel. He plans to take make a return trip to the Dominican Republic in the very near future. ” I was pleased to learn about a Gary Player designed golf course in the vicinity of the University,” Frodel explained, “I may take one personal day the next time I visit.”

Dr. Greg Frodel is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Dentistry with a private practice in Pasco, Washington. Since 2008, he has placed an emphasis on Implants and Cosmetic Dentistry. To learn more about Dr. Frodel, check out his website at www.westpascofamilydental.com.