Contact Dr. Frangopol today to learn more about how the state-of-the-art technology we use at our Rancho Santa Margarita practice can dramatically improve your smile.






O.F.D.D.S.
26111 Antonio Parkway, Ste 200
Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688

Tel (949) 713.6720
Fax (949) 713.6721

Orest Frangopol, D.D.S. Featured in the News

At the office of Orest Frangopol, D.D.S., we offer our patients comprehensive dental care of the highest quality. Our Rancho Santa Margarita office is equipped with advanced dental technology that complements the extensive knowledge and training of our staff. This enables our patients to enjoy all the benefits that cosmetic and restorative dentistry has to offer. We invite you to read the following articles about our practice featured in the Trabuco Canyon News, Mission Viejo News, and Cota De Coza News.

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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New Teeth-in-an-Hour™ Technology at Orest Frangopol, D.D.S. in RSM

(Article as printed in the Trabuco Canyon News, January 7, 2005)

For people with one or multiple missing teeth, or for those who want to replace uncomfortable dentures or partials, a remarkable new Teeth-in-an-Hour™ dental procedure using implants is now available at the office of Orest Frangopol, D.D.S. in Rancho Santa Margarita.

This innovative, computer-assisted technology allows for permanent new teeth replacements to be implanted in the patient’s mouth in a minimally invasive, virtually pain-free session that is completed in a normal one-hour office visit.

At the end of the session, the patient leaves the dental office with a custom-created fixed bridge or crowns that are permanently attached to the implants placed in the jaw bone, immediately providing the patient with the look and function of natural teeth.

Developed in Sweden, the new Teeth-in-an-Hour™ technology is just beginning to become available in the U.S. In fact, the treatment is so new that it was featured as a live clinical procedure on “ABC News Good Morning America” on December 14, 2005.

The key to the short surgical time for the patient is that much of the surgery is performed when the patient isn’t even present. Prior to the actual surgery, the dentist/clinician team utilizes a CT scan of the patient’s jaw and a powerful computer-imaging program to create a surgical template and a permanent prosthesis/bridge. This “virtual surgery” is a real patient benefit, as it greatly reduces both the time and the number of office visits required.

After two to three weeks, when the template and bridge have been manufactured as designed, the patient returns to the office for the incision-free surgery, where the implants and bridge or bridges are permanently placed. Then, for the patient, it’s a new, denture-free life…all accomplished in a one-hour procedure.

For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact the office of Dr. Orest Frangopol in Rancho Santa Margarita at (949) 713.6720.

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Computers and Imaging Innovations Improve Today's Dental Care

(Article as printed in the Trabuco Canyon News, June 4, 2005)

Computers and new imaging technologies have revolutionized much of today’s medical practice, but the field of dentistry has been slower, in general, to embrace the benefits of new computer and imaging innovations.

However, at one Rancho Santa Margarita dental office, the influence of computers and imaging is everywhere to be seen.

From the use of digital X-rays, to computer archived records, to digital photography and video display of work in progress, to single-visit restorations of damaged teeth, the office of Dr. Orest Frangopol in south Rancho Santa Margarita is a virtual showplace of computer and imaging technologies.

Dr. Frangopol says, “These new technologies can enhance patient care, increase office efficiency, improve the quality of the patient’s finished dental work, and reduce time and return visits for the patient.” He mentions digital X-rays as one example of a technology that provides a wide range of benefits.

“Digital X-rays are much lower in radiation than conventional film X-rays,” says Dr. Frangopol, “so the patient benefits by receiving less radiation exposure, and both the patient and I can instantly view the images on the computer monitor over the patient’s chair. The images are also archived on the computer system, so patient files are paperless and readily available at any time. It’s a real benefit to office efficiency.”

Perhaps the most revolutionary new technology in use at Dr. Frangopol’s office is the CEREC® single-visit restoration system. The CEREC® is a powerful 3D computer-imaging program and color monitor, combined with a precise, diamond-cut milling machine that produces high-quality ceramic inlays, onlays, veneers, and crowns to repair damaged teeth or achieve cosmetic improvements, permanently in a single office visit.

“It’s really a remarkable piece of equipment,” says Dr. Frangopol, “and it’s a great benefit to patient care and convenience. The patient avoids the messy impressions, the temporary crowns, and the need for a second or third appointment for cementation. With the CEREC®, we can do everything in a single office visit, whether it’s a single tooth restoration or a complete makeover.”

The key to the system’s success, according to Dr. Frangopol, is the combination of state-of-the-art computer-imaging software and the high-speed diamond bur and disk milling machine that precisely carves the new crown or veneer from a solid block of metal-free, tooth-colored ceramic. The result is a completely natural looking restoration that looks and feels real, and fully restores the tooth or teeth to original strength and function.

In the patient’s treatment session, the damaged tooth is first prepared for restoration using traditional methods. Then a digital 3D camera captures an optical impression, which is displayed on the CEREC® computer monitor. While the patient watches, Dr. Frangopol positions the restoration through three dimensions on the color monitor, then refines the design as needed. Once the design phase is completed, the milling machine takes about 15 minutes to produce a perfect replica of the inlay, onlay, veneer or full crown, as designed. Then the finished restoration is fitted, polished and permanently bonded to the prepared tooth, all in a single appointment with no return appointment required.

“It’s a huge convenience for the patient,” says Dr. Frangopol, smiling. “People like it when they don’t have to go back to the dentist right away.”

Some patients choose to have a one-day, full-smile reconstruction of all the front teeth. Depending upon the number of teeth involved, the complete makeover takes from eight to ten hours, but soon the whole process will be even faster. Dr. Frangopol plans to purchase an additional milling machine this summer, which he estimates will reduce time for a full-smile makeover to between five and six hours.

Another innovative new imaging technique utilized at Dr. Frangopol’s office comes from his teaching experience. Prior to establishing his practice in Rancho Santa Margarita in 2004, Dr. Frangopol taught dentistry at DSI, a California-based international dental institute, and at New York University’s School of Dentistry.

At DSI, Dr. Frangopol began using a 5X magnification viewing system with an attached camera that gave students a real-time, close-up view of step-by-step procedures. He now believes strongly that a good magnification viewing system is key to achieving excellence in dental work.

“I still use the DSI-developed magnification viewer and camera in my practice, primarily to document cases for teaching, but also because some of my patients actually want to watch as I’m working. With the DSI point-of-view camera, they can see every step of the procedure in real time on the computer monitor, just as it appears to me.”

Advanced magnification viewing systems and point-of-view cameras are two more examples of how new computer and imaging technologies are revolutionizing today’s dental care.

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Dental Patients Benefit Greatly From New Laser Technology

(Article as printed in the Trabuco Canyon News, January 6, 2007)

Innovative laser technologies have revolutionized treatment in medical procedures from cosmetology to eye surgery, but the potential of laser technology in dentistry has only recently become realized.

Now there are new laser technologies designed just for dentistry. The Versa Wave™ and Odyssey™ lasers are two such examples that now offer the promise of painless, drill-free, non-invasive dental procedures.

At the offices of Dr. Orest Frangopol in Rancho Santa Margarita, the Versa Wave™ and Odyssey™ lasers are now being used and are making a real difference in patient treatment.

“For both hard tissue and soft tissue treatments,” says Dr. Frangopol, “my patients are benefiting greatly from this new technology. These lasers offer a simple, non-invasive method of decay removal from teeth, effective and easy periodontal disease treatments, and a number of other procedures, all performed without drilling or even the need for anesthetics in most cases.”

For hard tissue treatments, such as removal of decay in one or more teeth, the laser replaces the need for drilling. Most patients require no anesthetic injections, as the procedure is virtually pain free. After the tooth has been prepared with the laser, a white filling is placed to restore the tooth.

When periodontal (soft tissue) treatment is needed, the new technology also offers numerous advantages for the patient. The lasers can be used to both sterilize gum pockets and decrease their size, by disinfecting the diseased pockets. The lasers dehydrate and therefore kill the bacteria in the pocket space, so treated areas recover faster and healthier than with conventional scraping procedures.

In addition to necessary dental procedures, laser treatments also allow patients simple and painless ways to achieve cosmetic improvements, such as gingival recontouring and crown lengthening, which can improve a gummy smile.

“My patients are very enthusiastic about the laser,” says Dr. Frangopol. “They are always happy when given the choice to avoid an invasive surgical procedure. And to be able to leave the office with no pain and no numb lip really changes the way many patients feel about their dental visit.”

For more information, or to make an appointment, call the offices of Dr. Orest Frangopol at (949) 713-6720. The office is located at 26111 Antonio Parkway, Suite 200, in Rancho Santa Margarita.

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Grand Opening Gala at State-Of-The-Art Dental Office

(Article as printed in Mission Viejo News and Cota De Coza News, Dec. 17, 2004)

More than 150 guests attended last month’s gala grand opening at Orest Frangopol, D.D.S., Inc., a state-of-the-art dental office located in the Santa Margarita Water District building, on Antonio Parkway just south of Oso Parkway. The new, complete-services dental facility features elegant, modern treatment rooms, an in-house laboratory, the newest dental techniques and technologies, and the skills of renowned Orange County dentist Dr. Orest Frangopol.

Dr. Frangopol, who has practiced for several years in Laguna Hills, also teaches dentistry at DSI, a California-based international dental institute, and at New York University’s School of Dentistry.

Celebrating at the grand opening were (left-to-right): Cymbree Caracena, office manager; Sergiu Frangopol, Dr. Frangopol’s father; Dr. Orest Frangopol and guest; and Diana Frangopol, the doctor’s mother. Mr. and Mrs. Sergiu Frangopol flew to California from their home in Timisoara, Romania, to attend the opening of their son’s elegant new dental office in south Orange County.

Dr. Frangopol's office is located at 26111 Antonio Parkway, Suite 200. For more information, call (949) 713.6720 or visit the web site at ofdds.com.

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Contact Orest Frangopol, D.D.S.

If you would like more information about Dr. Frangopol, our state-of-the-art facility, or quality dental services, or if you wish to schedule an appointment, please contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!