Leave it Fred Joyal to come up with a way to take some of the pain out of going to the dentist. He is best known as "the 1-800-DENTIST guy," of TV commercial fame, who gently urges a dentist-phobic woman in an elevator to check out the dental care review site.
Joyal's Smileworks Anti-Aging Center in Redondo Beach is in fact a dental office with state of the art equipment. Its dentists perform the standard oral surgeries, cosmetic dentistry, implants, check-ups and teeth whitening.
But Smileworks is also a med spa which offers anti-aging treatments, facials and other spa services.
So, instead of leaving the dentist's office with a balloon and a toothache, you might come in for a crown or filling and cap off your visit with a relaxing reconditioning facial, also done on the premises.
State of the Art Cosmetic and General Dentistry
Smileworks has been an early pioneer of innovative technologies in dentistry. Its amazingly advanced CEREC computerized system is pure sci-fi (without the aliens and battles for the future of mankind). With CEREC, patients can get permanent crowns, fillings or cosmetic veneers fitted on the spot (instead of having to stretch this over the course of several visits).
Just smile and say 'cheese.' A digital image of your tooth is taken and converted into a 3-D virtual model. You can watch the dentist designing the crown, filling or veneer on-screen in about five minutes. That digital information is then transmitted to the CEREC Milling Unit which creates the permanent crown, filling or veneer.
It's ready to be placed on your tooth. Voila!
Sleep Apnea and Snoring Treatment
Millions of Americans wake up on the wrong side of the bed every day. They suffer from a challenging night time disorder known as sleep apnea—-which can also cause severe snoring. These people basically stop breathing in their sleep for a minute or more (often several times a night). One of the treatments for this disorder--Full Breath Solution®--is available at Smileworks.
Patients are fitted with a mouthpiece that looks something like a retainer--which they wear at night to prevent their tongues from blocking their airways (allowing more oxygen to reach their lungs). Smileworks uses a special computer to measure the amount of air flowing through patients' airways and then creates tailor-made mouth pieces accordingly.
Anti-Aging Skin Care
It's no secret that many people are afraid to go to the dentist. People with sensitive skin (like me) have the same uneasiness about facial treatments. When I stopped by Smileworks to sample one of their facials I was a little anxious at first, having experienced firsthand the abrasiveness, redness, picking and inflammation of facials past.
I was pleasantly surprised when I had an extremely relaxing and regenerative facial experience. Smileworks esthetician Dana Weidig is very knowledgeable on skin care, but she is also a good listener. Instead of just performing a cookie cutter menu item treatment she takes into account the particulars of your skin and creates a customized facial that results in radiance and relaxation.
For my facial, she used one of Smileworks' in-house skin care lines, Epionce, including one of their very mild exfoliating, purifying cream masks with some light steam, among other treatments. Facials includes a head, face and neck massage which really helps improve circulation.
Smileworks offers one-hour regenerative, reconditioning, firming and acne facials as well as 30-minute mini-facial sessions. Weidig and Joyal say that their chemical peels and silk peels (microdermabrasion) are also quite popular—-but unfortunately not recommended for sensitive skin types like mine.
Med Spa Menu at Smileworks
Getting a cavity filled before a big night out on the town or beach staycation? The dental med spa also does face, arm, leg, bikini, chest and back waxing (for men) as well as brow and lash tinting and paraffin hand treatments.
Smileworks Anti-Aging Center
1951 Artesia Blvd., #102
Redondo Beach, Calif. 90278
310-303-7930
Smileworks website