General and Specialized Care

Students in the general clinic.
Students in the general clinic.

General Dentistry and Hygiene

UCLA Dentistry offers General Dentistry at three provider care levels: faculty, residents, and student dentists. This includes and encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and disorders of the oral cavity. We can treat you for most of these general dental needs including preventive cleanings and oral hygiene instructions.

After your initial exam and personal treatment plan is created, you may need to visit one of our specialized clinics. You must have a recent referral from a dentist or proceed with our new patient assessment process to make an appointment at a specialized clinic.

Emergency and Urgent Care

During Business Hours

The UCLA Dental Clinics offer urgent care services for non-patients of record; however, you must first make an urgent care appointment prior to treatment as we do NOT accept walk-ins.

Call (310) 206-3904 to make an urgent care appointment as a new patient.

We do offer urgent care services for current patients. First try to contact your assigned student dentist or current clinic administrator for instructions. Otherwise, please call (310) 206-3904 to make an urgent care appointment.

Non-Business Hours & Scheduled Breaks for Patients of Record

Please call the page operator at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at (310) 825-6301. You must tell the operator that you are a patient of the UCLA Dental Clinics and ask them to page the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) resident on call who will contact you directly. If you are a patient of the Venice Dental Center, please state that fact.

Please note: There are fees associated with Urgent Care visits and associated radiographs. Specific urgent care procedures will vary from clinic-to-clinic.
 

UCLA Venice Dental Center Emergency Care

During business hours for the Venice Dental Center: Please call (310) 392-4103 to schedule an appointment for urgent care. Urgent care is limited and available by appointment only.  It is recommended that you are seen with your original treating student, trainee, or resident dentist with the same faculty coverage. If this is not an option, you may be directed to proceed with call-in urgent care as noted above. 

After Hours/Weekends/Holiday/Quarter breaks at the Venice location for Venice Dental Center patients of record: Please call the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and tell the page operator that you are a patient of the UCLA Venice Dental Center and ask them to page the Venice Advanced Education in General Dentistry (Venice AEGD) resident on call. The Venice AEGD resident will call you back directly. UCLA Medical Center Page Operator: (310) 825-6301.

Please note: There are fees associated with Urgent Care visits and associated radiographs. Specific urgent care procedures will vary from clinic-to-clinic

If you have a medical emergency that is life-threatening, please call 911.

Care for Special Needs Patients

The UCLA Dental Clinics in Westwood house a Special Patient Care Clinic, which specializes in advanced general dentistry for adult patients with complex medical conditions and physical, emotional, and mental disabilities. Faculty and residents compassionately treat people with complex medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and severe autism.

For children and adolescents with special needs, the UCLA Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and the Venice Pediatric Dental Clinic offer both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care.

Specialized Dental Services

Endodontics: Provides root canal therapies, root canal retreatments, endodontic microsurgeries, vital pulp therapies, apexifications, apexogenesis, internal bleaching, and endodontic emergencies. Available at Faculty Group Dental Practice with faculty providers or the Weichman Endodontics Clinic with resident providers.

Esthetic Dentistry: Primarily focused on the appearance of the teeth and gums. They also perform limited periodontics and orthodontics treatment as concerned with esthetics. Available at our Center for Esthetic Dentistry.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Oral and maxillofacial surgeons provide a broad range of outpatient surgical procedures, including wisdom teeth extraction and dental implants. Surgeons consult with general practitioners and specialists in anesthesia and esthetic dentistry to determine the best course of treatment for each patient. Available at our Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinic.

Oral Medicine: Provides treatment for oral soft tissue conditions such as lesions associated with autoimmune and systemic diseases including HIV/AIDS, oral pre-malignant or malignant lesions as well as salivary gland diseases. Available at the Orofacial Pain Faculty Practice.

Orofacial Pain: Provides treatment for such conditions as Temeromandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders and obstructive sleep apnea (for patients who can't tolerate a CPAP device). Available at the Graduate Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic and the Orofacial Pain Faculty Practice.

Orthodontics: Orthodontists use corrective appliances to bring teeth, lips, and jaws into proper alignment, thereby enhancing bite function and facial appearance in children and adults alike. Available at the Bales Orthodontic Clinic. 

Oral Pathology: Takes tissue specimens and biopsies for diagnosis of disease. Available at the Oral Pathology Lab.

Oral Radiology: Makes X-ray images of teeth and jaws for diagnosis of disease. Available at the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Clinic.

Pediatric Dentistry: Services focus on oral health care for infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatric dentists implement individualized preventive oral health practices and reduces the child’s risk of preventable dental and oral disease, and should start no later than 12 months of age. Available at the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic in Westwood, Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at Venice and the Faculty Group Dental Practice.

Periodontics and Implant Surgery: Periodontists specialize in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the supporting and surrounding tissues of the teeth or their substitutes (placement of dental implants) and the maintenance of the health, function and esthetics of these structures and tissues. Available at the Postgraduate Periodontics and Implant Surgery Clinic.

Prosthodontics: Prosthodontists, or reconstructive dentists, employ the latest technology to replace or reconstruct severely damaged teeth. Prosthodontists restore optimal dental function and aesthetics using dental implants, crowns, veneers, bridges, and full or partial dentures. ; Removable Prosthodontics included the design and fabrication of complete, immediate or partial dentures to replace missing teeth. Available at our Advanced Prosthodontics clinic.

Restorative Dentistry: Focused on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of caries, conservation of tooth structure and the restoration of structurally compromised teeth, in an effort to restore form function and esthetics. Available at our Advanced Education in General Dentistry programs in Westwood and AEGD Venice.