Questions patients ask.

We do not accept dental insurance for adults; we explain what you would pay before treatment starts, and payment plans are available through our financing partners, subject to approval. For children, ask the front desk about your plan.

Yes. The site has a Russian edition, and our front desk can take your call in Russian.

Ask the front desk for the secure way to send X-rays, scans or a treatment plan from another office. Please do not attach records to the website form; it collects contact and scheduling details only.

Yes. Patients come to us from across South Florida, the United States and abroad. We start with records, not a ticket: we review what you send, agree the plan, and only then fix dates. A large case may be split into visits with healing time between them.

New York is seen by private, pre-scheduled appointment only. The Sunny Isles front desk arranges it.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911. For urgent dental problems during office hours call 786-320-5445.

No. Tell us the problem; the treatment name comes after the examination.

Not to book with us. Some insurance plans require one for coverage, but we do not accept dental insurance for adults.

We do not accept dental insurance for adults; payment plans are available through our financing partners, subject to approval.

Yes; ask the front desk how to send them.

No. Tell us the problem; the treatment name comes after the diagnosis.

No. What the first visit covers: Request a visit.

Nearby towns and directions: our Sunny Isles Beach office. Our service area page: South Florida.

The front desk tells you who will see you before the visit. Russian is spoken by the front desk and the clinical team.

Our site and the request form are in Russian. You can also be examined and agree on your plan in Russian.

We do not accept dental insurance for adults.

Probably, for a routine check-up. Patients travel to us for a periodontist’s care, for complex treatment planned and built in one place, and to be seen in English or Russian.

Yes. Broward is a short drive north, and patients also come from further away for complex care.

No. It is one office, at 16690 Collins Avenue, Suite 701, Sunny Isles Beach.

Yes. Some patients travel for a planned sequence of visits; start by sending your records. See patients flying in.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry advises a first visit by the first tooth and no later than the first birthday. You do not need to wait for a problem.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from November 25. Call the front desk at 786-320-5445 for times.

Call the front desk at 786-320-5445, or send a request from our request page.

Yes.

Yes, with your signed authorization for that visit. The parents’ guide explains who Florida law allows to consent when a parent cannot be reached (section 743.0645, Florida Statutes).

Tell the front desk when you call.

Ask the front desk about your plan. Bring the card to the visit if you have one.

If your child has trouble breathing, will not wake or is bleeding heavily, call 911. For the tooth, call 786-320-5445 right away; if no one answers, go to the nearest emergency room. The tooth-injury page has the steps.

No. Tetri’s Smile is a general and periodontal practice. Pediatric dentistry is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

Yes. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry advises a visit no later than the first birthday, even when teeth are late.

Crying is common at a first visit. The pace slows, and the visit can end after a look and a talk.

Yes, with your signed authorization for that visit. The grandparent stays in the room with your child.

Many children are seen about every six months. The dentist sets the interval from what is seen at each visit.

Often soon after the molars come in. The dentist says which teeth, if any, are ready.

Baby teeth help a child chew and speak, and they hold space for the adult teeth. Some back baby teeth stay until about age 10 to 12.

Yes.

Sometimes. The dentist explains the plan and how many visits it is likely to take.

Follow the written directions you are given, and call 786-320-5445 if bleeding or pain does not settle.

Yes. Call 786-320-5445 and describe what happened. A tooth can darken or loosen days after a knock, so a check may be suggested.

Yes. Keep it in milk and bring it with you.

Call 786-320-5445 first. If no one answers, go to the nearest emergency room.

The surgery is done under local anesthetic. Expect soreness and swelling for a few days afterward; you go home with written instructions and a number to call.

A simple case with no grafting takes a few months from placement to final crown. Grafting adds to that.

Sometimes. The implant has to be firm enough when placed, the bite has to protect it and there can be no infection. We can say it is possible before surgery and only say yes during it.

The fee depends on the number of implants, any grafting and the kind of tooth.

Several visits around the surgery, then checkups through healing. The final bridge comes months later, not weeks; we tell you the timeline before you start.

No. An overdenture comes out to clean and sits on two to four implants; a full-arch bridge stays in and is cleaned in place.

A panoramic X-ray lets us say whether a visit is worth your time. Whether and how depend on the exam and the CBCT scan.

Soft food for the healing period; the implants are bonding to the bone and must not be loaded. You chew on the final bridge.

A removable temporary, sometimes a graft, and the fixed bridge once the site has healed; you are told on the day.

No. Many implants are placed without one; we suggest a graft only when the scan shows the implant would otherwise be too short, too narrow or badly placed.

Usually three to six months after a ridge preservation or small horizontal graft, often six to nine after a larger or vertical one. Dr. Tetri confirms the timing from the healed site, not the calendar.

Sometimes. A shorter implant, an angled implant using the bone in front of the sinus, or a bridge on neighboring teeth may suit your site; Dr. Tetri compares them on your scan.

Not for the period on your sheet, usually about two weeks; cabin pressure, diving and nose-blowing can all disturb the healing membrane.

Several coordinated steps can happen in one visit: extractions, implants and a fixed temporary, for example. The diagnosis before it, the healing after it and the final teeth cannot. A finished mouth in a day describes the temporary.

The plan is built so you leave each stage with teeth, temporary or final. Where surgery makes a fixed temporary unsafe, a removable one covers the gap.

It depends on how many teeth are kept, how many are replaced and what they are made of.

No. Disease control comes first and should not wait; the rest can be staged, and the plan says what can safely be deferred.

The area is numbed first, so most patients describe pressure rather than pain. Soreness for a few days afterward is expected and is managed with medication.

A single implant usually heals for two to four months before the final crown; a graft adds time. Same-day teeth are possible in selected full-arch cases (replacing all the teeth in the upper or lower jaw).

Sometimes, and it is never assumed. The neuromuscular view is that the bite decides where the jaw rests, so an unfavourable bite can keep muscles working at the wrong length; the broader literature cautions that the bite is not the usual cause of TMD and that changing it is not a routine treatment. Our answer is to measure the difference between where your teeth hold the jaw and where your muscles would rest it, test any proposed change with a reversible appliance, and change teeth only when the test is passed and the teeth need the work anyway.

Because the appliance is adjusted to a relaxed jaw, and relaxing a jaw that has been guarding for years takes TENS and time. An appliance fitted in fifteen minutes is fitted to the old bite.

Only when the result would change what we do, which is usually when a locked or painful joint raises a question about the disc that the examination and the sounds cannot settle. CBCT, taken here, answers bone questions; it does not show the disc.

The work-up takes several visits over a few weeks. The orthotic phase is usually reviewed at about three months. Anything permanent is planned after that, and its length depends on what it is. Some people stay in the appliance and need nothing more.

Low-frequency TENS has been used in this field for decades and Dr. Chan’s literature list runs to more than forty studies on it. It is not used with a pacemaker or certain other implanted devices, in pregnancy, or over an area of active disease, and the medical history is reviewed first.

Yes. Muscles remember stress, injuries happen, and teeth wear. A tested position, an appliance kept for the nights that need it, and periodic review are how a result is maintained. Some people have a long-term condition that is managed rather than cured, and we say so when that is the honest answer.

Stress is part of it for almost everyone, because clenching tracks stress. It is rarely all of it. Stress does not displace a disc, shorten the back teeth or narrow an arch, and a measured jaw path shows the difference.

Around age seven, and for most children the answer is “nothing yet”. A few have a bite or eruption problem worth catching early. What early treatment can and cannot do is on our Invisalign page, in the section for parents.

Neither suits every mouth. For simple crowding and spacing both work well. Braces give continuous control of difficult movements; aligners are removable and easier to keep clean, but work only while worn. We recommend whichever fits your teeth and your life.

Yes. Teeth keep moving slowly throughout life, whatever appliance was used. A thin wire bonded behind the front teeth, a removable retainer at night, or both; we check it at your regular visits.

Refinements are part of the plan, not a failure.

Invisalign aligners are one brand of clear aligner, made by Align Technology; others exist. The diagnosis, the plan and your wearing hours matter more than the name on the box.

Neither wins in general. Braces give continuous control and do not depend on remembering a tray; aligners are removable, less visible and easier to clean around. Some movements, such as rotating a round tooth or bringing down an impacted canine (an eye tooth stuck in the gum), are more predictable with braces.

Call 786-320-5445 during office hours and we will fit you in; most loose brackets and poking wires are a nuisance, not an emergency. Cover a sharp end with orthodontic wax, and do not cut, bend or glue anything yourself.

Often, yes, once the disease is under control and stable. Because Dr. Tetri is a periodontist, that part of the plan happens in the same office, with lighter forces and closer monitoring.

Bleeding is the earliest sign of gum inflammation. Most often it is gingivitis, which reverses; a check-up tells you whether there is also bone loss.

Gingivitis, mostly yes: brushing twice a day, cleaning between the teeth daily and a professional cleaning. Periodontitis needs professional treatment below the gumline; a mouthwash on its own does not treat it.

A general dentist treats gingivitis and many mild cases. Advanced or fast-moving periodontitis, and gums around implants, are a periodontist’s work. Here, the periodontist sees you directly.

With local anesthesia the treatment itself is usually comfortable; the days after are tender rather than painful. Tell us if a site hurts and we add more anesthetic.

Yes. Gum treatment, including local anesthesia, is recognized as safe in pregnancy, and untreated gum disease is the greater risk. We do not claim it prevents pregnancy complications.

Usually not. Instruments on the root are the treatment; antibiotics, antiseptic rinses and lasers help in selected cases, and we say when yours is one.

Some deep or hard-to-reach sites need surgery to clean the root under direct vision, and in selected defects regenerative surgery (procedures that rebuild some lost bone). As a periodontist, Dr. Tetri does these.

Treating gum disease is good for your mouth and may help your general health. It is not a treatment for diabetes or heart disease, and we will not tell you it is.

We numb the area with local anesthesia. Expect tenderness and some sensitivity to cold for a few days afterward.

Not at the first visit. We decide after the first phase of treatment, when we re-measure. Many sites settle without surgery; the ones that stay deep are the ones we discuss.

Not on their own. A gum graft can cover part or all of an exposed root in many cases; how much depends on the shape of the defect and the bone around it. We show you what is realistic for your tooth before you decide.

After treatment, most patients with periodontitis are seen for maintenance every three to six months. The interval is set to your risk, not to a calendar.

Not to book with us. Some insurance plans require one for coverage, but we do not accept dental insurance for adults.

The area is numbed first, so most patients feel pressure rather than pain. Expect some tenderness and cold sensitivity for a few days.

Usually not. Inflamed gums and exposed roots can be tender; tell us, and we slow down or numb a sensitive area.

No. How often depends on your teeth, gums, age and risk. Adults with healthy teeth and gums need them less often than someone with active decay or gum disease.

Yes, though perhaps less often. Tartar forms even with good brushing, and the examination finds problems you cannot see yourself.

Most dental plans cover preventive check-ups and cleanings, with limits on how often. We do not accept dental insurance for adults.

Usually not. Most people feel a light, warm spray. Exposed roots can be sensitive; tell us, and we adjust the setting or the powder.

Yes, with the right powder and settings: low-abrasive powders are used around implants and brackets, and veneers and white fillings are polished with care.

It replaces the rubber cup and paste for removing film and stain. Hardened tartar still needs ultrasonic or hand instruments, so Airflow is part of a cleaning, not the whole of it. See teeth cleaning and check-ups.

Most dental plans cover a preventive cleaning; whether they pay for air polishing as part of it varies. We do not accept dental insurance for adults.

No. Whitening toothpastes remove surface stain without changing the color of the tooth. Strips and other over-the-counter gels use less peroxide than in-office whitening and usually take longer; if you use them, choose one with the ADA Seal of Acceptance.

Neither has been shown to be clearly better: a 2025 review of the trials found the same chance of sensitivity with both, milder with trays, on low-quality evidence. In-office whitening is quicker; trays let you pause.

No. If you are planning porcelain veneers or new crowns, whiten first and we match the new work to the result. To compare whitening with other options, see smile design.

Dental insurance rarely pays for whitening, because plans treat it as cosmetic.

Not just because they are silver. The FDA advises against removing sound amalgam fillings, because removal takes more tooth with it. We replace a silver filling when it is cracked, leaking or has decay underneath.

Often, yes. A chipped corner or a worn edge can be repaired with new composite bonded to the old, which keeps more of the tooth.

Several years to well over ten, depending on its size, your bite and how well the edges are cleaned. Smaller fillings last longer.

It depends on the size and the number of surfaces it covers. We do not accept dental insurance for adults; we discuss the fee with you after the examination.

If the walls of the tooth are sound, an onlay saves them and bonds to enamel. If the tooth is cracked at the base or little remains above the gum, a crown holds better. We explain which case yours is before anything is shaped.

Past a certain size a composite filling built up in the mouth is hard to shape well, shrinks as it sets and leaves a cusp unsupported. An onlay made outside the mouth avoids those problems.

About as long as a crown, often more than a decade. The bond and the edges are what age; cleaning the join and not chewing ice help.

Many plans cover it like a crown, some like a filling.

Back teeth usually do, because they lose strength and take the chewing load. Front teeth often do not if enough tooth remains. A post (a peg set in the root) helps hold the core in place; it does not make the root stronger.

Most front crowns today are all-ceramic and shade-matched to the neighboring teeth; back crowns are ceramic too: depending on your bite, they are made of zirconia, lithium disilicate or feldspathic porcelain. We agree the shade with you before the laboratory makes it.

It can be: our office has its own milling machine. Even then, a tooth with an uncertain nerve or inflamed gum is better left in a temporary until it settles.

Ten to fifteen years is common and many last longer. What shortens that is decay at the edge, grinding, and a nerve that gives trouble later.

An implant leaves the neighbors untouched and cleans like a tooth, but it needs surgery, enough bone and more time. A bridge is quicker and avoids surgery, but uses the neighbors. If those teeth are sound we usually lean toward an implant; if they already need crowns, a bridge can be the better choice.

Often ten years or more, and some much longer. It depends more on the health of the anchor teeth and on daily cleaning than on the material.

The preparation is done under local anesthesia; expect some sensitivity for a few days with the temporary.

Only if they are cracked, leaking or have decay underneath. Age alone is not a reason.

We show you the tooth on the screen and on the X-ray and explain what is left to work with. If a filling will hold, we do not suggest a crown.

Small repairs often can, in one or two visits. When the gum is inflamed or the bite is unstable we treat that first, because a restoration placed on a moving foundation does not last.

With the tooth fully numb, the treatment itself should not. The appointment is longer than a filling, not more painful. Soreness afterward usually responds to over-the-counter pain relief; we tell you what is safe for you.

For a localized tooth infection in a healthy adult, ADA guidance is to treat the tooth rather than prescribe antibiotics; they do not reach the dead tissue inside it. Antibiotics are added when infection is spreading or your health requires it.

No. A front tooth with a small opening may need only a filling. Back teeth usually need a crown because the weakened walls can crack under chewing.

An infected pulp does not recover on its own. Pain may come and go, but the infection at the root tip tends to grow and can end in an abscess and the loss of the tooth.

Three or four canals instead of one, often curved, in a tooth at the back of the mouth. Each one has to be found, measured, cleaned and filled.

An endodontist is the right choice when the canals are unusually curved or calcified, when the tooth was treated before, or when mouth opening or anatomy make the case complex; who treats yours is decided at the diagnosis visit.

A molar that can be restored and has healthy bone around it is worth keeping; nothing replaces a natural root. When it cannot be, we compare an implant, a bridge and leaving the gap honestly, on the tooth extraction page and in the chair.

Most often bacteria stayed in, or got back in: a canal that was missed, a filling that leaked, a crown that came too late or broke. Sometimes the tooth cracked. The examination and the X-rays usually show which.

It depends on the tooth. A tooth with sound walls and no crack is usually worth retreating, since it keeps your own root and the bone around it. A cracked tooth, or one with little left, is often better replaced. We show you what we see before you decide.

With the tooth fully numb, the treatment itself should not; it takes longer than the first root canal. Soreness afterward usually responds to over-the-counter pain relief.

An infection at the root tip does not clear on its own; it tends to grow and can end in an abscess and the loss of the tooth.

Usually not. If the cause is a dead nerve, a root canal removes it and many heal afterward over months. Surgery is for lesions that persist after that, are very large, or do not behave like infection.

No. Antibiotics cannot reach the source inside the tooth and do not tell a cyst from a granuloma; they are used only when infection is spreading.

It can, which is why we follow it with comparable X-rays until the bone has filled in. A recurrence is re-diagnosed before anything is repeated.

Months, often longer; symptoms settle first. We tell you the review interval and what would bring you in sooner.

Most tenderness fades within a few days; sensitivity on biting can take up to two weeks. Pain that lasts longer or worsens is a reason to be seen.

On molars and premolars, almost always. The crown holds the tooth together so it is less likely to split.

No. Sensitivity may fade, but lost enamel does not grow back.

With the tooth numb you should feel pressure rather than pain; tell us if you feel more. Afterward, for most extractions, ibuprofen plus acetaminophen controls pain better than opioids; we tell you the amounts that are safe for you.

Not always. A back tooth with a solid partner across from it can sometimes be left; a gap that lets the neighbors drift usually should not be. We compare an implant, a bridge and a removable tooth before the extraction.

The access. Simple means the tooth comes out through its own socket; surgical means the gum is opened or the tooth divided to reach it.

No. We remove a wisdom tooth for a reason: pain, infection, decay that cannot be managed, gum disease, damage to the molar in front, a cyst, or a planned treatment it blocks. Without one of those, keeping watch is a legitimate plan.

Lower impacted teeth take longer than upper erupted ones.

Local anesthesia is standard. Sedation is an option after a medical review, where our permits and team allow, and it means an escort for the rest of the day. Our sedation page explains the levels.

The clot in the socket is lost early and the bone is exposed, usually a few days after removal, with an ache that gets worse instead of better. It is treatable; call us.

Lower wisdom-tooth roots can sit close to the nerve that supplies the lip and chin. Altered sensation is uncommon and usually temporary; where the scan shows the roots wrapped around the nerve, coronectomy or referral lowers the risk. We tell you your own odds before you decide.

Usually not, unless the treatment is also needed for the health of the tooth, such as a crown on a broken tooth. We do not accept dental insurance for adults.

Yes, if you want your other teeth lighter: veneers, bonding and crowns are matched to the shade at the time they are made, and they do not change color afterward.

Usually, but it is the hardest match there is, because the new tooth has to sit beside your natural teeth with nothing to hide behind. We tell you what to expect before you decide.

Your own odds depend on enamel, bite, habits and hygiene.

Preparation is done under local anesthesia. Some sensitivity to cold for a few days afterward is common.

A veneer covers the front surface and relies on bonding to enamel; a crown covers the whole tooth and needs more preparation. Cracks, large old fillings, heavy bite forces or too little enamel point toward a crown. We tell you which and why.

Whitening changes natural teeth, not ceramic. If you want a lighter shade, whiten first and we match the veneers to the result.

Not necessarily. One tooth can often be bonded or veneered alone. Matching a single ceramic to its neighbors is harder than matching a set, and we say so when we think a single-tooth repair is the better-balanced choice.

Where the plan includes a digital design and a mock-up, you see the proposed shape and length over your own teeth before anything is done. It is a draft to discuss, not the final result.

Often less is enough. If the problem is color, whitening comes first. If it is position, Invisalign treatment moves the teeth instead of covering them. Veneers are the answer when shape, wear or old restorations cannot be fixed more conservatively.

Whitening: days. Aligners: months, depending on how far the teeth need to move. Veneers: usually three visits over a few weeks, after any gum or orthodontic work has settled.

Natural teeth and restorations both need home care and professional review. Porcelain veneers show good long-term survival in published reviews, with the caveat that follow-up and definitions vary; everything we place needs maintenance.

Lasting pain usually points to a bite problem, a gum problem at the margin, or a tooth that needed treatment before the veneer went on. Each can be diagnosed, and some can be corrected without replacing the veneer.

No. Removed enamel does not grow back, which is why we compare the alternatives with you first.

Well-made porcelain veneers commonly last ten years or more; your bite, your gums and your habits decide the rest.

No, porcelain keeps its color under bleaching. Natural teeth can be whitened, so we choose the veneer shade with that in mind.

That is answered, with each step of getting veneers, in Do veneers hurt?

Rebuilding lost bite height can modestly change how the lower face sits in patients who have lost a lot of height. We do not plan restorations for facial effect, and we do not promise one.

Yes. We plan the new tooth shapes digitally and try them in your mouth as a mock-up (a temporary overlay) before any tooth is prepared (smile design).

Minimal: you are relaxed and still talking. Moderate: drowsy, and you answer when spoken to. Deep: asleep, and you may need help keeping your airway open. General anesthesia: fully unconscious. Response can cross from one level into the next, which is why monitoring and rescue training are part of every plan.

Not necessarily. The route (a pill, a gas, a drip) does not fix the depth; the dose, the timing, the combination of drugs and your own response do. Ask what depth is intended, not just which route.

With minimal and moderate sedation you are not asleep, though many people remember little of the visit. We do not promise sleep or amnesia; we say what is likely at the level planned for you.

It depends on the level. You get written fasting instructions for your own plan, and you keep taking your regular medicines unless we tell you otherwise.

A responsible adult must come with you and stay with you afterward. We confirm the escort before the appointment, not on the day.

Usually a pinch. The gel numbs the surface first, and a slow injection is the part that matters.

General anesthesia, where you are unconscious, is a separate level with its own permit and team, and dental work rarely needs it. After a medical review we will tell you which level fits your case and what our permits allow.

Yes. He performs the gum and implant surgery himself, and our team assists him at each phase.

English and Russian.

Yes. Check-ups, cleanings, fillings, deep cleaning and clear aligners are the everyday-care door of our office, and many of our patients only ever use that one.

Yes, it is part of our office, on the same floor as the treatment rooms. That is what lets us change a design between visits.

Yes. On screen for every piece, and in your mouth as a mock-up or temporary for larger cases.

It depends on the piece, the material and the laboratory's workload at the time. We give you the try-in date before you leave.

Often, in the mouth or in the laboratory. A crack through the piece means a remake, and we tell you which before touching it.

Only when the examination raises a question a regular X-ray cannot answer, such as where a nerve runs before implant or wisdom-tooth surgery.

Often, yes, if they are recent and cover the right area; ask the front desk how to send them.

No. TMJ (jaw joint) disorders are diagnosed from your history and the examination; the records add detail.

An award covers exactly what the written decision names. Travel and lodging are named only when the decision says so.

Depending on how urgent and complex the case is, a written response from the doctor can take from one to three weeks.

A parent or legal guardian. If you are a relative, a teacher or a clinician, share this page with the family; the conversation starts with the guardian.

Yes, with the patient’s knowledge. The first call can come from either, and the records come later, from the patient, through the private channel.

No. Payment plans and fees for ordinary care are a front-desk conversation. The Foundation sponsors select cases in full or in the part named in the decision, and it is not a way of negotiating a fee.