Meet Your Dentist in Vancouver, WA

Vaughn Teuscher, DDS

"Happiness is a byproduct of helping others." Royden G. Derrick

For Dr. Vaughn Teuscher, dentistry has always been about more than treating teeth. It is about helping people stay healthy, preserve their natural teeth whenever possible, and feel confident that the care they receive is thoughtful, conservative and appropriate for their individual needs.

Dr. Teuscher has practiced dentistry since graduating from the University of Washington School of Dentistry in 1990. Over more than three decades in practice, he has developed extensive experience in restorative dentistry, preventive and minimally invasive care, implant dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, fixed and removable prosthodontics, periodontal care and other areas of general dentistry.

His philosophy is simple: treat patients the way he would want himself or a member of his own family to be treated.

Education and Early Dental Experience

A native of Vancouver, Washington, Dr. Teuscher attended Fort Vancouver High School and is an Eagle Scout. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and also studied abroad in Vienna, Austria, traveling extensively throughout Europe before beginning dental school. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Washington School of Dentistry in 1990 and began practicing dentistry that same year. After graduation, Dr. Teuscher spent approximately two years expanding his clinical experience. He first associated with a dentist in Federal Way, Washington, and also worked in several dental offices throughout the Puget Sound region.

In 1991, he returned to his hometown of Vancouver and began practicing alongside his father, who had been a dentist in the community since 1955. Dr. Teuscher describes those years as a practical extension of his dental education. His father provided extensive hands-on instruction in oral surgery, crowns and bridges, removable prosthodontics and many other aspects of general dentistry. He also introduced Dr. Teuscher to the business and practice-management side of dentistry through his involvement with the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration.

His father's practice included an in-house dental laboratory where crowns, bridges, dentures and partial dentures were fabricated. Working directly with his father and an experienced laboratory specialist gave Dr. Teuscher significant practical experience in restorative and prosthetic dentistry.

After nine years practicing with his father, Dr. Teuscher established his own practice and built a new medical and dental building in Vancouver.

A Philosophy Built Around Helping People

After more than three decades in dentistry, Dr. Teuscher continues to believe that some of the best dentistry is the dentistry a patient can avoid. That means preventing disease whenever possible, detecting problems early, preserving healthy tooth structure, recommending treatment carefully and involving trusted specialists when a patient's needs extend beyond what is most appropriately handled in his office.

His guiding philosophy remains the Golden Rule: treat people the way you would want to be treated.

For Dr. Teuscher, the reward is seeing patients remain healthy, comfortable and confident in their care, sometimes across multiple generations of the same family.

More Than Three Decades of Restorative Experience

Restorative dentistry remains one of Dr. Teuscher's primary areas of experience and professional interest. Throughout his career, he has completed thousands of crowns, fillings, bonding procedures and other restorative treatments, along with extensive numbers of bridges, root canals, extractions, removable prosthetic cases, periodontal treatments and other general dental procedures. He has restored approximately 500 or more dental implants and has personally placed more than 100 implants.

Dr. Teuscher has provided restorative and cosmetic dentistry, root canal treatment, oral surgery, removable prosthetics and TMJ-related care throughout his career. He has provided implant services since the mid-2000s and began surgically placing implants in 2015.

While he is experienced in a broad range of procedures, Dr. Teuscher believes experience also means knowing when a patient will benefit from specialist care. He works closely with trusted local oral surgeons, periodontists, endodontists and orthodontists and refers more complex cases when he believes doing so is in the patient's best interest.

Professional Memberships

Dr. Teuscher maintains involvement in organized dentistry and professional education through memberships including:

• American Dental Association
• Washington State Dental Association
• Clark County Dental Society
• Pacific Northwest Dental Collective Study Club

He has also received local and peer-selected professional recognition during his career.

A Conservative, Minimally Invasive Approach to Dentistry

One of the defining principles of Dr. Teuscher's practice is preserving healthy tooth structure whenever possible. He would rather help a patient avoid a restoration altogether than perform unnecessary treatment. When treatment is required, his preference is generally to address the problem early and preserve as much natural tooth structure as possible. That philosophy has led him to incorporate preventive and minimally invasive techniques such as Curodont, fluoride varnish, prescription-strength fluoride products, air abrasion and conservative bonding procedures into patient care when clinically appropriate.

Dr. Teuscher was an early adopter of Curodont technology for treating appropriate early enamel lesions. Instead of simply monitoring certain early areas until they progress enough to require a traditional filling, Curodont may provide another conservative option in selected cases. His interest in this approach has even brought patients to the practice from Portland and other communities after they found his educational content about Curodont online.

He also uses a KCP 1000 heated air-abrasion system, a technology that is no longer manufactured and is now relatively uncommon in dental offices. Dr. Teuscher has maintained and refurbished his system so he can continue using air abrasion when appropriate. For selected procedures, air abrasion can allow Dr. Teuscher to prepare a tooth with minimal removal of tooth structure and, in some cases, without the traditional dental drill or local anesthetic injection.

Advanced Training in Implant Dentistry

Dr. Teuscher completed the WhiteCap Implant Residency in Heber City, Utah, in 2015, where his training included hands-on dental implant placement in live patients. Following the program, he completed hundreds of additional hours of implant mentoring and education with P.K. Clark and his son. He has continued his implant education through DIO and other programs, accumulating many additional hours of training.

Today, Dr. Teuscher provides both dental implant placement and implant restoration. He uses digital planning and guided implant surgery for his implant cases, combining 3D CBCT imaging, digital scanning and guided surgical technology to evaluate available bone and plan implant positioning before treatment. For cases requiring more advanced surgical care, he collaborates with local oral surgeons and periodontists who can place the implant before Dr. Teuscher restores and maintains it.

Dental Technology Focused on Better Care

Dr. Teuscher believes dental technology should have a clear purpose: helping the dental team diagnose more accurately, plan treatment more carefully, communicate more clearly with patients or provide treatment more conservatively.

Technology available in the practice includes:

• Carestream 8100 3D CBCT imaging, used in the practice since 2016
• Medit i700 digital scanning
• MouthWatch intraoral photography
• Digitally guided implant planning and surgery
• DIO implant and surgical-guide technology
• KCP 1000 heated air abrasion
• Curodont technology for appropriate early enamel lesions
• XDR digital radiography with Apteryx sensors
• Root ZX technology for endodontic treatment
• Ultrasonic instrumentation
• Ellman radiosurgery
• Specialized oral-surgery instrumentation, including Physics Forceps, Proximators and Luxators

The intraoral camera is one of the technologies Dr. Teuscher uses most frequently. In addition to helping him examine areas that may be difficult to visualize, it allows patients to see what he sees on a screen and better understand the reasons behind a recommendation.

For implant treatment, CBCT imaging and digital scanning allow him to evaluate anatomy and available bone and plan the location of an implant before surgery.

Although Dr. Teuscher embraces useful technology, he does not believe every newer system automatically provides a better result. For example, rather than using same-day crown technology, he prefers working with an experienced local dental laboratory and uses laboratory-fabricated zirconia restorations based on his clinical experience with their long-term performance. His goal is not to use technology simply because it is new. Instead, he evaluates whether a technology genuinely improves diagnosis, precision, comfort, conservation of tooth structure or long-term care.

Teaching and Dental Education

Dr. Teuscher's experience has also extended beyond his private practice. He taught restorative dentistry at the Clark Dental Hygiene School for 10 years, helping future dental hygienists develop their understanding of restorative dental care. His office has also hosted dental assisting students completing externships through programs including Concord, Pacific, Mt. Hood Community College and Elite Dental Assisting Academy. Dental students have spent time shadowing Dr. Teuscher as well, allowing him to share his practical experience and approach to patient care with future members of the profession.

Throughout his own career, continuing education has remained an important priority. Dr. Teuscher has completed thousands of hours of continuing dental education across restorative dentistry, implant dentistry and other areas of clinical care.

Comprehensive General Dentistry With a Collaborative Approach

As the practice's sole dentist, Dr. Teuscher personally provides a wide range of services. Depending on the patient's needs and the complexity of the case, these may include:

• Preventive and minimally invasive dentistry
• Restorative dentistry
• Tooth-colored fillings and bonding
• Crowns and bridges
• Dental implant placement and restoration
• Root canal treatment
• Routine and surgical tooth extractions
• Selected wisdom tooth extractions
• Dentures and partial dentures
• Periodontal treatment
• TMJ management and occlusal appliances
• Professional teeth whitening
• Limited orthodontic treatment and retainers
• Radiosurgery
• Mucocele and frenum treatment
• Full-mouth rehabilitation
• Second-opinion consultations
• Comprehensive treatment consultations

Dr. Teuscher does not provide routine sedation dentistry and generally refers cases requiring deeper sedation or more complex surgical treatment to an appropriate specialist. He has developed strong working relationships with local endodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons and orthodontists. Those specialists frequently collaborate with his practice when a patient needs multidisciplinary treatment.

Second Opinions and Complex Dental Cases

Another important part of Dr. Teuscher's practice is helping patients understand their options when they have been given an extensive treatment plan or are experiencing problems with previous dental work. Patients regularly visit the practice for second opinions, including those who have been told they need significant restorative treatment.

Dr. Teuscher approaches these consultations from a conservative perspective. In some situations, he may agree that extensive treatment is necessary. In others, he may identify an appropriate alternative that preserves more natural tooth structure or allows treatment to proceed in stages.

He also evaluates patients whose previous crowns, restorations or other dental work may be failing. Some of the most challenging cases he manages involve patients who have gone 10, 15 or even 20 years without comprehensive dental care. Rebuilding oral health in these situations can require careful sequencing, restorative planning and collaboration with specialists.

The objective is not simply to perform as many procedures as possible. It is to determine which treatment makes the most sense for that individual patient.

A Small, One-Dentist Family Practice

Dr. Teuscher values the personal relationships that can develop in a small dental practice. Many of his patients have been with him for decades, including patients who continued seeing him after he left his father's practice and established his own office. Much of the practice continues to grow through referrals from current patients, as well as referrals from dental specialists in the community. Patients range widely in age. Dr. Teuscher has cared for very young children as well as patients well into their 90s, and he particularly enjoys working with older adults and geriatric patients.

His goal is to create an environment where patients do not feel like a number and where recommendations are made with the same care and consideration he would want for his own family.

Outside the Office

Dr. Teuscher remains active in the Vancouver community and enjoys serving through his church.

Outside dentistry, he is a private pilot and enjoys traveling, skiing, scuba diving and basketball. A longtime musician, he has a particular interest in playing the piano.

Most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Caryn; their four children, Tiana, Carson, Brigitta and Gemma; and their seven grandchildren.