Buto & Alter Orthodontics
Rick Alter, DDS, MS:
Practice Profile Page

Buto & Alter Orthodontics
Thousand Oaks, CA Buto & Alter Orthodontics
Oxnard, CA

★★★★★

35 REVIEWS
0 BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

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DENTAL TREATMENTS OFFERED

Braces

Clear aligners

Retainers

Jaw surgery

Comprehensive orthodontics

Space maintainers

Palatal expanders

Headgears

Interceptive orthodontics

CLEAR ALIGNER SERVICES

OFFICE HOURS (THOUSAND OAKS)

Monday: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm

Tuesday: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm

Thursday: 8:15 am to 5:00 pm

Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Saturday: Closed

Sunday: Closed

OFFICE HOURS (OXNARD)

Monday: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Tuesday: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Thursday: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Friday: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday: Closed

Sunday: Closed

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BEFORE & AFTER PHOTO GALLERY

PATIENT REVIEWS

As an adult getting braces for the first time and having a very crowded mess for teeth, I was a little scared. One year later, I now have the most perfect and straight teeth anyone could possibly ask for! Dr. Alter was so precise in his work and completely transformed my smile. I honestly did not expect them to ever look this great.  He and his ENTIRE staff also made the entire process a great experience.  I actually enjoyed going in for my appointments and felt like I was visiting friends! This was a first for me as I am not typically a fan of going to the dentist.  I cannot say enough about Dr. Alter and his office, and would of course highly recommend them – already have to family and friends!

Doctors Buto and Alter are amazing! I love my new smile! They were conservative in their approach giving me free office visits for over a year before they decided my growth was ready for braces, where the 4 other offices we met with wanted to start immediately. Their rates were right in line with the others, too. Highly recommend this team! And my brother just started his treatment. Can’t wait to see his new smile in a couple years!

I highly recommend Buto and Alter Orthodontics! My daughter and I got braces around the same time and I even got mine off earlier than expected! She isn’t done yet, but I don’t mind still frequenting the office because the orthodontists and their staff are warm, friendly, and fun to be around! Since getting my braces off, I always get compliments on my teeth and I have no doubt my daughter will have the same experience:)

Dr. Alter is amazing! I first brought my twins in almost four years ago to be evaluated for braces and they recently “graduated” from the office with the most beautiful smiles. The office is staff is professional, the office is immaculately clean, and Dr. Alter always runs on time. Dr. Alter is kind and always has time to answer questions. I will definitely be bringing my youngest child to him!!

Five stars may seem insurmountable, but it is just simply deserved. I cannot imagine going to any other Orthodontist. From my first day they have been my friends, not people I dreaded. Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto have skills and understandings beyond what I can comprehend and they use them in unique and creative ways. “Customer Satisfaction” is their ultimate goal, and whenever I was concerned, they were more than happy to schedule an appointment to talk, even try something new to make sure I got the result I wanted. They aren’t machines. They are genuine people who talk things through, who ask your opinion, who give you options, and ultimately, give you what you want. Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto are unequaled examples of professionalism and determination. My teeth were an absolute wreck. Weird shapes, weird sizes, and they didn’t even fit in my jaw. By the book, you pull a tooth. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to have an odd number of teeth. I thought my pleas were in vain, but they simply said “okay” and got working to find some alternative way to deal with my problem, and they did. People tell me now that I have perfect teeth; I never could have imagined that without them. No other orthodontist could have given me what I needed. The services of this partnership are unparalleled, and to them I owe my greatest thanks and beautiful smile.

Dr. Alter has been my daughters ortho for the last 20 months.  She has also seen Buto.  The entire office has been courteous, warm and efficient.  There is hardly any waiting!  They stuck to the braces plan and she just got her braces off yesterday.  They delivered a beautiful smile as promised.

I have been going to Dr. Alter for a few years now. You really won’t find a better orthodontist in this area. I used a different orthodontist for my braces back when I was in middle school and my teeth ended up moving after the braces came off because the orthodontist told me I didn’t have to wear my retainers anymore. When I chose to get Invisalign at Dr. Alter’s office to straighten my teeth again, he helped me throughout the whole process and made it very easy. He is great at what he does. The whole office is extremely friendly as well.

Dr Alter and his staff are great!  I had to get braces again in my 30’s because I didn’t wear my retainer in my teens.  At my consultation Dr. Alter discussed with me what the braces would do for my teeth and then delivered the expected results on a compressed time schedule necessary due to an unrelated medical condition.  The office is clean, the staff is professional, friendly, on-time, comfortable, and pleasant.  I am thrilled with my teeth, now.  I’ve already referred friends and will be taking my kids there when that time comes.  I can’t say enough good things about the whole experience!

Dr. Alter and the office staff are AMAZING!!!!! I had adult braces for the last two years and today (literally just got them off today) I have a million dollar smile. As a young kid I had braces done by another orthodontist located on Ventura Road in Oxnard, CA (I will keep his name confidential) and my midline was so off it looked like I had three front teeth. Of Course I did my research before trusting someone else with the care of my teeth and THERE IS NO ONE BETTER THAN Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto. All of the office staff from the front desk, to finances, to the dental assistants to the doctors are all super professional, caring, humorous, calming and everything else you ever wanted from an ortho staff. I love love love them as much as I love love love my new smile. I would recommend this office to everyone and anyone who needs braces. Seriously I don’t ever do yelp reviews unless the service is above amazing.

I never expected such a a great job from Doctor Alter, I do not have enough words to make a description of my daughter’s teeth in the beginning,when we went the first time to see Doctor Alter, It was a kind of scary, after five or six year, It was like a miracle Doctor Alter made a beautiful job with my daughter, her teeth are perfect now. Doctor Alter is one of my idols, I feel a lot respect for him, the rest of my life I am going to be thankful to him. Quisiera decirles a mis compatriotas mexicanos, no vayan a Tijuana ha arreglarles los dientes de sus hijos, sale mas caro, pierde uno mucho tiempo, ademas del peligro de los narcos y del viaje, y lo mas importante a veces durante el ajuste de los dientes, mi hija se quejaba de dolor, hablaba a la oficina e inmediatamente la atendian y nunca me cobraron extra. Aprovecho para mencionar que le dan a uno facilidades de pago. El Doctor Alter, es joven, con mucho talento y muy sencillo, hizo un milagro con los dientes de mi hija, toda mi vida, vivire agradecido a el. No quiziera olvidar mencionar el buen trato y generosidad de Veronica que tuvo durante todos estos años, su ayuda bilingue, me facilito mucho para hacer las citas de acuerdo a mis ocupaciones

Dr. Alter and his team are fantastic!  Every ounce of your experience is unparalleled.  From the reception team, to the assistants, to Dr. Alter himself you feel like the number one priority.  I went to Dr. Alter for secondary orthodontic work and would recommend him to ANY of my family or friends.  He’s quick, courteous and honest! Doesn’t get much better than that.

We can’t say enough about Dr. Alter and his staff! From the very beginning we have enjoyed our experience with Dr. Alter. He explains everything thoroughly and we feel extremely confident that our son is receiving excellent orthodontic care. Dr. Alter’s staff are always friendly and helpful. Our experience thus far has been phenomenal and we cannot wait to see our son’s teeth when the braces come off. Thank you Dr. Alter and staff!

I had my orthodontic treatment using invisalign, in preparation for crowns. The care administered by Dr. Alter and his team was excellent. Their work was of the highest quality, and they all went above and beyond in providing timely, effective, and thorough services. The front office provided a complete explanation of the invisalign process. They were friendly and highly flexible in adjusting appointments. The back office was very attentive, and juggled schedules and their own times to meet my needs. Dr. Alter’s knowledge and guidance through the entire process were first-rate. Dr. Alter worked closely with my dentist to ensure his work in combination with the crown work were a complete success. He developed alternative guards and retainers in support of the crowns and teeth whitening. He also provided me great information for financial issues associated with the dental services. The results – fantastic! I highly recommend the Buto and Alter Orthodontics office to anyone.

All three of my sons had braces, all in the care of Buto and Alter.  I can’t say enough positive things about this practice.  The boys’ teeth look better than I could have imagined.  In each case, Dr. Alter made sure everything looked perfect before removing the braces.  In addition to them being top notch orthodontists, the staff is all so pleasant.  It was always nice going in there because there was such a positive vibe in the office.  I (we) can’t say enough good things about Buto and Alter.  I highly, highly recommend them!

I went to Dr. Alter after transferring from another orthodontist. Dr. Alter was able to work with the other doctor’s placement of the brackets and correct my crossbite. The end result is spectacular! I just got my braces off and I no longer have a crossbite. Dr. Alter could not have done more of a fantastic job, especially since I even thought about going the surgical route. Not only is Dr. Alter always very cheerful, so is his staff. The staff is very accommodating and very friendly. I couldn’t be happier with my smile! Thank you Dr. Alter and staff! 🙂

A few years ago it was Redmon, Buto and Alter.  That’s when I went to this office.  It was a great place and the staff was always friendly and so were the Drs.  Everyone was also so helpful and they had a great system where you would just check yourself in.  I’d highly recommend them especially with the bad teeth I use to have

Back about September of 2003, at age 7, my granddaughter’s dentist, Dr. Ryan Yamashiro, DDS, MD, diagnosed her as having a severely deformed mouth that would require significant orthodontic treatment and most likely jaw surgery.  A birth defect gave her a significant under-bite and malformed side teeth.  When I asked Dr. Yamashiro to recommend an orthodontist, he strongly recommended Redmond, Buto & Alter in Oxnard.  In October of 2003 she was given a thorough examination by Dr. Tim T. Buto, DDS, who provided us with a clear understanding that her extensive Class III orthodontic problems could take years to resolve.  Dr. Buto, because of her age, chose to re-evaluate her dental and skeletal development for at least a year.  After monitoring her for two years, treatment began in earnest in October 2005.  In 2012, Dr. Rick D. Alter, DDS, MS, began preparing us for my granddaughter’s jaw surgery.  Dr. Alter arranged for her to be seen by Professor (Dr.) Earl G. Freymiller, DMD, MD, Chair of UCLA’s Oral and Maxilliofacial Surgery.  Dr. Freymiller confirmed that jaw surgery would be needed, or “she will have dental problems the rest of her life.”  It wasn’t until May 2015 that we were able to have Dr. Wayne Ozaki, MD, DDS, Professor & Director of Craniofacial Surgery at UCLA perform 5 hours of surgery to correct my granddaughter’s deformed jaws.  Throughout the 12 years, Drs. Buto and Alter, without doubt, provided the very best orthodontic care.  Their staff are all the “cream of the crop”; always friendly, understanding, efficient and expertly skilled.  Every time we left their office we knew “the team” gave outstanding care.  I particularly was impressed with Dr. Rick D. Alter, and his “above and beyond” concern that everything be done right.  He helped ensure the surgery performed on my granddaughter was done by the ‘best of the best’ oral and maxillofacial surgeon.  Dr. Alter kept in constant contact before and after the surgery, helping to allay our many fears.  To anyone considering orthodontic care, let it be known we strongly recommend “Buto & Alter Orthodontics”!

We had consulted with an orthodontist before coming to Dr. Alter and we are so thankful we did! Him and his staff are amazingly patient and knowledgeable with all of the details of the treatment. From the initial call, we received a welcome packet which set up my expectations for the first appointment. They are flexible on scheduling always prompt at returning calls. They helped explained the process in detail and never tried to pressure us into unnecessary procedures. Most importantly they made sure my daughter was comfortable, she actually looks forwards to her appointments!

I was recommended to Dr. Buto and Dr. Alter when I lived in Thousand Oaks. They first saw my daughter when she was just 8 years old. They monitored her every 6 months until she was ready for her braces at the age of 15. During this time we had moved out of the area, over 100 miles away but chose to continue our visits to their office. Dr. Buto recommended a Orthodontic closer to our new home but we decided that we wanted only the best doctor for our daughter. Dr. Buto and his staff are amazing and I would highly recommend them. Thank you for the care and the beautiful smile that you have put on my daughter’s face.

Getting braces at 30 has been an interesting experience, and I’ve been happy to have Dr. Alter and staff as my guides along the journey. The office is clean, well maintained. There’s a healthy amount of traffic through the place (parents with their kids getting braces, and the occasional adult patient, like myself). The staff and orthodontic techs are very friendly. Dr. Alter is great. I’ve had my braces on for about 3-4 months now, and although, yes, it was initially very uncomfortable, it’s gotten a lot better. Dr. Alter and staff are very good about getting me in if there’s an “emergency” (broken bracket, something is poking me in my mouth, etc). Pricing seemed to be quite fair, and was ~$900 under what a competitor was quoting. I would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Alter & staff.

This is the ONLY orthodontist you want for braces! My teenagers had beautiful results with big, wide beautiful smiles. I decided to get braces to fix my extremely crooked teeth. Dr. Alter worked wonders. He wasn’t satisfied until my teeth were perfect and the results came sooner than expected. Thank you Dr. Alter and your wonderfully competent and cheerful staff. I actually enjoyed this! You can only expect SPECTACULAR RESULTS!! Dr. Buto did a fantastic job on my children as teenagers.

Doctors Alter and Buto are truly fantastic orthodontists. I am a general dentist in the area. I have never written a review about anyone in my profession before but feel compelled to let as many people know how happy my patients and I have been with their office. I have been working with them for many years. I refer all of my patients in need of orthodontics to them as well as family and friends. Over the years I have heard huge praise from the hundreds of people I have sent there and being a dentist I look at the before and after of these cases from a different perspective; perhaps a more critical view. I have to say I have not seen anything but the best come out of this office. I have seen remarkable changes in not only the appearance of smiles but even more important, the function of the dentition. And to top it all off the staff is amazing, friendly, helpful and really know their stuff.

Dr. Alter is the ONLY orthodontist you should go to! I had extremely crooked teeth and now have a perfect, wide smile with straight teeth. Dr. Buto was equally spectacular with braces for my two teenagers. The entire staff is extremely competent, professional and cheerful. I actually enjoyed every appointment. They are very accomodating with your schedule and the braces came off earlier than expected. Don’t look anywhere else….you get your dream, perfect teeth here!

Doctors Alter and Buto are truly fantastic orthodontists. I am a general dentist in the area. I have never written a review about anyone in my profession before but feel compelled to let as many people know how happy my patients and I have been with their office. I have been working with them for many years. I refer all of my patients in need of orthodontics to them as well as family and friends. Over the years I have heard huge praise from the hundreds of people I have sent there and being a dentist I look at the before and after of these cases from a different perspective; perhaps a more critical view. I have to say I have not seen anything but the best come out of this office. I have seen remarkable changes in not only the appearance of  smiles but even more important, the function of the dentition. And to top it all off the staff is amazing, friendly, helpful and really know their stuff.

My family’s orthodontic care has spanned almost two decades (all five of us have had braces). We originally began with the excellent care of Dr. Buto, Dr. Alter and Dr. Redmond; and we are finishing up with the unparalleled care of Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto. The longevity of my relationship with Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto’s office is a testimonial in, and of, itself. The Alter/Buto “family” strives for excellence, compassion, quality care, and affordability. I would not trust another orthodontist to work on me, my family, or friends; that’s how remarkable Dr. Alter’s and Dr. Buto’s service is. The end product of these two doctors speaks for itself, we all have beautiful smiles (this was no easy task because the kids’ treatment was very involved). If you are looking for orthodontic treatment, your first call should be to Dr. Alter/Dr. Buto’s office, when you meet the team you will not have to look further. Many thanks to the entire staff, especially Veronica, Sue, Maria, Dr. Alter and Dr. Buto.
Lorie A. (Oxnard Office)

We are just starting with our second and youngest daughter at Dr. Alter’s office in need of quality orthodontic care, and just simply would not even consider using another office or provider. The quality of care, level of service and attention to detail are all incredible and they make the process as pleasant as is possible. The supporting cast and crew are all wonderful, talented and a joy to interact with from the start to finish. Thank you and the smiles created are priceless !!!  🙂

This place is fabulous!   Drs. Buto and Alter are friendly, engaging, professional and honest. The location is great, the office is clean, the staff is curteous, caring and warm.  I was very hesitant to pursue orthodontic treatment as an adult.  Drs. Buto and Alter made the experience more pleasant than I could ever hope for.  I would recommend them to anyone without any hesitation.  I love my new smile!  And I would do it all over again.

My teeth had moved after getting my wisdom teeth removed and they were bad! My dentist thankfully referred me to their office and we decided Invisalign was the best route. Its rare to hear someone rave about their orthodontist but this is an exception. I have had the pleasure of getting my ortho work with Dr. Alter and his incredible team for the past year or so and I can’t sing their praises enough. From beginning to end they have made me feel so comfortable and every single person you come in contact with in their office is sweeter than the next. They treat you like more than a patient and take pride in tracking your process along the way. I get so many compliments on my teeth now so I would happily recommend them to anyone. If you are looking for the best, I am telling you… look no further 🙂

I just HAVE to take the time to write about the wonderful experience that my sons and I had with this orthodontic office. Dr. Alter is a genius in handling difficult orthodontic cases! My son (17 yrs old) had had two previous orthodontists with expensive treatments and neither of them could fix his crossbite, but after Dr. Alter’s treatment he has a beautiful smile and no longer has any jaw pain. I also had a difficult orthodontic dilemma myself, after having 4 years of braces as a teenager, my teeth were still pushed in and had gaps in between. Dr. Alter took my case and delivered on what he promised, even though I am almost 50 years old. He coordinated my orthodontic work with my dentist so that he could work on improving my smile. The office staff is very friendly and loving, careful when working in our mouth so that we could have the best experience possible with the least discomfort. We hardly waited when we had our appointments, and the scheduler was always accommodating to our tight schedules. My family and I have had many experiences with orthodontists in the past, so the care by Dr. Alter and his staff has been BY FAR the best we have had in all aspects. Highly recommend Dr. Alter as your first choice or if you need a second opinion after having had a bad experience with other orthodontists. Well worth your time and money!
Dr. Coppa

Both of my kids have gone through the braces process with Doctors Buto and Alter and (formerly) Redmond. All the Doctors here are simply the best! The staff is very friendly as are the nurse/tech staff. They keep you informed of your progress every step of the way. They do an excellent job of convincing the kids to take care of their teeth. Everyone in this office smiles! They are even super-nice to people like me – who forget their appointments all the time! The years we have spent with these folks have been fun, professional and successful. My kids teeth are perfect.

We had consulted with an orthodontist before coming to Dr. Alter and we are so thankful we did! Him and his staff are amazingly patient and knowledgeable with all of the details of the treatment. From the initial call, we received a welcome packet which set up my expectations for the first appointment. They are flexible on scheduling always prompt at returning calls. They helped explained the process in detail and never tried to pressure us into unnecessary procedures. Most importantly they made sure my daughter was comfortable, she actually looks forwards to her appointments!

Don’t bother shopping around anymore.  They’re the real deal here, both the office staff and doctors.  There’s always attention to detail from everyone.  Friendly staff and accommodating when I either have to reschedule appointments or have changes with insurance issues.  We mostly saw Dr. Alter but if he ever wasn’t available then Dr. Buto was on hand to see us.  Dr. Alter was patient with my kids and with me and all my questions.  Very comfortable environment for the whole family.  When I ran into our pediatrician who was bringing his kids here, I knew I scored with this decision.  Call them.  Seriously!

I was referred to Buto & Alter Orthodontics by an oral surgeon that I have been seeing.  Being a middle aged adult I had put off getting braces, bad decision.  Dr. Alter just removed my braces a few days ago. It seemed like yesterday that they had put them on.  Everyone in this office is just amazing, they are highly skilled, competent, caring and a pleasure to be around.  Having spent many afternoons at other orthodontic offices with my children I feel that I can make an informed recommendation about this office.  This has a very positive experience and I am going to miss all the smiling faces in this office when I’m done

I told my dentist I wanted adult braces and he said he wouldn’t send me to anyone else but Dr. Alter. After 18 months, I just got them off and I couldn’t be happier with my new smile! Dr. Alter is a highly skilled perfectionist and he and his staff are very professional and friendly.The whole office is clean and relaxing, appointments are easy to schedule and accommodating. Brilliant choice if you want the best.

I first encountered the superlative staff of Buto and Alter a couple years ago when I first had braces and due to no fault of theirs, I returned recently to touch up the gaps that not wearing your retainer will cause. The first class staff is always friendly and genuinely happy to have you, they make having braces as smooth sailing as it could possibly be. Im sure we all have had someone working on our teeth at one point in time that we felt as if we could have done better ourselves blind folded. Not the case here, in fact the exact opposite. Dr. Alter is always fun to talk to and a very cool all around person, ultimately I believe he is the best at what he does. Piece together the incomparable staff along with the hard work and care from Dr. Alter and you have the best orthodontics office in Ventura County.

A WORD FROM YOUR DOCTOR