The uncertainty that surrounds the first appointment can create anxiety for patients that are visiting a practice for the first time. We try to take away as much of that anxiety as possible by explaining the expectations clearly with regards to our practice and first visits.
Generally speaking, the goal of the first visit is to allow us to thoroughly assess your current oral and overall health, understand your past experiences with dental practices, establish your dental goals, and start thinking about options that will help you achieve those goals. Our initial visits are comprehensive, but as you will come to understand, each step is essential to allow us to provide quality, personalized dental care. You will find an overview of the first appointment below.
- You can expect to spend approximately 1.5 hours with us for your first visit
- We ask that you arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled visit to arrange any administrative details
- You will be greeted by a member of our administrative team and you will go through some of our practice policies as well as some general paperwork
- You will be introduced to your hygienist who will give you a brief walkthrough of the practice before taking you into the clinical area
- Your hygienist will begin by reviewing your medical and dental history
- We will then start with a comprehensive set of x-rays that will help us in your baseline dental health assessment
- We will complete comprehensive charting to identify periodontal health
- We will take pictures with our intra-oral cameras to document the current state of affairs
- You will receive a traditional “cleaning” with application of fluoride if necessary
- Your dentist will come in and conduct a thorough examination and discuss your dental goals
- Your dentist will discuss the findings and will start discussing next steps in your care
- Your hygienist will document all of your dentist’s findings and ask if you have any further questions
- Your hygienist will explain the next steps
- You will be brought out to the front where a member of our administrative team will help you arrange next steps and answer any further questions that you may have