First Visit

On your first dental visit this is what will happen:

We will ask you to complete a medical/dental health history / questionnaire. If you have dental insurance, we will try to evaluate your benefits for you. We will find out if you have a specific painful problem that needs immediate attention or if you need a routine exam. We will do a complete exam that includes checking your soft tissues, your teeth, your bite, your jaw joints, your gums and periodontal condition, and your smile. We will take x-rays if you do not have a recent set. We can often use your previous x-rays if current and well taken. Using the x-rays we will look for cavities, bony abnormalities like cysts, infection, tumors, blood diseases, the status of the periodontal bone, etc. If your bite is not solid, or if you are missing teeth or require extensive dental work, we may take study models of you teeth. We can then examine the models for spacing, rotation, angulations etc. We will review your dental and medical histories to be sure there are no problems or limitations to our planned treatment.  If scheduled for a dental cleaning, we will clean your teeth and evaluate your cleaning ability and any recommendations to improve your oral hygiene. If you have periodontal disease we will evaluate its extent and recommend appropriate treatment.