Your First Visit

Our approach with you and all of our patients is one of wellness and prevention. This approach will help you avoid costly dental emergencies, experience less dental pain and save money overall.

For the adult first visit, the focus is on getting a thorough picture of your dental health, understanding your personal goals for oral health, and developing a plan to help you meet those goals. We will introduce you to the computerized Dental Fitness Exam that is a tool we use to help our patients see where they currently stand relative to the goals they have set for themselves. The teeth will all be examined individually to determine the current health of all of your teeth. The soft tissue areas are screened for oral cancer. We will also likely request that we take pictures of your teeth using digital x-rays, which require 50-90% less radiation than traditional x-rays. A visual tour will also be taken using our intraoral camera so we can both see and talk about various aspects of your current oral health.

By the end of this appointment, which usually takes about 90 minutes, you and I should have a clear picture as to your dental health, and concerns. In most cases I will discuss future steps and options for any treatment needs. In some cases where treatment needs are extensive, I may suggest returning for a separate appointment to give me time to organize and study the clinical information so we can have an organized, clear discussion of treatment needs and options that you have to correct these concerns.

Which treatment you choose and how fast you want your treatment to progress are up to you. I will gladly discuss all of this with you. The bottom line is that we want you to feel comfortable and confident in whatever course of treatment you choose that it is consistent with what you value and is the best fit for you.

The scope and content of this appointment will likely depend on the age and comfort level of the patient. For the little ones, ages 3-4, our goal is to make the appointment as fun as possible. The general goal is to clean the teeth and identify any dental or developmental concerns and to introduce the process of �going to the dentist� in a friendly non-threatening manner.

As the child patient's mouth grows, usually age 6 or sometimes sooner, digital x-rays, using very thin, flexible sensors instead of film, are used to obtain images of the inside of the teeth, and fluoride is applied to strengthen the enamel and prevent cavities in addition to the cleaning. Assessment of the eruption of adult teeth and developing alignment is very important at this age. The parents will be updated as to the child's dental health and any recommended treatment.

For the teen patient, in addition to the tooth exam and cleaning, we continue to focus on the developing alignment of the teeth as well as the eruption of the wisdom teeth. Further shift toward patient education and encouraging habits that with be consistent with dental health for life.