The only way to have a healthy mouth for life is with the help of a knowledgeable and experienced dentist. Your at-home oral hygiene habits are essential, but these efforts need to work in tandem with professional dental care. If you do not have a dentist currently, then it’s time to find a new partner in your oral health at a clinic you can trust.
For those who haven’t been to the dentist in some time, you may be struggling to remember precisely what happens during your first dentist visit at a new clinic. This article will answer your questions so you can arrive at your appointment at Bristol Dental Clinic feeling calm, confident, and well-prepared.
What Happens at Your First Dentist Visit
1. Arrival and Paperwork
Your appointment begins when you arrive at our dental clinic. Our friendly front desk staff will welcome you with a smile and then request that you complete all essential paperwork. Your paperwork includes your oral health history, broader medical history, and insurance details. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
When you visit Bristol Dental Clinic, you can expect a smooth and welcoming check-in process. Once the paperwork is complete, your new dentist will see you shortly.
2. Discussion and New Patient Exam
Next, you meet with your dental team. We’ll discuss your dental history, concerns, priorities, and oral hygiene habits. This information helps inform the examination, as well as our recommendations and your tailored treatment plan.
Following the discussion, we proceed with the new patient exam. We assess your overall health by visually checking for cavities, gum disease, and signs of infection or oral cancer. Additionally, we measure the gap between your teeth and gums (the periodontal pockets) to check for gum recession.
3. Dental X-Rays
In addition to visually assessing your mouth, we may also take X-rays to identify underlying issues that may not be visible to the naked eye. Dental X-rays reveal a detailed view of the teeth, bones, and soft tissues that make up your mouth. We use them to detect oral health issues such as cavities, jawbone deterioration, infection, impacted teeth, cysts, and abscesses.
4. Cleaning and Scaling
After your thorough examination, your dental hygienist proceeds with scaling and polishing. This procedure is a deep dental cleaning focusing on removing plaque, tartar, and light stains.
Using a hand scaler or ultrasonic instrument, we remove plaque and tartar build-ups on your teeth, along your gum line, and below your gum line. If not removed, these can cause cavities and gingivitis. Tartar (hardened plaque) can only be removed through professional dental scaling.
Then, your teeth are buffed and polished to remove light staining. Although this procedure does not remove deep stains, it does leave your teeth noticeably brighter.
Combined, scaling and polishing help protect your teeth from oral health issues, combat bad breath, and create a brighter, healthier smile.
5. Treatment Planning
Based on your examination results and oral health goals, we develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. It outlines any necessary treatments and may include recommendations for optional (but still beneficial) procedures. For instance, you may need to schedule another appointment for a filling or root canal, or opt for a cosmetic dentistry treatment, like teeth whitening.
Your treatment plan is designed to maintain or restore your oral health and help you move closer to your dental goals. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask.
6. Discuss Preventive Care
Education plays a key role in preventive dentistry. Consequently, your dentist is always available to offer suggestions on how you can improve your daily oral health. Proper at-home oral hygiene is crucial for preventing oral health issues, but lifestyle choices also play a vital role.
Just as you need to brush your teeth twice a day, you also should minimize your sugar intake, avoid using tobacco, and take steps to protect your teeth during certain sports.
Please ask your dentist for tips on proper oral hygiene practices and preventative care.
7. Schedule Your Follow-Up Appointment
For most patients, we recommend biannual appointments. Receiving a professional dental cleaning and examination every six months helps maintain your oral health and protect against dental issues.
However, you may need a more rigorous and frequent appointment schedule if you are facing severe oral health challenges. Some procedures also require multiple appointments. In this case, we will book your next visits accordingly.
How to Prepare For Your Appointment
Once you’ve made your first dentist appointment at Bristol Dental Clinic, you should do a few things to prepare. Following these steps helps ensure that your visit is efficient and seamless.
- Compile your medical and oral health records, along with a list of your current medications.
- Complete any preliminary forms when available. It will streamline your initial appointment.
- Write down a list of your oral health questions or concerns so we can address them during your visit.
- Double-check your insurance coverage. Bring your insurance details with you.
- Arrive a few minutes before your scheduled appointment time. It provides you with enough time to complete all paperwork and set up your account with us.
The Importance of Regular Dental Checkups
Regular dental checkups play a crucial role in preserving your oral health. Even if you diligently brush and floss your teeth daily at home, you still need to visit Bristol Dental Clinic every six months for a comprehensive patient exam and professional cleaning.
Some plaque buildup is inevitable, even with good at-home oral hygiene habits. After all, your mouth is full of oral bacteria that are constantly trying to undo your good work. Eventually, this leftover plaque hardens, forming tartar. Your dentist can only remove tartar with special dental tools used during dental cleanings.
If you skip your biannual appointment, the tartar accumulations will remain and cause oral health issues, such as tooth decay.
Your mouth also needs to be regularly examined for the development of oral health issues. It is the only way to catch problems early and administer prompt and effective treatment. Most dental health conditions do not cause pain in their early stages, so only a professional exam can detect them.
Book Your New Patient Exam at Bristol Dental Clinic
Bristol Dental Clinic is a family, cosmetic, emergency, and specialty dentistry clinic in Mississauga. We take pride in caring for each member of your family at every stage of life.
Our comprehensive dental care treatments provide the highest standard of dental care to prevent health issues from occurring whenever possible and to treat them effectively when they do.
Our clinic is fully digital, equipped with the latest technology, and staffed by highly experienced dental professionals.
To book an appointment with a dentist in Mississauga, call Bristol Dental Clinic at 866-673-2109 or contact us here.
