What Happens During Your Initial Dental Checkup at Plaza Dental?

Hi, Dr Rachel Hartl here from Plaza Dental at Mackay. I just finished up with our new client John from North Mackay. It was his first consultation here with us. As a matter of fact, it was his first time seeing a dentist after a long time… And his comment to me at the time of his appointment was: Wow, that was really smooth, much smoother than I expected…

This got me thinking… a lot of people probably don’t know what happens at their initial dental consultation, so I thought I’d make a quick video explaining what happens at your initial consultation here at Plaza Dental.

The procedure for your initial dental checkup starts before you even arrive at the clinic. Once you have made that appointment, we will send you a welcome pack. This pack contains information about our practice, how to find us, as well as a medical history questionnaire to fill out.

This is important because certain medical conditions can affect the health of your mouth and the way we look after you. If you’re able to fill this in and bring this to you, it will save you time when you arrive. If you’re not able to fill it out before the appointment, that’s ok, then simply come a little earlier so you can complete it before seeing your dentist.

Once you have checked into the appointment and been welcomed by the staff, they will go through all your details to check we have everything right, you will be taken to the treatment room. Once in there, your dentist will have a good chat with you about your past dental history, any problems that have occurred in the past, and also how you feel about the current condition of your teeth and your dental health, and what your hopes are for your future dental health.

This gives us time to get to know you, and to understand exactly what you want, hope and require from us here. After this, your dentist will start checking inside your mouth.

Now, the procedure for the examination doesn’t just involve looking at your teeth. It involves looking at all the tissues in and around your mouth to make sure that your gums and your soft tissues are healthy. Checking for signs of anything untoward, as well as checking for signs of diseases of the gums.

We’ll also assess any old fillings, caps, crowns, or anything else that you have had done. We will look at the way your teeth fit together, check for any problems with your jaw and the muscles around your jaw. Once we have done all of this, we will then discuss our findings with you. In addition to doing this, we may need to get some x-rays. Often, we are able to get these x-rays at the practice, but sometimes for more complicated issues, we may require you to get a larger x-ray, which is taken outside of the practice.

For the majority of patients with fairly straight forward issues, we can discuss all those concerns and come up with a plan to get you back to great dental health at that appointment. For some people requiring more complex care, often we need to get further information such as x-rays. Sometimes, we may get digital scans of your teeth to put with those x-rays. This will provide us with all the information we need to come up with a thorough and comprehensive plan to get you back on the road to great dental health. All of this will be discussed with you at the time of your appointment, and should you need to come back for a second visit to discuss your plan further, then that visit is of course complimentary.

During this appointment, you are always welcome to ask any questions until you are fully comfortable with the whole process.

Once we are done, our friendly team at the front desk will make any further appointments if they are required.

As you can see, here at Plaza Dental, we take our time with you, and we are very thorough with every step we take with you to ensure you get the care and service you and your family deserve. If you like what you hear, and you are based in Mackay, we would love to look after you.

Simply send us a Direct Message on social media, call us on 07 4942 3272, or go to our website at plazadental.com.au and fill in an enquiry form, and our friendly team will arrange the appointment for you.

The content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. Plaza Dental does not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the content.

The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional personal diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your dentist or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a dental or medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read or seen on the Site.

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