New Patients
Your first visit, and what actually happens.
No treatment is done to you on the first visit unless you are in pain. It is an examination and a conversation — and nothing is decided until you understand your options.
The First Visit
What to expect
- 1
Paperwork and history
A medical and dental history form, including your current medications — this matters more than people expect, since a great many common prescriptions affect the mouth. Arriving ten minutes early gives you time to complete it unhurried.
- 2
Conversation first
Before anything is examined, we ask what brought you in, what has troubled you in the past, and what you would like to be different. If you are anxious, this is the moment to say so.
- 3
Comprehensive examination
Each tooth and existing restoration, the gums and bone support, the bite and any signs of wear or grinding, and an oral cancer screening of the soft tissues.
- 4
Imaging as needed
Digital X-rays where they are warranted, and a 3D scan if implants or complex treatment are being considered. Digital sensors use a fraction of the radiation of the older film systems.
- 5
Findings, explained
We go through what we found with the images on screen so you can see what we are describing, rather than being asked to take it on trust.
- 6
A written plan
If treatment is needed, you leave with it in writing — each procedure, the fee, the estimated insurance contribution, and your estimated portion. For larger cases, phased so you can see what is urgent and what can wait.
If You Are Nervous
You are far from alone in this
A substantial share of the people who walk through our door have been putting off dental care — sometimes for years, sometimes for decades. Often what finally brings them in is pain, or a tooth that broke, or a photograph they did not like.
Whatever the reason, and however long it has been, nobody here is going to lecture you. Shame is not a useful clinical tool and we have no interest in it.
What does help is telling us. When we know you are anxious we slow down, explain before we do rather than after, agree a signal for you to stop us at any point, and break treatment into shorter appointments if that makes it easier. These are small adjustments and they make a considerable difference.
Questions
Before you come in
How long will the first appointment take?
Allow about an hour for a comprehensive new patient examination. A specialty consultation for implants or reconstruction usually runs a similar length, sometimes slightly longer if 3D imaging is needed.
We schedule enough time that nobody is hurried. If you have questions, this is the appointment to ask them.
Will I have treatment on the first visit?
Usually not, and that is deliberate. The first visit is an examination and a conversation — we want to understand the whole picture before recommending anything.
The exception is if you are in pain. If something is hurting, tell us when you book and we will make time to address it that day.
It has been a very long time since I saw a dentist.
You will not be the first person that week, and nobody here is going to make you feel bad about it.
People stay away for all sorts of reasons — a bad experience years ago, cost, fear, or simply life getting in the way. What matters is where things stand now and what we do about it. We will go at whatever pace you are comfortable with.
I am genuinely frightened of the dentist. What can you do?
Tell us when you book, and tell us again when you arrive. It changes how we run the appointment — more explanation, more warning before anything happens, and an agreed signal to stop at any point.
Dental anxiety is extremely common and it is not something to be embarrassed about. Many of our patients came to us specifically because they had been avoiding treatment for years.
Can I bring somebody with me?
Of course, and we would encourage it for any consultation about major treatment. A second set of ears is genuinely useful when there is a lot of information to take in, and it helps to have someone to talk it over with afterward.
Talk it through with a specialist.
Most people considering implants or major reconstruction have been thinking about it for a long time. A conversation costs nothing and there is never any pressure.
40 West 86th Street, Suite 1C · New York, NY 10024