What is a dental exam? What does it cost? How long does it take? Why do I need it if my mouth feels healthy? These are all common questions received from patients to dental practices. While dental exams often different from practice to practice, here is our approach to dental exams.
We have designated a Patient Care Specialist to take care of your needs from the moment you enter the front door. The Patient Care Specialist will be there to guide you and answer any questions you may have throughout the process. Our goal is to ensure the most enjoyable dental experience possible.
We want to create a long-term trusting relationship with our patients. It’s important to us that you feel comfortable with putting your trust in us with your oral health and smile. We aim to gain that trust in the first appointment, and this starts with us demonstrating our professionalism and care with a complimentary initial consultation.
This initial consultation appointment is a chance for you to meet the team, including our Patient Care Specialists, Hygienists, and team of Dentists. We do our best to understand your goals, preferences, and needs to establish if we are the right team and practice for you. We encourage you to ask any questions and raise concerns you may have about oral health care and the future of your smile. There is no fee for an initial consultation appointment.
A Comprehensive Oral Examination allows our dentists to properly assess your current oral health status. Once completed, we consult with our team and determine a recommended treatment plan that works fits with your goals and needs.
Throughout the exam, we answer any questions or concerns you may have about the examination process. We aim to be as transparent as possible to establish a trusting relationship while providing you with the best dental care possible.
We recommend a Comprehensive Oral Exam for all new patients. What does a Comprehensive Oral Exam entail? The examination includes a panoramic x-ray, an oral cancer screening, an intra-oral examination completed by the dentist, and an oral probing assessment completed by a hygienist. This comprehensive examination gives our dental team the chance to understand your exact oral health status and provides them with a strong foundation to establish a detailed treatment plan to reach your goals for your oral health and smile.
At Victoriapark Dental, we understand that emergencies happen and you may need our help outside of our designated practice hours. To accomplish our goal of establishing a trusting relationship, we want to be there for you to relieve the pain that may suddenly appear at any time day. Our caring and professional team is dedicated to providing you with full service oral health care, helping you avoid and eliminate any imminent or lingering pain that exists. Our Patient Care Specialist will greet you at the door and immediately start the process of taking care of your needs and ensure the process is as relaxing as possible. One of our dentists will then assess your situation, whether cosmetic or serious pain, and begin to diagnose your problem. A detailed treatment plan will be arranged for you given your specific situation and immediate needs.
The dentist will focus specifically on the pain causing treatment, but at your discretion, can broaden the investigation and perform a Complete Oral Examination (see above) to assess your complete oral health status and make sure there are no underlying issues. When the examination is finished, our team will provide you with a proposed treatment plan, the possible risks, and all associated fees. You will then be able to choose a solution that best fits your goals and needs. The dentist may also provide you with a prescription to help alleviate the pain and discomfort from the initial issue.
Upon completion of the emergency examination, patients typically choose to stay at Victoriapark Dental after experiencing such a friendly, professional, and effective treatment process. If you choose to only receive the one time treatment, we will send the treatment information to the dentist of your choice.
When a patient has a particular area of concern (specific tooth, area of gums, etc.), a specific exam is completed to target the specific area of concern to the patient. This exam is typically shorter and more precise, addressing the patient’s immediate concerns.
At Victoriapark Dental, we not only want to restore and maintain your oral health status, but also give you a beautiful smile that increases your self-confidence and overall happiness in life. To assess your smile, we use a technological tool called the Digital Smile Designer. This tool assists us in analyzing the different components of your smile, including your facial and dental proportions, and reports a series of high-resolution digital photographs and videos to enhance our understanding of the relationship between your teeth, lips, gums, which overall, combine to create your smile.
The Cosmetic Examination will include an assessment exam, a review of Victoriapark Dental “smile makeover” cases, and an in-depth conversation about your smile goals and the path we recommend to get there. If requested, we will provide a fee estimate and breakdown, as well as financing options and a schedule for the treatment plan.
During an Orthodontic Examination, our Dentist will discuss with you the different options suited to your goals and orthodontic needs. At Victoriapark Dental, there are many treatments offered to address rotated, crowded, or spaced out teeth. Once we establish your goals and orthodontic needs, we take intra and extra oral photos, along with any needed x-rays, using our Digital Scanning ITero system, which takes 3D digital images of your mouth.
These analytical tools help us to complete a facial profile assessment and occlusal analysis, leading to a detailed treatment plan, and the exact movements of your teeth along with an approximate time line of treatment. In addition, you will be provided with the various treatment options, any possible risks, and an outline of fees. This will allow you to choose the treatment plan that best fits your needs and goals.
The Recall Exam (Continuing Care Exam), also referred to as a “check-up”, is an extremely important component of oral health maintenance. This examination is completed for our existing patients at regular intervals, depending on the patient’s needs, to ensure long-term oral health.
A low-risk patient is recommended to have their Recall Exam every 9 months, while higher-risk patients should be seen frequently on a 3, 4, or 6-month interval. A full oral examination will be completed at these appointments, including x-rays and intra-oral photos to ensure that no new issues have arisen since the last Recall Exam. Armed with the results from the examination, the team at Victoriapark Dental will then provide options for treatment, allowing you to choose the plan that best suites you and your needs.
Our Patient Care Specialists can verify to check if your treatment is covered by your dental benefits. There is no need for you to ask your previous dentist for records, but if anything is required, with your permission, we are pleased to contact your previous office and make that transfer of records for you.