The dentist is not somebody you tend to see too often in your life, unless you are undergoing a special type of surgery that requires more frequent visits to monitor and complete. Usually, a healthy individual will end up seeing their dentist about two to three times a year for checkups or cleanings. At the very worst, a minor procedure may be done during one of these sessions to ensure that an individual’s dental health is on point. If you are seeing your regular dentist, then they will have all of your medical records and previous treatments on file. They will refer to this while seeing you and ask how your progress has been since the last visit. However, if you are seeing a dentist in Birmingham, MI for the first time because you just moved into the city or are switching dentists, you will have to do some homework in advance and bring some important documents.
What Do I Need to Bring?
You will be asked by the assistant to bring certain documents in advance before your first appointment. This may vary from practice to practice, but there are some general items you should always look out for whether they are explicitly mentioned or not. Aside from bringing your insurance card to the visit, you would be well advised to ask your general physician to fax a copy of your medical records over to the dentist you will be seeing. Due to the high volume of requests and demands that a medical practice will receive within a day, your best bet is to request it two weeks before your dental appointment. Likewise, you will want to ask your previous dentist to do the same with your dental records. It is much easier for a dentist to treat and diagnose you with any problems if they have a complete picture of your medical history, which includes information both the past and present.
What Should I Expect During My First Visit?
Your first visit will probably be longer than the ones following it, and this is because the dentist and their staff are getting to know you on a medical and professional level. This allows them to catch up to speed with the work done by your previous dentist, and set a course of action for you to follow for the next couple of months leading up to your next check-up. You will go through a full routine cleaning and inspection, take several x-rays, and be asked several questions about your dental habits. However, do not panic, as this is a perfectly normal part of the process and any dental practice. Future visits will ideally be shorter and less invasive if you do a good job of taking care of your teeth, which will make things much easier for your dentist the next time you arrive.
