When you walk into our Dental Studio you’ll be greeted by Serena – our Patient Care Coordinator who will seat you in our patient lounge area and provide you with a comfort menu – from which you may choose to order a cup of coffee or tea and biscuits or perhaps a cappuccino or a glass of sparkling mineral water. If you’re more in the mood for a cold beer or a glass of wine – all you have to do is ask!
Choose from an assortment of our trendy magazines such as Men’s Health, Vanity Fair or “O” magazine or just sit back and relax – we do our very best to respect our patients schedule so your waiting time is kept to a minimum.
Our Patient concierges will then seat you in one of our state-of-the-art operatories. During your appointment we have iTV goggles as well as blankets and neck support pillows to enhance your treatment session because we truly care about your comfort and want you to be as relaxed as possible during your time with us.
After treatment either Cerra or Christina will make sure that you get a nice fresh hot towel and a chance to freshen up before they escort you into a separate room where Serena will help deal with all your confidential dental and financial needs. This will be done in a private and relaxed setting. Our patients rave about the individualized attention we give them and how our new personalized approach to dentistry helps better manage their privacy.
Your First Visit to our Office
Your first visit to our Bayview Dental Studio involves some paperwork which all new patients must complete. You have the choice of downloading our patient history form from this site and filling it out ahead of time. This documentation is important as it allows Dr. Willoughby and his team to carefully review your medical history. When you share your medical history with our office – it is being done so under the strictest of confidence. This information becomes part of your electronic patient record which is stored and protected on our stand alone servers. Please be sure to provide complete, up-to-date information on your health. Inform our office if you have experienced recent hospitalization or surgery, or if you have recently been ill. Also tell us the names, doses, and frequency of any medications you are currently taking — whether prescription or over-the-counter products — and the name of your physician and any other healthcare providers including the names of your previous Dentist(s). Inform us of any changes in your health or medications. This information will help us select the safest and most effective method of treatment for you.
Your first visit to our office will typically include a digital X-ray call a Panorex that allows us to view the entire structure of the jaw, the position of any teeth that have not yet erupted, malformed roots, and tooth decay. This ‘overview’ of your dentition allows us to determine whether or not further digital x-rays are required. The need for additional x-rays or intra-oral pictures is based on a number of things including: the state of you existing dentition and surrounding bones; whether or not you have any impacted, missing or root filled teeth; the health of your TM Joints, the condition of your bite and the type of procedures you are interested in.
Sometimes, an impression of your teeth and a bite registration are required to further aid in a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Whatever records are required they are usually collected at this first appointment.
Sometimes record are required which need to be sent out for analysis such as a CT scan or an orthodontic Cephalometric analysis or an Oral DNA saliva test for gum disease. Theses tests results are usually reviewed with the patient at the next appointment when the patients treatment plan is discussed and reviewed. This second visit is referred to as the consultation visit and is required so that our staff has time to deal with insurance companies, calculate a predetermination of benefits and put together estimates for dental treatment.
Any insurance and financial elements are usually reviewed with the patient at this time. Once all this has been managed a series of treatment appointments are scheduled for the patient with Serena – our Patient Care Coordinator.
Regular Checkups
We encourage regular checkups for individuals age four and up. Regular checkups are important to:
- Check for problems that you might not see or feel
- Find early signs of decay and or periodontal disease
- Treat any potential oral health problems early, while they are still manageable
Regular checkups include a thorough cleaning, polishing, and an oral exam by the Dentist. During the oral exam, Dr. Willoughby will not only check the health of your mouth, teeth, gums, cheeks and tongue but he will also be checking the status of your existing fillings and restorations because constant pressure from chewing, grinding, or clenching can cause them to wear away, chip, or crack. Dr. Willoughby will also be checking your airway, TM Joints, occlusion and surrounding musculature for any potential signs of CranioMandibular dysfunction or Sleep Apnea.
Regular checkup appointments typically take about one hour. Patients are seen by appointment only. We make every effort to be on time for our patients, and ask that you extend the same courtesy to us. If you cannot keep an appointment, please notify us immediately.