3 Things You Should Tell Your Dentist During Your New Patient Exam

At Lakeshore Family Dentistry, we believe in helping you diagnose your problems in the most comfortable way possible. For us, this means getting to know you on a more personal level than you’re typically used to with a dentist. We ask that you tell us about the following three things in order to make your visit with us more relaxing and carefree:

1.   Your Fears.Many people suffer from dental phobia, a deep seated fear of the dentist that often extends back to childhood. Dentistry today is much different than it was 10, 20 and 30 years ago, and pain control and treatments are much more advanced now than they were back then. Chances are that whatever caused you to fear the dentist all those years ago no longer exist, or there are new and improved ways of dealing with them. If you are scared of the dentist for whatever reason, tell us about it. We can talk with you and explain our techniques and procedures so that we can hopefully eliminate your fears and help you feel 100% confident in our care.

Furthermore, a lot of patients believe they suffer from some undiagnosed disease or disorder. They won’t mention it to anyone, but just hope their dentist brings the matter up themselves. We’re not mind readers, and we often won’t think to tell you about what you don’t suffer from. So, if you are worried that you suffer from a certain condition, talk with us about it so we can look for signs and either diagnose the problem or put your mind at ease.

2.   Your Overall Health. Let us know if you’ve been diagnosed with any diseases or if you are taking any medications. It is important that we know about all of your health conditions, as it will affect how we go about treating you.

3.   Your Dental Health. Even though we do a complete examination of your mouth during your first visit with us, we still ask that you tell us if:

·     You think you have a new cavity

·     Your teeth are sensitive

·     You feel lumps inside your mouth or throat

While we are very thorough in all of our exams, we don’t want to take any chances with your oral or overall health, and ask that you tell us about any symptoms or suspicions you have. You may help us make an early diagnosis, which could save your smile, or even your life.

At Lakeshore Family Dentistry, we take our new patient exam very seriously, but we can’t achieve the results you want if there’s a gap in communication. In order to give you the most comfortable and relaxing dental experience possible, we need your help. Trust us: when we work together, your dental experience becomes much more stress- and worry-free than had we tried to tackle your oral health goals on our own.

Check out how our new patient exam works at http://bit.ly/1t9htCs or visit http://www.lakeshorefamilydentist.com/patients.html to schedule your first visit with us!