What our Consultation Involves

For all new patients your initial consultation and examination will be booked for a thirty minute appointment. At this visit we will make recordings of the condition of your teeth and gums usually with a variety of x-rays, to give us a thorough knowledge and understanding of your state of oral health. We will also ask you to fill out a comprehensive medical history to ensure that any treatment you receive will not interfere with any medicines you may be taking.

We shall discuss with you any treatment required, give you all the options and provide a full written treatment plan together with details of all costs.

X-rays

If we are to help you it is absolutely essential to know what is going on in areas difficult to see directly. As a health precaution we advocate that x-rays taken are kept to the minimal amount clinically necessary. We use a digital computerised dental x-ray system at the practice for intra-oral x-rays, which give immediate results and also reduce the dose of x-rays by 20% compared to standard x-ray film.

We carefully follow the current national guidelines for dental radiography and our x-ray equipment is regularly tested. The health and safety of our patients is paramount.

At your initial and your regular visits we will carefully examine your mouth and surrounding areas for early cancer. Many other conditions show signs in the mouth and this can be a good early warning system so that medical treatment can start or a referral made to a specialist.

When teeth are missing this can cause opposing or adjacent teeth to move into the space. This may upset the bite or cause increased accumulation of plaque and food, which is difficult to clean, and increases the risk of decay or gum disease. An assessment will be made of how missing teeth may be affecting the health of your mouth or your chewing efficiency and alternative treatments to replace these teeth will be discussed. Dentures, bridges or implants can replace missing teeth. Please see the treatments section for further details.

We always regard children as very special patients and do everything to make their visits as pleasant and as enjoyable as possible. Our aim is to help them to form good dental habits with regard to cleaning and diet, which will prevent problems in later life. At each examination we will assess each child's dental development and advise on the need for any orthodontic treatment. Appropriate orthodontic cases can be treated at Edgar Buildings with either fixed (train tracks) or removable appliances.

We have a qualified oral health educator at the practice and sessions can be booked for those children who require advice and guidance in oral hygiene and diet counselling.