When you come to our office for the first time
Our first desire is to get to know you.
Dr. Macalik will take you to our consult room, a room specifically built for getting acquainted and discussing your needs. One of our hygienists will be in the room also. We may have some questions about your health history. Primarily what we want to know is what you’re expecting from us. Are you looking for a new smile? Is your TMJ bothering you? Are you worried that you might have gum disease? Have you had traumatic experiences in the dental office before and now you’re worried that the novocain won’t work and you’re scared? We meet many varieties of people and there are many varieties of dental needs. Tell us yours, and we want to meet your expectations. We have experience meeting all of those needs I just mentioned, and we’re happy to help you.
Our initial examination
Will be extremely thorough.
If x-rays are needed, we’ll take those. We’ll take regular photographs of your teeth both from inside your mouth and outside. We’ll check the health of your TMJ. We’ll chart the health of your gums. We’ll try to do your cleaning the same day, but if you have periodontal disease, that will take more time than we have allotted, so the gum disease treatments will begin another day. If it’s an ordinary cleaning, we’ll get that done the same day as your exam.
If your exam shows that you don’t need anything…
Then great!
We’ll schedule a maintenance visit in a few months for keeping your teeth clean. If you have some restorative or other needs, we’ll take some time to think about your options and present you various choices for how to treat your needs. There are always alternatives in dental care, and we’ll be open with you about what those are. We’ll tell you what each option costs, how long it lasts, and the results you can expect, and then you will make the decision about which treatment, if any, you want. It’s always your choice–our role is to serve you.
