New to our clinic? Oral health education
We’re currently open to accepting new patients, and as a community dentist supporting all our local patients is our number one priority, leading oral health education Bournemouth.
At Dorset Orthodontics, we provide a full range of general dentistry services, meeting the day-to-day needs of our patients, from simple things like a scale-and-polish to restorations like crowns and dental implants. So if an intervention is required, we will be able to offer something in the clinic without having to do a referral. That said, if we feel that more specialist care is required, we do make referrals without hesitation because our priority is that you receive the standard of care you need.
Our clinic’s specialism is orthodontic care, and we provide orthodontic assessment free of charge to all new patients.
What to expect at a general appointment
The first step of the introduction appointment is much more of a fact-finding mission, getting to know what previous work you have done and your level of oral health education Bournemouth. Are there any persistent problems or current symptoms? Do you have a history of dental anxiety? How would you want the rest of the session to proceed?
Checkups involve an intensive look at the current state of your teeth, logging and describing each tooth one by one and each region of the gum line with the front and back in order to create a baseline of oral health. We will take note of observations, and x-rays may be taken.
If any interventions are required, it is at this point that they are brought up; this may be as simple as further advice and oral health education Bournemouth, or it may involve presenting treatment options, for example, metal vs composite fillings. Some treatments can be carried out immediately, whereas others may require rescheduling.
Focused orthodontic patients
An appointment that is focused on orthodontic needs is slightly different. The first point of reference is the severity of the misalignment. Dental misalignment can be placed into one of three categories; the least severe is considered clinically irrelevant or cosmetic and the most significant, category 3, causes consistent pain while eating and disruption to speech patterns. Thankfully, most patients with severe misalignment receive treatment early in life, but we still do occasionally come across adult patients with severe misalignment that needs to be addressed.
Next is a discussion of goals. For many patients, changes to the alignment will be cosmetic, and they may have cosmetic goals they wish to achieve. Discussing the limitations and advantages of the treatment so that realistic goals are in mind before treatment starts is particularly important.
The starting point in the goals is to design the treatment schedule and type of treatment that will work, with more traditional braces or newer clear aligners being discussed and based on what is compatible with the patient’s lifestyle. In some cases, treatment to realign teeth may require both the use of a fitted brace at first and later clear aligners for a visually minimal treatment.