Your First Visit

Dr.Bell and team

After being greeted by a team member, you can make yourself at home in our comfortable reception area. Take our office tour.

You will then be escorted into the consultation area, where we will discuss your expectations concerning your dental care and review your health history. It is very important for this information to be clearly understood for complete dental health and treatment preferences. When you are seated in our state-of-the art treatment areas, your blood pressure and pulse is recorded, and you are asked to read and sign various necessary documents. We perform a complete exam for our new patients at their first visit to ensure that we record and learn everything about their mouth so we can obtain and/or maintain the optimum dental health for each patient.

Once in the treatment area, we give you a thorough, complete dental exam. We check not only the teeth, but also the jaw joint, muscles, soft tissue, gums, and bite. An oral cancer exam is done for each new patient. Digital pictures of the teeth, smile and full face are taken, and only necessary digital radiographs (x-rays) and digital panoramic views are taken when indicated.

In select cases, we request permission to construct plaster study models of the patient’s teeth, which allow us to view in greater detail how the jaws relate to each other and additional detail of any problems related to wear that might be related to muscle problems or Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) issues that might be present.

If treatment needs are not complex, we explain what we have found and schedule treatment with a hygienist and Dr. Bell. If more complex treatment is needed, the patient will be asked to schedule a consultation appointment to review the results of the exam and formulate a treatment plan. This consultation is complimentary and we normally reserve thirty minutes to discuss treatment.