Your First Visit

All of us at the practice understand that seeing a new dentist can be daunting. With this in mind, we will do all that we can to allay any negative feelings and nervousness on your part. Our aim during your first visit is to put you at your ease and to set your expectations of us during subsequent visits.

We want you to look forward to your visits to Salisbury House Dental Practice.

What we ask of you

Ian Greenwood is the finest and most skilful dentist I have experienced in my lifetime. My visit was a helpful and pleasant experience..

We ask you to do two things in relation to your first appointment and they’re both to do with time. They’ll ensure that we can give you first-class care.

The first is to allow up to one hour for your first visit.
The second is to arrive about ten minutes early. This will enable you to complete a registration form, as well as a short, confidential medical history form.

We need to know about your medical history in order to treat you safely. You can then relax in reception (reading the paper, listening to music, watching the television – as you choose), while the receptionist enters your details onto our computer system. I will collect you from reception, introduce myself, and escort you into the consulting room.

My first task is, in many ways, one of the most important: to ensure that I understand the purpose of your visit. Is it a routine check-up? Or are you worried about a specific dental problem?

My responsibility to you

I will then conduct a full examination of your mouth, teeth, and gums (unless, of course, you have already told me that you are attending for a specific reason, and only want that addressed). Based on my findings, I will take some digital photographs of the affected area(s) using a camera the size of a toothbrush. I will then show you the images on the screen that is attached to the side of the dental chair so that you understand exactly what’s going on. In most cases, I’ll need to take some X-rays, and that’s why I’ve invested in digital radiography. This uses less radiation and is much faster than conventional technology: a few seconds rather than ten minutes. Again, I’ll show you the X-rays on the screen and take you through the findings in as much or as little detail as you want.

My next step is to explain any treatment that may be required; this will involve a full discussion of all the options available to you as well as their relative merits. If you don’t understand anything at this stage, please ask me some more questions. It’s important to me that you make fully informed decisions. Sometimes, it simply isn’t possible for me to come up with a complex treatment plan in the time available. In these circumstances, I’ll either ask you to come back in a week or so for an informal discussion (at no extra fee) or I can send you a treatment plan by email or post.

We’ll keep in touch in case you have any further questions. All you have to do is let us know when you’re ready to go ahead.