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YOUR FIRST
VISIT
Your first visit to this Wiltshire dental practice is normally
to meet and allow us to discuss your particular mouth status
and needs, without any treatment being provided at this stage.
If you have yet to decide whether to consult us, you may wish to send us an enquiry now by using the online email enquiry form. We will either reply online or contact you by phone or mail. However, if you need a rapid answer, we recommend that you telephone.
When you telephone us or call in to enquire about joining our
practice, our receptionist will try to answer queries you may
have. Should you decide that you would like to arrange a New
Patient Appointment, the receptionist will take some details
from you, and you will receive a New Patient Pack. In the Pack
are simple questionnaires for you to complete and return to
us well before your appointment, and your input on these will
not only provide us with essential information to aid our assessment
of your case, but it will also make your first appointment much
more efficient and allow us more clinical time with you. You
will be asked for a deposit payment on booking, and you pay
the balance on arrival on the day.
The New Patient appointment will take a little longer than you
might expect. You will normally be with us for about 40 to 50
minutes, in order to build an accurate picture of your requirements.
We like you to arrive earlier than your actual examination time
so that you can easily complete any formalities or forms that
may need attention and pay the balance of your fee. Our Receptionist
will invite you to make yourself comfortable in our spacious
Reception Area.
We believe most patients are apprehensive and New Patients are
no exception. Please allow yourself lots of time beforehand
and so we can offer you a coffee or tea maybe, with our compliments,
and you can settle, relax a little, and read a newspaper or
magazine. Patients who dash in on the dot or even later are
always more tense and never get the best from any dental appointment.
We are giving you time. Please give us some of yours. You will
gain.
Just occasionally, a first visit for a new patient may
have to be one to relieve discomfort or pain, in which case
you will receive guidance from our Receptionist.
Some patients are attending for just the one visit, and these
are for a second opinion on their
particular problem. The format will be the same as for a First
Visit (i.e. New Patient Examination).
| Later, you will be shown
to the Surgery for a discussion with Howard Shrimpton.
It is a spacious room and you will sit in a comfortable
seat well away from the clinical area. He wants to hear
about any past problems, fears or anxieties, about what
you think you would like to achieve be it simple or complex.
Please do not prejudge what you think can or can’t
be done. Just say what you feel. |
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Discussion area: comfortable
seating, relaxed. |
Afterwards he will carefully and gently examine your mouth area,
your teeth being only a part of this examination. Any relevant
photographs and X-rays taken are included in the initial Fee.
The findings of the Examination will be discussed with you,
as will any treatment options, back in the discussion area.
This will allow you to be more at ease away from the dental
chair and we want you to feel free to question and discuss.
TREATMENT PLAN
A written plan of estimated treatment costs will be
provided. You will sign this document, not as a pledge to proceed
with treatment but as an acceptance that you understand the
costs and terms of proceeding. You will be given a copy.
If subsequently you decide to proceed then that document is
our basis of business and treatment at our Devizes dental practice.
CHOICE
In recommending treatment, sometimes there are several
choices for us. First options are those that we would personally
have for ourselves, our families, our friends. Other options
may be offered to you as well. These may not be our prime choices,
but they could be what appeal to you personally. Financial considerations
or simplicity of approach may sway your decision. You are put
under no obligation to accept any options offered.
APPOINTMENTS
On your agreement to proceed with your treatment, we
will plan and arrange suitable appointments. You will return
to the Receptionist for this.
You may want time to think about the proposals. That’s
fine. You can let us know later.
SECOND OPINIONS
It may be that you would like us to provide you with
a second opinion on a situation in your mouth where you have
received a treatment plan from another practice. There is nothing
wrong in doing this and we are happy to provide our opinion.
Any information is naturally treated in confidence and you need
not even tell us who gave you the first opinion if you do not
wish to.
We are comfortable with you seeking a second opinion on our
recommendations, should you feel it prudent.
REFERRALS
Following discussion with you, it may be that an aspect
of your proposed treatment or even the whole treatment is best
carried out by referral to a trusted colleague. In such cases,
it may not be possible at the time to give you more than an
outline of what that colleague can or will do apart from being
asked by us to look at your problem.
Referrals to Hospitals may be under NHS cover or Privately.
Referrals to other practices are Private.
We will refer in writing, when necessary sending your photographs/X-rays.
Normally you will be contacted directly. NHS referrals may take
longer and will be written. Private referral replies to you
are usually by telephone and reasonably quick. |
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