First visit
New patients
If it has been a few years since your last check-up, you are in good company and you will not get a lecture about it. Here is exactly how a first appointment works.
What to bring
- Your health fund card
- We claim through HICAPS at reception, so bring the physical card or the digital one in your fund’s app. We are preferred providers for HBF, Medibank, nib, HCF, Bupa, CBHS.
- Any recent X-rays
- If another clinic has taken images in the last couple of years, ask them to send those across. It saves you a repeat and saves you money.
- A list of your medications
- Including anything over the counter. Some medications affect bleeding, healing and dry mouth, and it changes what we recommend.
- Your questions
- Write them down beforehand. People forget them in the chair, and the appointment is the right place to ask.
Your first visit
Nothing happens that you did not agree to
Most of the worry is not knowing: what is about to happen in the chair, and what it will cost at the counter. You hear both before anything starts.
Tell us you are nervous
There is a box for it when you book. Tick it and we allow more time, explain as we go, and stop whenever you want.
Park at the door
We are on Greenfields Circle with parking out the front. Appointments run to time, so you are usually in the chair a few minutes after arriving.
We look properly
A full examination, a soft-tissue check, and digital images where they help. The X-rays take seconds and use a fraction of the radiation of old film.
You see exactly what we see
The camera goes on the screen in front of you, so you can see what we are describing rather than take our word for it.
You get the options and the costs first
Including what your fund will cover. We claim through HICAPS on the spot, so you know the gap before we begin.
We work at your pace
Raise a hand and we stop. You do not have to explain why.
Your first visit
What new patients ask us
- What should I bring to a first appointment?
- Your health fund card, a list of any medications you take, and details of any medical conditions. Medications matter more than most people expect — several affect bleeding, healing and how dry the mouth is, and all three change what we do.
- How long will the first appointment take?
- Allow about forty-five minutes. It is longer than a routine check-up because there is no history to compare against, so more of it is looking and more of it is explaining. If it has been many years, say so when you book and we will allow longer still.
- Will treatment happen at the first appointment?
- Not usually, unless you are in pain and want it dealt with. The first visit is an examination, X-rays if they are warranted, and a written plan in order of priority with costs against it. You decide what happens next and when.
- Can my X-rays be transferred from my old practice?
- Yes, with your written consent, and it is worth doing — it saves repeating radiographs you have already had and paid for, and it gives us something to compare against from day one. Give us the name of the practice and we will request them.
- What if I cannot afford everything on the plan?
- Then it gets done in order rather than all at once, and you will be told which items are urgent, which can reasonably wait and which are only being watched. Where treatment is not pressing, spreading it across two benefit years is often worth several hundred dollars.
- Do you see patients who have had a bad experience elsewhere?
- Often, and it is worth telling us what happened rather than leaving us to guess. Knowing that the problem was the needle, or the noise, or being talked over, changes how the appointment is run. Nothing is done without telling you first, and we stop when you ask.
Welcome
Book your first appointment
Tell us when you book if you are nervous, or if you are bringing children. It changes how we schedule the visit.