Let’s Talk About… Routine Dental Appointments!

To start off the long Easter weekend, we decided to start our new blog series “Let’s Talk About...”. In this series, we’ll break down different treatments in an easy-to-understand way.

The author of these blog posts (Hello, that’s me!) is neither a dentist nor a dental nurse and therefore has only learnt from working at a dental practice. However, I have access to dentists and dental nurses on a daily basis, and I see patients every day with a range of different dental issues, helping me to explain treatment clearly and concisely.

We are starting this series with the most common dental treatments: Examinations and Dental Hygiene Appointments!

At Ilchester Dental & Implant Centre, we offer 2 different plans that cover your annual check-ups and hygiene treatments. We recommend seeing a dentist before signing up for a plan so they can advise which plan best suits you!

Our most popular plan is our Six-Monthly plan, which is currently £27.99 a month. We recommend seeing a dentist and hygienist every six months for the majority of patients to ensure dental health is optimal.

You do not have to be on a plan to see a dentist at our surgery; however, it does help spread the cost. Our Six-Monthly plan entitles you to two check-ups and hygiene treatments every 12 months, routine x-rays included, 10% off selective treatments, as well as discounted and priority emergency appointments.

Our plan also offers access to the Worldwide Dental Emergency Access Scheme, giving you the peace of mind that your teeth are covered for emergencies, issues, or accidents across the planet! If you’re more than 15 miles from home, the WDEAS helps you be seen by a dentist urgently and get the treatment you need.

Without a plan, our examination and hygiene appointments would be full price. However, many patients do prefer to pay as you go, and that’s no problem. We still send out reminders for routine appointments, but you can book in whenever you would prefer.

Examinations:

Examinations or check-ups are roughly 15-minute appointments in which the dentist performs a thorough examination of the patient’s whole mouth and records all data and findings on the patient’s personal chart and profile on our dental system. Therefore, patients who have been at our practice for extended periods have a history of examinations, and this means even if you see a different dentist from a previous appointment, they still have all your data available to them. These files also give dentists the opportunity to note any teeth that may be showing early signs of issues, so that they can monitor these teeth in future appointments.

Dentists can then create personal treatment plans with all the treatment needed and prices listed. You can opt to have this printed at reception for your records. Then our team can book you in for any treatment needed. We aim to keep patients with the dentist who recommended treatment. If no treatment is needed, we can book you in for your next annual appointment or send you a reminder closer to the time.

If there is enough time available, the dentist may offer you treatment during your examination appointment, saving you from having to rebook another appointment.

At Ilchester Dental & Implant Centre, we always put our patients first, so if there is anything that you need during your treatment, we can include this information in your file. For example, if you need longer appointments due to dental anxiety, we can make a note on your patient profile so that every appointment is booked with additional time. We can also include dentist preferences, so if you prefer one dentist, we can try to ensure you are booked with them every time, right down to ways in which we can make you more comfortable, from pillows to music choices. Just let us know, and we will do everything we can to ensure you are comfortable.

A common question we receive from patients is, "What is the difference between an examination and an urgent appointment?" An urgent appointment aims to solve the current issue, so if there is one tooth causing pain, the dentist focuses on that area of the mouth and relieves the patient of pain. An examination is a comprehensive record of the entire mouth and all teeth; therefore, after an urgent appointment, dentists sometimes recommend patients return for an examination, as there may be other teeth that have issues that need a resolution.

Hygienist

A hygiene treatment, scale and polish, or a clean is also recommended annually. Hygiene appointments ensure oral health and help prevent decay. Our routine hygiene appointments are 30 minutes at £90; however, we also offer 60-minute appointments for £175 (for existing patients) and airflow, which is an additional £38.

During a routine 30-minute hygiene appointment, the hygienist will do a full mouth scale and polish, ensuring all calculus is removed. A 60-minute appointment is more in-depth and is usually recommended by the dentist if needed. Airflow is a device that removes staining and leaves you feeling fresh. This can also be booked upon request or if suggested by the dentist.

Patients often choose to have two hygiene appointments a year. This can help as a preventive measure against decay, and it can also encourage more confidence, as it leaves patients feeling revived. Patients on our plans can choose to have an additional hygiene appointment if necessary, with the 10% discount applied.

Hygiene appointments are advised after an examination so that any treatment needed is resolved before a cleaning is completed, therefore ensuring oral health and hygiene are both optimal. At Ilchester Dental & Implant Centre, we have a handful of patients who book in with us for hygiene appointments only, as they have an NHS dentist for any treatment. We are happy to book patients who only want hygiene appointments.

Our hygienist currently works on Mondays and Fridays. We try to ensure we book all hygiene appointments with our hygienist; however, if this does not work with your schedule, we can also book patients in with some of our dentists who offer hygienist appointments on different days.

That is our breakdown of dental examinations and hygiene visits. Our next blog post in this series will be about fillings. If you have any questions or queries, don’t hesitate to contact us.