On our comprehensive consultations, we begin by reviewing your medical history, any medical conditions or surgeries you may have had, your current medications and any allergies you may have. Your medical history may effect the health and condition of your mouth and/or how we treat any dental issues you may have.

We will then undertake an Extra-Oral Examination checking the soft tissues of the head and neck, looking and feeling for any Lumps and bumps that are not supposed to be there. We will also check the movements and function of your jaw joints and associated muscles.

The we move on the the Intra-Oral Examination which begins with checking the soft tissues of the mouth - the lips, cheeks, tongue, floor of mouth, palate and throat, looking for any lesions or ulcers that may require further investigation. Please note, yes we are checking for signs of cancer but not every lesion/ulcer that we investigate further is serious.

We will discuss how you currently clean your teeth and gums, we will assess how effective this is and discuss any ways to potenitally improve this. Each and every tooth is checked to assess it’s indivdual health and check for cavities or fractures, the function and condition of any exisiting restorations will also be checked. We will also check the function of your occlusion (bite) checking which teeth are loaded in different funcitonal movements.

For a new patient to our practice we take a minimum of 2 x-rays and will take more if it is deemed clinically necessary, on recall examinations these are repeated at intervals depending on your risk of cavities.  A series of photographs (standard 11 photos) are taken, before we then examine your gums, a probe is used to measure the depth of gum pockets to check for signs of gum disease.

Once the full clinical examination is completed, we then discuss all findings with you, show you both the xrays and the photographs of what is found and discuss with you general treatment options.  This way you are fully informed of your treatment requirements to maintain a healthy mouth.  You are welcome to ask any questions, review similar cases and if you do have complex dental treatment required, we will give you a written treatment plan outlining your treatment options, costs and appointment times. 

Sometimes treatment options can be overwhelming but be assured we are here for you, to help you understand, make an informed decision.  Our job is to relieve some of the stress visiting a dentist can have.

Ultimately, we want to put you in charge of your decisions for your dental care.

Comprehensive care is about dentistry which is predictable and long lasting. It takes into consideration all aspects of your lifestyle, medical conditions, and dental condition.  It’s about choosing the best treatment options that assist you in to remaining or returning too optimum dental health.  It is not about patching things as they break.

This is done by understanding that nothing in the body functions in isolation therefore we look at the mouth more than just teeth and gums, we include the soft tissues, muscles used for chewing and movement, occlusion, tooth wear, dental stress/failed restorations. 

Only after a fully comprehensive examination, can we truly determine the best treatment options for our patients as unique individuals.  No two mouths are the same, therefore no two treatment plans can be the same.

Comprehensive Consultations also help us to preempt any possible treatment that may be required therefore allowing the treatment to be as minimally invasive as possible, keeping as much of your natural tooth structure and in the long-term saving you money.

We take a full series of photographs – shown in image XX – to assist primarily with clinical diagnosis but also to help you understand what is happening in your mouth.  These are also useful over time, to assess levels of deterioration.

Along with your xrays and notes, these are an important part of your clinical records.

No.  Whilst I like all my work to look as natural as possible, my treatment planning is done with the aim of being as minimally invasive as possible.  Our main aim is to keep as much of the tooth structure as possible while removing all caries/decay to ensure your teeth have the best chance of strength and health longterm.

We only ever recommend your best treatment options to ensure optimum dental health.  If you chose not to do treatment that is your decision as a patient.  However, it is essential to understand that once you have decay and require a restoration, nothing you do can reverse this and by leaving it, it will continue to get worse.  No one can tell you when or how long this will take.

Dentistry has come a long way over the years and there are a range of different options that you may be able to consider. Firstly we would need to complete a full examination then from there we can give you all treatment options, including time frames, expectations and estimated price guides to help you make the best informed decision.

Rubber dam is a rubber sheet used to isolate a tooth or teeth when having restorations.  This is the Purple, Blue, Black material surrounding the teeth in some of the treatment photos. Using rubber dam is the gold standard in dentistry and should be used where ever possible.  Rubber dam allows you to keep the tooth dry which is essential for strong margins and longevity of the restoration.

Click here to read more about our Invisalign Treatments.