Accepting new patients

Ninety minutes. No surprises.

Your first visit is deliberately long, because the useful part is not the cleaning — it is the twenty minutes at the end where a doctor sits down, turns the screen towards you, and explains what is actually happening in your mouth and what it will cost to deal with it.

Book your first visit (480) 555-0142

A doctor reviewing intraoral photographs with a patient on a chairside screen

Plate 21 · 4:3.4 · The conversation

What happens

Your first visit, in order.

Nothing on this list is a surprise, and you can stop at any point. If you would rather do the first appointment as a conversation only, say so when you book — that is a normal request here.

10–10 min

Arrive and settle

Forms are done online beforehand, so there is no clipboard. Renee will check your insurance details — already verified before today — and offer you a coffee you have time to actually drink.

210–35 min

Images and history

A full digital X-ray series and intraoral photographs of every tooth. We go through your medical history, medications, and — importantly — what you have been unhappy about.

335–70 min

Examination and cleaning

Gum measurements, decay check, bite assessment, and an oral cancer screening. Then a cleaning — unless the gum readings show you need periodontal treatment instead, which we will explain rather than silently upgrade.

470–90 min

The plan, priced

The doctor walks you through your own photographs on screen, ranks what is urgent against what can wait, and hands you a written plan itemised per tooth with the insurance estimate. You leave with a copy whether or not you book anything.

Without insurance

$89complete first visit

Everything described above, for patients paying out of pocket. Our standard fee for the same appointment is $396. There is no obligation to book treatment afterwards and no membership to join.

Comprehensive exam with the doctor, not a hygienist
Full digital X-ray series and intraoral photos
Standard cleaning, in the absence of gum disease
Oral cancer screening
Written treatment plan with itemised costs

Claim this visit Insured? We bill your plan instead.

What to bring

Photo ID and your insurance card
A list of your medications, including supplements
Any X-rays from the last two years, if you have them
Your night guard or retainer, if you wear one
The questions you have been meaning to ask somebody

Forms, done at home

We email a secure link when you book. It takes about six minutes and means you arrive to a chair rather than a clipboard. If you would rather fill them in here, come fifteen minutes early.

Start the booking

If it has been a while

Nobody here is going to lecture you.

About a third of the people who walk through our door open with some version of "I know, it's been years". You will not get a lecture, a sigh, or a comment about what you should have done in 2019. Shame is the single biggest reason people stay away, and adding to it would be professionally stupid as well as unkind.

We will find the urgent thing, deal with that, and then sequence the rest at whatever pace your budget and your nerve allow — over months or over years. Plenty of our patients are three years into a plan and doing fine.

Read about sedation Meet the team first

Eleven years since my last dentist. I braced myself for the speech and it never came. Just photographs, a plan, and a number I could afford.

Hector B.New patient · Nov 2025

Before you come in

First-visit questions.

Will I get a cleaning at the first appointment?

Usually yes. The exception is when gum measurements show active periodontal disease — a standard cleaning would not treat that, and doing one anyway would be billing you for the wrong procedure. In that case we explain what we found, show you the numbers, and book the right treatment. We will always tell you before, not after.

Can I transfer my records from another dentist?

Yes, and we will request them for you — just give us the practice name when you book. Recent X-rays save you both radiation and money. If they do not arrive in time we will take our own, since treating without current images is not something we are willing to do.

Do you see my whole family on the same day?

We block families back-to-back so you make one trip. With two hygienists we can often run two of you simultaneously. Ask for a family block when you book — Saturday mornings and 7 AM weekday slots fill first.

What if I cannot afford the treatment you find?

Then we sequence it. Urgent things — infection, pain, active decay — first, and the rest as and when. We will show you which items genuinely cannot wait and which can safely be monitored for a year or two. Financing at 0% is available through CareCredit and Cherry, and the membership plan cuts every fee by 20%. Nobody is going to pressure you into signing for work today.