New Patients
WELCOME!
If you have already scheduled your first appointment with our office, we’ve invited you to visit this section of the webpage to learn more about your first visit and to locate time-saving paperwork to complete before your appointment.
Why all this paperwork? It’s just another way to know you better so that we may serve you better! For example, your mouth is not separate from the rest of your body. Therefore, we thoroughly review your health history so we can care for your whole self.
The oral-systemic health connection is has been well documented and collaborating with your medical team is part of our service to you so we can be as thorough as possible, preventing problems and catching small signs early.
You may complete your new patient forms by doing them online from the “Online Patient Forms” link below.
Your First Visit: Ready – Set – Go
How your first visit is scheduled is determined by your interests, needs and any symptoms you may be experiencing. Your first visit to Augusta SmileCare establishes an important foundation for our relationship with you. Below are some general issues that prompt our patients to contact us. We hope this information is helpful.
If you do not yet have an appointment, we welcome you to call us and we’ll figure out the perfect first appointment for you. (706) 868-1322.
Comprehensive examination: If it’s been “a while” (oh, where did the time go!) since your last dental visit, let’s use your time most wisely by having you visit the office for a comprehensive oral examination and radiographic (x-ray) survey. By the end of your appointment, we’ll knows the ins and outs of your dental health and the type of dental cleaning from which you will benefit best. If any teeth need treatment, we’ll be able to thoroughly review your needs, determine the best plan to suit your interests, and answer your questions about payment and scheduling. A comprehensive exam is a smart way to start off on the right foot and get a good game plan. Expect this first appointment to last 60 – 90 minutes to provide the necessary time for your dentist to get to know you and complete the exam. In the future, when you return for routine cleanings, the exam portion of your visit is much quicker. As your teeth age, changes can occur. The thorough study and documentation during the first exam is helpful to see issues before they are symptomatic and, oftentimes preventable which, saves you money and time. The exam does much more than evaluate the current state of your teeth. Your dentist is noting health of the jaw bone, bone levels around the teeth, joint function (where the jaws hinge), gum wellness, and overall health of the softer tissues of the mouth. If you preferred to not have your cleaning at the same appointment as your comprehensive examination, we’ll reserve time for your dental cleaning at your next visit.
Routine cleaning with New Patient Examination: Due for your cleaning? Ready to get it? If it has been within a year since your last cleaning, and you are unaware of any new issues (like pain or a broken tooth), your first visit will include a new patient comprehensive oral examination along with time for your dental hygienist to provide a gentle, routine dental cleaning. Expect this first appointment to last at least 90 minutes and up to two hours, depending on the complexity of past dental treatment, needs or just time to answer your questions and discuss options. After establishing yourself as a patient of record in our office, future cleaning appointment will be faster and you’ll be out within an hour.
Problem-Focused Limited Exam: Sometimes a patient can become worried about a sudden change in their mouth and need to see an Augusta dentist to help with an urgent issue or prevent a problem from becoming urgent. If you suddenly break a tooth, have a tooth ache, discover a change in your mouth, notice a bitter taste, lose a filling or crown or any number of other problems that are normal for us to solve, but not normal to you to experience…. Add your new Augusta Dentist office to your phone contacts, call, and let us help you get in and get comfortable: (706) 868-1322. After the worrisome matter is calmed down, we’ll schedule your comprehensive exam on a different day and see what we can do to minimize unwelcome dental surprises in your future.
2nd Opinion / Consultation: There are two types of dental consultations. One is for a second opinion which we discuss in the paragraphs below. The other consultation can occur after a comprehensive examination to discuss options when patients have significant dental needs and many choices. During this consultation, our goal is education based so that the patient understands the benefits as well as any downsides or risks to treatment. When options exist, they can often vary in price, time, and coordinated efforts with dental specialists which require thorough discussion and consideration. Examples include whether the patient may prefer removable dentures or partial dentures or whether they would prefer dental implants and a more cosmetic dentistry approach to treatment. Our goal, in these circumstances, is to help you select the solution that you believe best matches your life priorities and goals.
Regarding 2nd opinions, our office is frequented by patients who know that Dr. Massey and Dr. Dyer treat patients according to how they would want to be treated. Golden Rule is the rule. If you have been given a surprise treatment plan that doesn’t quite seem to be on par with what you believed was needed your mouth, we are happy to render a 2nd opinion for you. We do charge for 2nd opinions as we are going to give the same dedicated time to you that we provide to our comprehensive examination patients. Typically, the time, due to situation or case complexity, will be longer.
We have seen the emergence of more “2nd opinions”, especially, since the onset of corporate dentistry where it can appear, at times, that motivations for profit might be an influencing factor in the dentist’s recommendation. However, treatment solutions and opinions in healthcare DO vary; so just because you may like our opinion better does not mean that your dentist was doing anything wrong. Variances in recommendations and approaches are common.
If you come to us for a second opinion, we will render our treatment plan without seeing what has been recommended to you elsewhere. We will require that we take our own x-rays so that they are accurate and clearly legible. By gaining our own records and by not seeing your other dentist’s plan, you will gain the most unbiased opinion. You may opt to remain a patient in our practice, return to your prior dentist or seek another opinion. We respect your choice to make the decision that is best for your well-being. 2nd opinions are often sought by patients seeking cosmetic dentistry, implant placement and IV sedation.
Did you know that your appointment is actually a reservation?
Yes, to respect your time and to do our best, individually appointment time is a reservation.
When you schedule an appointment to see Dr. Massey, Dr. Dyer or your hygienist, the time is determined by the procedure scheduled and exclusively reserved for you. Periodically unforeseen circumstances, like illness or family matters, can occur which necessitate your need to revise your reservation. In such circumstances, to give your reserved time to another patient desiring to see the hygienist or Dentist, we request that you provide our office with 3 business days notice.
Another service that we provide to many of our patients with quick-to-shift schedules is to join our “VIP” Patient System. Attorneys with sudden court demands, real estate agents with last minute closings, flight attendants with on-call schedules, truck drivers picking up extra loads and a variety of other professions make keeping reserved appointments difficult. In these cases, we are happy to work around you! If appointment reservations become cumbersome, we’ll work with you on a “VIP” notice, checking-in with you 24 hours in advance to see if the appointment we’ve been able to arrange will match your busy schedule.