Decoding the first dental appointment
Decoding the first dental appointment
“Free Dental Consultation”
A banner seen often in front of dental clinics Seems tempting right? Why pay for “Just talking to the doctor”! Correct? Well as inviting it may seem, it might not be the best option.
Why?
Let’s find out Ever imagined getting a free consultation for any disease? Then why should you take one for your oral health? Think back! how many times in your life have you got something absolutely free and it has made a positive impact. (I am not talking about samples, that’s just to prove that something is good, you have to pay to buy the actual product)
Why is it advisable to pay for a consultation?
Treatment planning is the most important step of any dental treatment. A good treatment plan could work wonders and on the contrary bad treatment planning could lead to almost immediate treatment failure.
1. You get to know about all the treatment options:
The first dental visit is all about understanding your dental issues and then undertaking the treatment plan that suits you the most. Any dental condition has multiple treatment options. It is extremely important to define which treatment option would work the best for you. The factors that would determine selecting the correct treatment option include
- The general condition of the mouth
- The level of oral care likely to be maintained after the treatment
- Various minute details regarding the tooth/teeth to be treated e.g. the health of the bone in which the tooth is embedded (the iceberg effect)
- Age and any underlying medical condition
- Past dental treatment experiences
- Anxiety related to dental treatment
- Any preferred treatment plan (generally googled ;-))
- Budget
2. Any underlying condition is thoroughly evaluated
Before any treatment is undertaken it is important to understand the general health. The mouth is very much part of the body. Any general health condition and the medicine taken thereof greatly influences the treatment planning. Some of the conditions include
- Diabetes: Uncontrolled diabetes results in delayed wound healing and infection at the site of the wound. Thus the diabetes level needs to be evaluated In case of controlled diabetes, the dose of insulin might need to be modulated before the treatment is started.
- Pregnancy: Although dental treatment shouldn’t be completely avoided during pregnancy, certain precautions need to be taken. Always inform the dentist in the first consultation if you are pregnant or likely to be pregnant. The further treatment planning would be based on this information
- Blood clotting diseases: It is extremely important to evaluate this before any treatment is undertaken, as an inability to control bleeding during the treatment could be potentially fatal.
- Blood pressure: both high and low need to be evaluated as both can have consequences during the treatment.
- Heart diseases: Mainly involving heart valve diseases. Infections of the heart valves are very closely related to the bleedings in the mouth that might occur during the treatment. Thus, in such cases the treatment needs to be undertaken after an antibiotic is prescribed during the first appointment.
3. The treatment plan is discussed in detail
After the treatment option is decided on, there are numerous minute pre-treatment details that need to be taken care of before the treatment can be started. A detailed dental consultation would help you understand all the procedures that would be undertaken. Thus, you would have a greater understanding of the treatment process you would be undergoing. This helps not only in reducing the anxiety experienced at the time of the treatment but also gives you a greater awareness and control over the treatment you would be undertaking.
4. You would get prescriptions and any pre-treatment care that might be required
The most common being toothache due to a tooth infection, many dental treatments require premedication or modulation in the existing medicines that you are undertaking. A proper prescription is required during the first consultation, so that when the treatment is started there are no unidentified or unknown risk factors and the appointment can go about smoothly. Certain procedures also require specific pre-treatment precautions. Principally involving food and when should the last meal be eaten. Pre-treatment precautions might also include the modulation of the dose of the medicine you might be taking
5. The evaluation would be more through
This one is a no brainer. Something good and detailed always has a price tag attached to it. A free consultation generally just involves a superficial check up with informing you about what all treatment you might require.
6. Since you are paying upfront, you would not be forced to undertake any treatment just to recover the payment of the “free consultation”
This one is pretty close to the zero interest loans. Everyone wants returns for their skills and effort that they put in. A free check-up could finally lead you to paying more when you actually undertake the treatment or you might be asked to undergo a treatment you never required, just to recover the cost of the “free consultation” You might finally end up paying more than required just because of the elusive “free consultation” banner at the clinic As they say “There are no free lunches”! Get your first detailed consultation @ https://dentop.in/
