New Patient Emergency Calls

0

When patient’s call for an emergency or denture/crown adjustment and they are not a patient of record, here are the steps that need to be followed:

1.  Request from the patient that xrays/records from prior office are sent over and put in patient’s chart.

2. For initial visit – patient will receive a limited exam and appropriate during their first visit. We encourage them to come for a comprehenisve exam that day so we can see everything going on, but if the patient is only wanting to focus on their area of concern we will allow that. The doctor will encourage patients to seek comprehensive care by explaining the benefits of a comprehensive exam and whole treatment plan. Ultimately it is the patients choice how to proceed.

The one caveate to this is that patients cannot have healthy treatment (a prophy) if they are unhealthy (have periodontal disease) as such if SRP or D4346 is diagnosed then those must be completed, a prophy cannot be done as it is reserved for healthy patients.

3.  A consult is a different story, and reserved for patients who are looking for a new dentist and seeking a 2nd opinion. Or if they are interested in services such as Invisalign, or All-On-4 we will be happy to see them for a consult and discussion prior to the comprehensive exam.