Cheyenne Advanced Dental Arts

L. Scott Brooksby, DDS, DICOI

What are the steps we take during our consultation?

Our consultations are developed to allow us to get to know both the medial and dental health of our patients.  Many doctors today have bought into the idea that to make money they have to accept everyones insurance, and they have to make up the reduced fee by spending less time and doing more test to properly evaluate their patients.

At The Dental Implant Source we try and take the Marcus Welby, M. D. approach.  That is we listen to our patients.  This takes longer, but it allows our patients to get to know us and allows us to get to know them so that we can taylor our treatment recommendations to them as and individual.

Our Consultation begins with a Medical and Dental History.  The form that we use is available if you click here.  This allows us to determine in part if you are a good candidate for dental implants, crowns, bridges, dentures or other forms of treatment.

We then do an evaluation of the nerves and muscles of the head, neck and shoulders.  We find that a lot of patients have neck and shoulder pain that has a direct impact upon their occlusion or the way that they bite.  This evaluation is designed to catch this type of problem before it causes problems later during treatment.

We do a full mouth digital x-ray exam.  This provides the most information and allows us to determine if there is enough bone or if there are other conditions that must be treated immediately.

We check the teeth and gums to make sure we know what condition they are in and to determine if they can continue to do their job.

We check the bite to see if there are interferences that may affect the neck and shoulders.

Once we have done a thorough evaluation we then sit down with the patient and discuss our findings.  If we need to make models of the mouth to make sure of something, we will discuss that at that time.  Our normal approach is to explain the problems, often using stories to explain what is happening.  We then explain all of the options that are available including the pros and cons for each option.

Once we have explained the options once, the patient is rescheduled for a second consultation.  At the second consultation, the results of the previous visit will have been typed up and the the patient will be able to read them in black and white.  We will then answer any questions and review the proposed treatment options.  Once the patient has chosen their preferred option a treatment plan is typed up and the first treatment appointment will then be scheduled.