What Should I Expect During My First Dental visit?

If you’re planning to visit a dentist for the first time, this is one question you’ll need answers to. Why? Knowing what to expect on your first dental appointment is critical to relieve anxiety and help you prepare for a smoother experience.

With that in mind, this article will cover everything during the first appointment, including how to prepare for your first dental visit. We will also answer some frequently asked questions.

6 Things To Expect During Your First Dental Visit

1. Filling of Paperworks
2. Health History Review
3. Full Dental Examination
4. Dental X-rays & Imaging
5. Professional teeth cleaning and cavity filling.
6. Development of Treatment Plans

Before we begin, it’s important that we clarify something. Your first dental visit does not necessarily have to involve any major dental procedures. Instead, it is an excellent opportunity to build a connection with your dentist while also laying the framework for a long-term oral health plan.

So, with that out of the way, here are six things to expect during your first dentist visit.

Before a dental hygienist can attend to you, it is expected of you to first and foremost fill out a patient form. In this form, you will put down all your essential information, including, but not limited to, your dental insurance details (if you have one), your contact information, medical history, and possibly a list of your allergies.

The importance of completing the paperwork prior to your one-on-one session with your dentist is that the information you provided will give them comprehensive knowledge of:

• Your health history
• Any medications you are currently taking
• Any existing oral issues.

Patient forms can be obtained either online (provided the hospital makes provision for that) or at the clinic on the same day you come in for your appointment.

Tip: If the form is not available for download online, try as much as possible to arrive around 45 minutes early before your session. This gives you ample time to fill out the form and submit it.

After you have filled out the patient form, the next thing would be for the dental assistant to direct you into the dental office and then commence the assessment session.

During this process, the dentist will ask you a series of questions regarding your dental and general health status, to which you are to give honest and complete answers.

This face-to-face assessment is a very important phase because it is your description and the answers you supply that will give the dentist an initial diagnosis of what could be wrong with your teeth.

Note: Your blood pressure may be taken at this stage.

After the dentist’s initial diagnosis based on the review of your health history, the next step is to have your teeth, gums, and other structures of your mouth examined for signs or symptoms of tooth issues.

• Some of the signs that are often looked out for during oral examination include:
• hints of tooth decay
• some plaque buildup
• periodontal or gingivitis disease and more.

The information acquired during the oral examination will assist the dentist in developing a personalized treatment plan for you.

If you are suffering from tooth loss or other periodontal disease, check out our article on gingival problems to learn more about it.

On your first visit, you should expect to have your mouth examined with a dental x-ray machine.

Your dentist might do this on your first visit to try and detect hidden issues such as gum disease, tumors, tooth decay, and others that they couldn’t pick up during the visual examination.

Note: On average, the dental x-ray imaging process usually takes about 20–30 minutes to complete.

If, after your assessment, the dentist finds out that what you need is a simple procedure that can be done on that same day, they may try to perform it. Typical examples of these “simple procedures” include teeth cleaning and cavity filling.
First off, if your teeth only need to be cleaned, your dentist will use scalers (or ultrasonic scalers in some scenarios) to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth surfaces and along the gum line.

Cleaning your teeth and whitening them are different things. Our article explains the difference between teeth cleaning and teeth whitening.
Secondly, if you simply have a hole in your tooth, the dentist, on the same day, will use either amalgam fillings, porcelain, or composite resin to fill up the hole and return your teeth to their former glory. To learn more about tooth cavities, check out our article explaining the best cavity treatment methods.
Keep in Mind: Teeth cleaning takes about an hour or less to complete; the same as teeth filling. Also, it is not mandatory for your dentist to clean your teeth on your first appointment.

To round up your first-day dental visitation, your dentist, after concluding all the tests, will inform you of the problem you are currently faced with.

At this point, your dentist will then propose a treatment plan (if necessary) and give you advice on how you can maintain oral hygiene. You’ll also get a chance to ask any questions or raise concerns.

It’s natural to feel a mix of anticipation and curiosity about your first dental visit. For context, according to the National Library of Medicine, about 36% of dental patients often fail to show up for their first dental appointment because they experience anxiety.

At DentSpa, our priority is to do everything we can to make your visit to our clinic as comfortable and reassuring as possible. From the time you walk in to the end of your dental assessment, our pleasant environment and caring personnel will make you feel at ease and supported.

Our personnel aside, even our facilities are designed to bring you peace of mind. Combine that with our team of certified and experienced dental professionals and sophisticated dental technology—and you’ll realise that you’re in the safest hands there is.

If you’re ready to take the first bold step towards achieving a beautiful smile, schedule an appointment with DentSpa right away. You may schedule a free online consultation, an in-office visit, or simply contact us on WhatsApp if you have any questions or need assistance.