What to expect when bringing your child to a new dentist

Taking your child to a new dentist? Wondering what you can expect from the visit? Whether you’ve moved cities, or you’re just looking for an orthodontist more suited to your child’s needs, this can be unfamiliar territory – especially if you’ve been with the same dentist for some time.

At Pro Grace Dental, we understand that this can be a bit of a transition. As such, we take care to provide you with all the information you need to ensure that transition for both you and your child is seamless.

As a new patient at a new dental clinic with your child, here’s what you can generally expect

1. Friendly Welcome

Dental clinics will have a receptionist or some type of administrative assistant in the lounge area. This individual is responsible for checking patients in as well as greeting them upon arrival.

The first thing you and your child can expect is a warm and friendly greeting from this individual. They will typically ask you to take a seat unless of course, you have an appointment booked; in which case, you’ll most likely be directed to a room where your child will be treated and looked after by the orthodontist.

2. Questioning

If you happened to just drop in, you can expect to be waiting for a few minutes. During this time, you will be handed a form to fill out on behalf of your child. The questions will be to divulge information about your child such as:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Age
• Sex
• Home and email address
• Phone number
• Who they should thank for your referral

All of this information will be kept private and will help the dental clinic get in contact with you for future checkups as well as updates. Additionally, you’ll also have to provide information about yourself and your partner (if applicable). This will include your name, your employer, your phone number, etc.

3. Primary Dental Insurance

This portion of the form is where you will include your primary dental insurance company’s name, the policy holder’s name (you), your date of birth; followed by your Group number, ID or CERT number as well as basic percentage coverage and major percentage coverage. Furthermore, you’ll also be asked to include if you have any restrictions on your dental plan.

4. Insurance

Direct Billing is what we provide to our patients. And in order to utilize it yourself to ping your insurance provider, you must have a credit card on file for the owed payments after your insurance has paid their share.

Any outstanding bills for more than two months (60 days) will be automatically charged a 2% interest rate each month going forward.

At this point, you will sign the document that has been laid out before you; providing authorization for your new dental clinic to apply the owed payments on your account – that are not reimbursed by your insurer – to the card you have on file.

Payment options include Visa and MasterCard

5. Medical Health History

Here, you will want to take a quick inventory or assessment of your child’s overall health and wellbeing. You will do this by answering the questions provided on the form about your child. There will be many, but here are a few examples of what you can expect to see:

• What is the general condition of your child’s health?
• Has your child ever had glaucoma?
• Has your child ever had tuberculosis?
• Is your child on antidepressants?
• Is he/she currently being treated for any illnesses (if so, what kinds)?

Furthermore, the dental clinic will want to know of any allergies that your child may have. If your child is prone to having an adverse reaction to anything, the dentist needs to know about it. Some of the questions will dive into the specificities of your child’s allergens. Is your child allergic to any of the following?:

• Aspirin
• Penicillin
• Erythromycin
• Tetracycline
• Local anesthetic, etc

You will also be asked to include specific medications your child takes, vitamins they consume, and supplements they use – as well as why they’re taking these products.

6. Dental History

Do you enjoy yes or no questions? If so, you’ll shine in this section. Here you will simply answer yes or no by checking the box that is representative of the correct answer to the question. Some of the questions you can expect to see are:

• Does your child have any dental problems? If yes, please explain.
• Does your child have a finger or thumb habit? If yes, how long?
• Has your child ever had an injury to the face? If yes, please explain.
• Are you happy with the appearance of your child’s teeth? If not, please explain.
• How often does your child brush? How often does your child floss?

7. Dental Office Personal Information Consent Form Personal Information & Protection Act

This is the final stop, here you can expect your new dental clinic to uphold their commitment to protecting your personal information. In order to retain a transparent relationship, your clinic will put forth an oath stating their devotion to safeguarding your sensitive data.

As such, they will not divulge it unless permitted by law.

They [your new dental clinic] will also share what they intend on using your information for. It will only be utilized for such actions as:

• Invoicing patients
• Processing credit card payments
• Collecting unpaid dues
• Sending patients reminders for future checkups
• Following up for customer service purposes, and more

1Additionally, medical data is gathered for the intent of diagnosing dental problems and implementing treatment. It may also be shared with other dental experts and professionals in order to gain a second opinion (as long as the patient has given their consent)

Key takeaway

After all of the necessary preliminary paperwork has been filled out and submitted, your child will be ready to see the new dentist at your new dental clinic! It can sometimes be a bit of an adjustment going through this process. However, the changes can be made easy and effortlessly when you’re at a clinic that makes you feel comfortable during the transition.

And our team here at Pro Grace Dental wants to help get you there. Contact us today with any of your dental needs, questions, or concerns!