Unless it takes place under emergency circumstances or you request a consultation for a particular purpose (such as a second opinion on a specific condition), your first visit to our office will revolve around the new patient examination.  A comprehensive initial examination is the basis from which all successful dental treatment follows.  In other words, if Dr. McArdle doesn’t fully understand the entire state of your mouth, he can’t possibly do his best for you.  Dr. McArdle firmly believes that failure to provide patients new to his practice with a thoroughly complete evaluation of their dental needs is one of the greatest disservices he can do them.

           The new patient exam in our office incorporates many features that are designed to assess all aspects of your oral health and diagnose any problems that are noted in this assessment. These aspects include; your teeth, your gums, your jaw bones, your bite, your jaw joints, the muscles you chew with and all the other tissues around these structures.  The possible disease associated with these areas are; tooth decay, tooth wear, cracking or fracture of your teeth, gum disease, infections of the gums as well as the teeth, inflammation of your jaw joints, bite discrepancies due to misalignment or missing teeth as well as tumors of the jaw bones and surrounding areas (among other problems).  As you can see, dental care deals with an extremely varied and complex set of issues that cannot be fully explored in forty-five minutes or an hour.  That is why we typically spend well over two hours with patients in determining their needs when they first present to our office.

           When you first arrive at the office for your initial comprehensive exam, our office coordinator will have you fill out complete medical and dental histories (if you have not already done so by downloading these documents from this site).  These are designed to provide Dr. McArdle with information regarding your general health that can effect your oral health or dental treatment as well as give him an idea of your past dental treatment and attitudes towards dental care.  After these have been reviewed to check for any medical restrictions that might complicate the procedures planned for you at this visit, you'll meet Dr. McArdle. He will spend a few minutes getting to know you and then ask your permission to perform a complete head and neck evaluation for you.  This includes  visually inspecting the soft tissue of the mouth as well as the face, a preliminary bite evaluation, manual palpation (gentle probing) of the neck and jaw muscles and an oral cancer screening.  After this, he will have our dental hygienist gather more clinical information about your oral condition.
 

           She will take a full mouth series of x-rays for you and do a complete periodontal exam that records six depth measurements below the gum tissue about each of your teeth (the shallower the better) as well as the presence and extent of any bleeding, mobility (looseness) or recession when these measurements are taken to gauge inflammation.  This will act as a base line indicator of your gum health that will serve as a benchmark against which all future periodontal screenings will be referenced.  Our hygienist will also monitor your blood pressure and pulse at this time.  When he reviews his hygienist’s findings, Dr. McArdle may conclude that more extensive gum treatment than a standard cleaning is necessary and he will discuss that with you (if this is the case) to decide whether that treatment is best accomplished in our office or through referral to a specialist.  If a standard cleaning is appropriate for you, the hygienist can perform this now or you can have it done at your next visit, depending upon your time limitations.

           After our hygienist has completed her duties for you, you’ll see Dr. McArdle again.  He will review the condition of each of your teeth, checking for decay, fracture or crazing (cracking) and any defects in their existing restorations.  If during his review Dr. McArdle discovers excessive wear, jaw joint disturbances or the need for extensive restoration of your teeth, he may suggest that some impressions (molds to be poured in stone to make models) of your mouth and a bite registration be taken.  These records, taken by our dental assistant, are used in what is known as an occlusal analysis that helps Dr. McArdle more accurately assess any discrepancies in your bite.  In this way, any discrepancies that could interfere with significant restorative treatment can be corrected first, to promote the success of that treatment.  To take advantage of any dental benefits you may have that might cover this assessment, it must be performed at a separate visit.  After Dr. McArdle has finished examining you,  his dental assistant will take some photographs that serve as further base line indicators of your oral state.  They will be kept privately as part of your patient chart with us. 

           If your needs are relatively simple, as is occasionally the case, Dr. McArdle may discuss your treatment with you at this visit.  More commonly, he will need to study the x-rays and any models more extensively and another appointment will be made for you to allow Dr. McArdle more time for this.  This subsequent consultation visit involves no fee and allows Dr. McArdle to fully present his diagnosis with its resulting treatment plan to you, field any questions you may have and answer those questions in depth.  After he has thoroughly reviewed his findings with you, our office coordinayor will help you schedule your subsequent appointments for the best possible clinical result  and to take maximum advantage of any dental benefits you may be covered with.  Any referrals for specialty care that Dr. McArdle may deem necessary for you will be made at this visit.  If you have any questions about the new patient examination process, please contact us before you come in.