Treatments

The sequence is the same for every patient and no step is skipped.

1. Examination. Every tooth, the gums, the bite relationship and existing restorations are assessed individually.
2. Panoramic X-ray. Decay you cannot see, bone levels, root tip areas and impacted teeth.
3. 3D scan where needed. Particularly for implant planning; a panoramic X-ray does not show bone width or the position of anatomical structures.
4. Periodontal measurement. Six points around every tooth.
5. Prioritisation. Pain and infection first, then preventive work, aesthetics last.
6. Written plan. What will be done to which tooth, why, and what the alternatives are — in writing.

The fifth step is the one most often skipped. A patient arriving with an aesthetic request usually needs gum health and existing decay dealt with first; a restoration placed on an unhealthy foundation lasts less time than it should.

The sixth step is what stays in your hands. Because the plan is written, you can consider it at home and take it to another dentist. We recommend that.

Three things are free, with no conditions attached:

• Examination. A full assessment.
• Panoramic X-ray.
• A written treatment plan. Yours to take away.

We set it up this way for a reason: before deciding on treatment, a patient needs to know what is actually going on in their mouth. Getting that information should not require committing to anything.

Taking the plan to another dentist is entirely reasonable and we say so openly. A second opinion is the right reflex, particularly where the work is extensive and irreversible — cutting down healthy teeth, for instance.

When you assess a plan, the thing to look for is this: were alternatives discussed? A plan offering a single option has not actually compared anything. Why the least invasive option falls short should be explained.

Every treatment carried out at our clinic is covered by a lifetime guarantee on materials and workmanship. This is the clinic's own commitment — not to be confused with a manufacturer's material warranty.

The scope, the duration and the exclusions are given in writing. When you assess a guarantee, look at all three: what it covers, what voids it, and how long it runs. A five-year guarantee and a lifetime guarantee on the same materials and workmanship are not the same offer.

One condition keeps the guarantee alive, and it is a reasonable one: regular check-ups. The reason is not procedural. Tissues around an implant can become diseased silently in the early stage; leakage starting at a crown margin progresses without pain. Both are dealt with simply when caught at a check-up, and not simply when they are not.

If a night guard was recommended and is not being worn, fractures caused by clenching fall outside the cover — the same logic: a preventable load left unprevented.

In short, the guarantee is a claim that we do the work properly, and we put it in writing.

For crowns, bridges, dentures, night guards and mouthguards, the laboratory stage determines how long treatment takes.

When work is sent out, every try-in means another send-and-wait cycle. A small shade or contact adjustment found at try-in adds another appointment.

Because our laboratory is in the building, adjustments found at try-in are usually made the same day. That changes two things: total time shortens and — more importantly — because adjusting is cheap, adjusting actually happens. In a long cycle both patient and dentist drift towards "it will do"; a short cycle removes that pressure.

For patients travelling from another city or country it directly reduces the number of visits. Impression, try-in and fit can be scheduled on consecutive days.

The technician being able to see the patient is a gain in itself: for anterior shade selection, direct observation beats a photograph by a clear margin.

How productive a first appointment is depends largely on what you bring to it.

• Your medication. Supplements included. Blood thinners, diabetes medication and bone medication directly affect planning.
• Systemic conditions. Heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure, bleeding disorders.
• Allergies. Drug and latex in particular.
• Previous X-rays and treatment records, if you have them.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• A description of your complaint. How long, what triggers it, how long it lasts, whether it worsens at night.

The last item is the single most decisive part of diagnosis. Pain in the same area means entirely different things depending on duration and trigger: a short pain that arrives with a stimulus and fades in seconds, versus pain that arrives on its own and worsens at night, are two different treatments.

If you clench or grind, say so. Morning jaw fatigue, flattened incisal edges, or a partner who hears the grinding — all three bear directly on the plan.

One note on timing: a full first assessment — examination, X-ray and going through the plan — can take forty-five minutes. Don't book it into a slot you have to rush out of; having time to ask questions makes a real difference to how well you understand the plan.

If you are travelling in, we schedule appointments to fall on the same day where possible. Mention it when you call; for anything needing impressions and lab work, our in-house laboratory reduces the number of visits.