What a First Visit at Bite Club Looks Like, Start to Finish
If it has been a while since you saw a dentist, the hardest part is booking. Not the appointment. The booking.
So here is the whole thing written down, start to finish, with no surprises in it. However long it has been, we have seen longer, and nobody here is going to make you feel bad about it.
What should I bring?
Four things, and only the first one is important.
- Your insurance card, if you have dental coverage.
- A photo ID.
- Any recent dental x-rays, if another practice took them in the last year or two.
- A list of medications you take, including anything over the counter.
The medication list is the one people skip and it is the most useful. Plenty of common medications cause a dry mouth, and a dry mouth changes how quickly cavities form.
It explains a lot of what we see.
If your forms are done online before you arrive, the front desk part takes about a minute.
How long does it take?
Plan for about an hour. Sometimes a little more if there is a lot to look at.
A first visit is longer than the checkups after it, because we are starting from nothing. There is no history on file, nothing to compare against, and no images.
Everything we do later gets measured against what we record on day one.
What happens in the chair?
Digital x-rays first. They take a couple of minutes. Digital means the images come up on the screen immediately and the radiation is low.
They show what is happening between and under the teeth, which is where most problems start and where nothing is visible from outside.
Then the exam. Every tooth, every surface, plus the gums, your bite, and the soft tissue in and around the mouth.
We are looking for decay, cracks, wear patterns from grinding, gum pockets, and anything that does not belong.
Then we show you. This is the part people do not expect. Everything we find goes on the screen and we go through it with you in plain language, not in codes and tooth numbers.
We use dental microscopes here, so what we are looking at is magnified. You see the same picture we do.
Then the cleaning, if your gums are in shape for it. Plaque and tartar off, surface stain off, polish, and advice about the two or three spots you are missing when you brush.
If your gums need more than a standard cleaning, we will say so and explain why instead of doing it anyway. That is a different treatment and it should be your decision, with the information in front of you.
What if it has been years?
Then you are in good company, and it changes nothing about how we treat you.
People avoid the dentist for reasons that make sense. A bad experience somewhere else, or cost, or anxiety about the sounds and the smells.
Often it is embarrassment about how long it has been, which then makes it longer.
We are not going to lecture you. We are not going to hand you a list of everything that needs doing in one go.
We will tell you what is urgent, what can wait, and what we would watch. Then we work out an order that fits what you can do.
If the visit itself is the part that worries you, say so when you book. Knowing in advance changes how we set up the appointment.
What does it cost?
You get the number before anything happens, not after.
For the first visit, we check your coverage with you before you are in the chair. If treatment comes out of the exam, you get the full cost in writing.
If there is more than one reasonable way to do it, you get both options with both numbers.
We do not publish a price list, because the answer depends on what we find. What we do promise is that no bill will surprise you, and that nobody here is paid to sell you something.
What do I leave with?
Three things.
A clear picture of what is going on in your mouth, including the parts that are fine. Most people have never been told which of their teeth are healthy, only which ones are not.
A plan, in order, with the urgent separated from the rest.
The cost of that plan, written down.
Getting here
We are at 1908 N Western Ave in Bucktown, steps from the Western Blue Line stop. There is limited parking behind the building, so call ahead if you need a spot.
We are open Monday to Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Friday until 3 PM, and Saturday mornings until 2 PM.
If a weekday is hard for you, the Saturday slots go first, so book those early.
When you are ready, our page on a dental exam and cleaning in Bucktown covers the visit in more detail. Or book a visit and we will take it from there.
