Home / Your First Visit
The consultation
Ninety minutes,
and you leave with
something in writing.
No treatment is done at a consultation and nothing is decided in the chair. You come in, get examined and scanned, and go home with a plan you can read at the kitchen table.
Why people come here
- Surgery and the finished teeth done by one dentist, under one roof
- Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists
- Fellow of the Misch Institute — and faculty at its successor
- A written, itemized plan before anything is scheduled
What happens
The visit, in order.
The conversation
What is bothering you, what you have already been told, and what you actually want the result to be.
15 minExamination
Teeth, gums, bite and joints — not just the tooth you came in about.
20 min3D imaging
A cone beam scan and photographs. You see it on the screen with it explained as we go.
15 minOptions
Usually more than one, including doing nothing for now, with the trade-offs said out loud.
20 minIn writing
An itemized estimate and a written sequence, to take home. No pressure to book on the day.
Take homeCome prepared
What to bring.
Your medication list
Including supplements. Several common medications affect healing and bone, and it genuinely changes planning.
Previous records
Any x-rays, scans or treatment plans from another office. It saves repeating imaging you have already had.
Your insurance card
So the office can check benefits and file a pre-determination rather than guessing at coverage.
Questions, written down
People forget two-thirds of what they meant to ask. A list on your phone fixes that.
Someone with you
Optional, and often useful for a bigger case.
Time
Allow about ninety minutes so nothing has to be rushed.
Questions
First visit, answered.
Is there a fee for the consultation?
Call the office and ask — the front desk will tell you plainly what the consultation and any imaging cost before you come in, so there is no surprise at checkout.
Will anything be done on the day?
Not normally. A consultation is for examining, imaging and planning. If you are in pain, that is different — say so when you book and it will be handled.
Can I bring a plan from another dentist?
Please do. Second opinions are welcome, and having another clinician’s plan in front of us makes the conversation more useful, not less.
Do you have parking?
Yes — there is on-street parking on North Union Street and a lot beside the building. The practice is a few minutes from the middle of Kennett Square.
Start with an exam and a straight answer.
A consultation includes an examination, 3D imaging and a written, itemized plan. If implants are not the right treatment for you, Dr. Patellis will say so and tell you what is.