The first oral examination includes a visual examination, oral cancer screening, charting of existing conditions, periodontal probing, diagnosis of any dental or periodontal conditions and treatment recommendations. We will also take a full-mouth series of X-rays, and a panoramic X-ray, which is a less detailed picture of the teeth, but shows us the jaw structure. X-rays are required for the initial exam because, without them, we cannot perform an accurate examination of your dental condition.

If you have recent X-rays (less than 12 months old) from another provider, we can request that they release them to you, or email them directly to us. There may be a charge for those X-rays from that provider. Some offices still use traditional X-rays, which are very difficult to transfer into our system. We are a paperless office, so we may need to require a minimum amount of X-rays be taken for our digital system even if you bring in a hard copy of traditional X-rays. This is to ensure the dentist has all the tools he or she needs to make accurate diagnosis.