What Can I Expect When I See An Endodontist? Part 2 – First Contact

The first contact for you, the patient, with our office, comes in different looks depending on your general dentist.  Some dentists prefer to call our office directly and speak with one of our Patient Coordinators (PC).  Some prefer to email or fax over your information and have our PC call you directly, and some dentists give you our contact information and have you call us yourself.  However your first contact with our office begins, our Patient Coordinators prefer to speak with you in person at some point before your first visit to our office.  Our goal is to make this the best dental visit you have ever experienced.

A recent study of dental patient’s attitudes has found that almost 90% of patients feel it is important to make the decision about their endodontic care themselves or in collaboration with their Endodontist.  We are in total agreement with this position.  To achieve this we need to know some things about you and you need to know some things about us.

Firstly, our PC’s are going to ask you a number of questions so we understand your needs and concerns:

• Your personal information; name, date of birth, address, contact numbers etc.
• The name and location of your general dentist
• The reason you are coming to see us (your chief complaint or your dentist’s concerns)
• Dental questions concerning your chief complaint (history of your present illness)
• The urgency of your dental needs
• Your dental insurance information, if you have one
• Your availability for evaluation and/or treatment

Secondly, our PC’s are going to give you some information we feel is important to allow you to make some initial decisions about your care:

• The date, time, and length of your appointment
• The Endodontist you will be seeing
• What will happen at that appointment (evaluation/consultation with or without treatment of the problem)
• How you can expect to feel after your visit
• What the fee for our service will be
• An estimate of what  your dental insurance will reimburse you for that visit

As you can see a lot goes into having a great dental experience.  Our patient coordinators are highly trained and experienced, having interviewed literally thousands of people with concerns similar to yours.  The phone interview understandably will take a few minutes.  The more information you have for us, the better we understand your needs and concerns, and in turn the better we will be able to give you the information you need to make a good decision about your health care options.  Please feel free to ask if there is anything else you need to know.  Through all of this, be assured, we are most pleased to be of service.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DR. HOWARD BITTNER, DMD, CAGS

Dr. Bittner was born and raised in the Surrey/Langley area. Following his pre-dental training at Simon Fraser University, he received his Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of British Columbia in 1982 and his Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies in Endodontics from Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine in 1995.

Dr. Bittner was in private practice in general dentistry for 11 years in Langley prior to his Endodontic specialty training. He has been practicing the Dental Specialty of Endodontics since 1995.

In his free time, Dr. Bittner loves to participate in a variety of sports including most recent, golfing! He also enjoys being a new grandfather, which if you ask him is just the best!