If you need a dentist and wish to come to our practice for general dental care:
1. Please call us to schedule an appointment for a “New Patient Examination.” We will e-mail or mail you forms to fill out and bring with you to the appointment.
2. If you have recent dental x-rays, we may be able to use them and avoid having to take new ones. If they are digital (on a computer), they can be emailed to us at jcrobinsondds@gmail.com. If they are in film form, your dentist can mail them to us and if requested, we can scan them and return the originals. Your dentist may require that you sign a release in order to transmit records to us. To ensure that we are able to do a complete examination for you and to avoid delays in your care, please make sure that we receive these prior to the date of your appointment.
3. If you are seeing a periodontist, please have them fax copies of your periodontal charting to us at 707-539-2496.
4. If you take antibiotic pre-medication for dental care, please take it for your visit.
5. If you have a dental insurance plan, please bring that information to your visit.
6. Please bring a list of all medications that you are currently taking. If you do not have a list, please bring the medications with you.
If you already have a dentist, but wish to see us for diagnosis or management of an oral medicine problem:
1. Please call us to schedule an appointment and tell us about the problem you are having.
2. If you have had a biopsy, x-ray, blood test, or other tests done for this problem, please have these results faxed to us at 707-539-2496. Digital dental x-rays can be emailed to us at jcrobinsondds@gmail.com. If you have dental x-ray films, please bring them to your appointment. We will return them to you.
3. Please bring a list of all the medications you are currently taking. If you do not have a list, please bring the medications with you.
4. Please bring your dental and medical insurance information with you. If you have Kaiser or other plan with a closed provider network, you may need to get an authorization from your primary care physician to receive coverage for your visit.
ORAL MEDICINE
There is a medical specialty for every part and system of the body – except the mouth. The oral cavity, and its care and disorders, is the domain of dentistry. This includes the teeth, of course, but not just the teeth. Like the rest of the body, the mouth is susceptible to medical problems such as infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and complications of other medical problems or medical treatment. Oral Medicine is the specialty within dentistry that addresses the various disorders of the mouth besides the teeth, and its relationship to the rest of the body and overall health. As an Oral Medicine practice, we are concerned about the health of the entire mouth, and its relationship to overall health and well-being. We are well connected to the local medical community and collaborate closely with many different medical specialists, including internal medicine, rheumatology, radiation and medical oncology, head and neck surgery, gastroenterology, and dermatology.
GENERAL DENTISTRY
Certainly healthy teeth are fundamental to a healthy mouth, and dental health is an important element of overall health and well-being. It is our desire to offer to all our patients the opportunity to have teeth that are healthy, comfortable, functional, and attractive throughout life. We provide comprehensive dental care, including management of complex restorative and reconstruction cases, implant restorations, removable complete and partial dentures, and cosmetic dentistry. Where special services are required, we work with the excellent local specialists in order to provide our patients with the best possible results. For patients who are anxious about dental care, we offer nitrous oxide and oral sedation.
SPECIAL NEEDS
As an Oral Medicine practice, we provide general dental care to patients with complicated medical issues, working in collaboration with patients’ physicians as needed.
We have extensive experience in caring for patients treated for head and neck cancer, and with the special considerations which arise from radiation therapy.
Dental Care
We strive to provide our patients with the best that dentistry has to offer, delivered comfortably in an environment that is pleasant, respectful, and helpful. Our goal is to provide treatment that is effective, predictable, a good value, and which meets the needs and expectations of our patients. We respect the rights of patients to set their own goals for their care, and we appreciate the fact that different patients have different desires for themselves.
Communication
We try very hard to understand what patients want for themselves, and what they hope to receive from us. In turn, we endeavor to communicate clearly to our patients their dental diagnoses, treatment options, and prognosis.
Financial: We understand that dental care is expensive, and we make every effort to make it affordable. We do not offer cut-rate or discount dental care. We do, however, offer discounts under certain circumstances, such as senior discounts and advance-payment discounts. We also accept all major credit cards and participate in Care Credit.
Technology
Technology has given us some wonderful new treatment options and improvements in the way things are done. Some examples are digital x-ray imaging, milled ceramic restorations, and implants…all of which we use. However, technology has become a significant factor in the rapid increase in health care costs. Many new products and devices in dentistry get little testing before they are marketed. A very high percentage of them disappear from the market within a few years, either because they failed to perform as promised or worse, caused problems of their own. We are therefore extremely selective as to what new technology and products we introduce into our office, and are careful to work with materials and devices that have a proven record of good results.
Scheduling
We schedule routine procedures by appointment. When emergencies arise, we attempt to address them promptly. We respect our patients’ time, and strive to run on schedule. Because our schedule sometimes gets very full and patients may be waiting for appointments, we ask for 48 hours (two business days) notice when a patient is unable to keep an appointment. This allows us to offer that time to someone else who is waiting for an appointment.
Dental Insurance
We accept many dental plans. Dental insurance can be a real help in paying for routine dental care. However, yearly dental benefits have not increased significantly in at least 30 years. Patients with significant dental treatment needs will find that their dental expenses will likely exceed their dental benefits, sometimes by a considerable amount. We therefore advise patients to be cautious about seeking a dentist based on participation in a dental plan, but rather to seek out a dentist whom they feel has the best ability to meet their clinical needs and personal expectations. Not all dentists are alike. Most dentists have certain areas in which they are particularly experienced, and patients should seek them out accordingly.
Medical Insurance
Some care offered by this office, particularly in the realm of oral medicine, is covered by medical plans.