Greetings, new friend! If you’re reading this, then that most likely means that you are considering our doctors and our practice as your new provider. We thank you for the opportunity to introduce ourselves. We have provided answers to what we believe to be some important questions, and you can learn more about our doctors here. But feel free to reach out to anyone on our team via the contact information listed below to inquire further. 

 

First things first, what’s our “why”? 

It’s important that you, a potential patient, know that we choose to view our primary role as "doctor" means for us to serve as an educator. We recognize that you come to us because we have the advanced education, training, experience, and knowledge of ongoing research to help inform and guide you on your path to restoring and/or maintaining optimal oral and systemic health. We are also aware of the present-day burden on patients to sift through all of the information from other doctors, online, and from friends and family. Beyond that, we know that typically once a patient has started to seek out alternative therapies (such as ours), you’ve already spent a great deal of time and money on the wrong approaches to your health or “solutions” to your ailments. As such, we would like to make this first step as easy as possible for you so you can more swiftly work towards better understanding your oral health and its relation to your systemic wellness. 

 

What to expect from my first visit? 

 The first visit will be with a dental hygienist to collect all of your diagnostic records (listed below), review your medical history, and discuss your overall health goals. This first appointment takes about 90 minutes and may or may not include a hygiene visit.  The doctor will make time to review the information with you immediately after that and potentially suggest some further testing. Since we are doing such a deep review of all of your historic and present-day health history and concerns, and there is so much to evaluate between the oral-systemic health link, we sometimes request a second appointment to review the treatment plan with the doctor. However, if having two separate visits is not your preference, we will gladly accommodate you and do our best to make that same-day review as comprehensive as possible. 

 

What specific diagnostic records will be taken at my first visit? 

• First, we ask that you submit your paperwork prior to your visit, or come to this first visit with it already completed 

• CBCT for 3D scan of head and neck to identify hard and soft tissue pathologies, airway diameter, sinus and nasal health, and TMJ (if interested on this, more info can be found here)

• Digital panoramic & intra-oral radiographs for dental examination of historic dental work and existing disease/health state

• Clinical intra-oral photos - for documentation and easier patient education

• Digital occlusal scan to evaluate stress fractures, imbalances in dynamic function of the jaws

• Detailed questionnaires related to dental and systemic health history, sleep health, presentation of symptoms

• Review of and counsel on nutrition, hydration, oral hygiene habits and products used in the mouth and on the head and neck

• Head and neck visual cancer screening and counsel on ongoing cancer prevention

• Also, we welcome you to send any additional lab tests, reports, etc. from any other healthcare provider you may see including but not limited to your primary care physician, physical/occupational/speech/myofunctional therapist, nutritionist, etc. ; this can be sent prior to or after your initial diagnostic records visit

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Pending any additional needs, we will sometimes suggest further diagnostic records that may include, but are not limited to:

• Saliva testing to identify strains of bacteria present in patients with active periodontal disease or decay

• Home sleep test to screen patients with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing or have been diagnosed with sleep apnea 

• Mercury tri-test for patients planning to have mercury amalgam fillings removed

• Dental material sensitivity/allergy test for patients with existing treatment and/or are in need of treatment and have history of sensitivity to materials 

• Joint vibrational test for patients with TMJ disorder 

 

We hope this helps make your decision to join our practice that much easier. If not, please reach out to us at your convenience. Otherwise, we look forward to meeting you soon!

 

Warmest Regards,

 

Dr. Jill Ombrello