{"id":24,"date":"2026-07-21T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/2026\/07\/21\/how-to-get-an-appointment-quickly\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T18:54:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T18:54:28","slug":"if-it-has-been-years-since-you-last-saw-a-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/2026\/07\/21\/if-it-has-been-years-since-you-last-saw-a-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"If it has been years since you last saw a dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A surprising number of people who ring reception start with an apology: it has been years, they know they should have come sooner, and they are a little embarrassed. If that is you, the first thing to know is that it is very common. The second is that nobody here will make a thing of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have a special interest in nervous patients, which in my experience is most of us. This is what I would like you to know before you book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Booking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you ring, just say it has been a while. You do not need to explain why. We will book you a longer first appointment than usual, so nobody is watching the clock, and reception can give you prices in writing before anything starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If phone calls are part of the problem, you can call in at the front desk on Fore Street instead. There is level access from the street, a hearing loop at reception and a lift to the first-floor surgeries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first appointment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first visit is mostly talking. I will ask what you would like to happen and what you would rather did not, and we agree a signal, usually a raised hand, that means stop. When you raise it, I stop. That promise matters more than anything else in the appointment, and we keep it every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I have a look, with a mirror and a light, and take X-rays if they are needed. Nothing else happens unless you want it to. It is entirely normal to leave the first appointment having had no treatment at all, just a clear picture of where things stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the check-up you get a written plan in plain English, in order of what matters most, with a price next to each item. It usually looks less alarming than people fear. Teeth are often in better shape than years of worrying suggested, and where there is work to do, it can be spread over several shorter visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We start with whatever will make the biggest difference to how you feel, which is often a hygiene appointment rather than anything involving a drill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things that help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Book a morning appointment, so you are not worrying about it all day.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Bring headphones. Plenty of patients listen to music or a podcast throughout.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Tell us about anything that went badly in the past, so we can avoid repeating it.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>If you think you might need sedation, ask. It is not right for everyone, but it is worth a conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coming back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best sign that a first visit went well is a second one. Most people find that the appointment they dreaded for years was far easier than they expected, and each one after it is easier still. You are welcome whenever you are ready.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lot of the people we see have not been to a dentist for years, often because of one bad experience long ago. Here is what your first visit back will actually be like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":59,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nervous-patients"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions\/67"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colorlibhub.com\/unapp-practice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}