Your First Visit....

Before your first visit, we mail or fax you some forms or you can log on our website, click “New Patient” then Patient Health History, Pertinent Scar-Toxicity History …to fill out and bring it with you on your visit. So we can devote all your visiting hour on you, get to know you and your health history, your current health situation and needs.

In preparation for your visit, we also ask you to write and bring notes about your current symptoms and concerns. We ask that you describe them briefly but thoroughly, estimating how long you have experienced each symptom and grading it on a scale of 1-10 (1 = mild, 10 = severe).

If you’ve had x-rays or dental study models of your teeth within the past year, we encourage you to send them in advance or bring them with you. If you are addressing any medical issues with another health practitioner, we appreciate your sending or bringing the medical records, tests or medication history that may relate to your dental situation.

Before your first visit, you may find it useful to spend some time writing about the events in your life as they relate to your health—or creating a timeline of your health issues and major life events. This can help you crystallize your sense of what’s going on with respect to your health (thus making things easier to recall and discuss during your visit). You might even see relationships and patterns among the events that weren’t noticed to you before. If you do this writing, please bring it with you or include it with the other material you send.

At the beginning of your first visit, Dr. Chen will meet with you and begin getting to know you as an entire person—not just your current health concerns, but your needs, desires and values, emotion, spirituality. You will be seated in one of the exam rooms. Here, Dr. Chen will conduct all appropriate exams and tests to help determine your current dental health status. If especially extensive clinical examination and testing are needed, a follow-up visit will be offered.

Once the testing is complete she will give you her initial findings and preliminary recommendations. We encourage you to take notes and ask as many questions as you need in order to fully understand what you need to know. We also encourage you to ask about all available treatment options, what Dr. Chen recommends and why. We will advise you on how to find relevant scientific articles, information on web resources and other references to help you gather the knowledge you need to make the best, most informed decision about your health issues. With this information in hand, you are on your way—and encouraged—to choose your path to optimum health.

We will come to understand one another and develop a rapport for a long-term happy, healthy future. By understanding your situation in terms of what’s important for today, tomorrow and the long-term, you enhance your ability to live by your educated choice.