Dentist video scripts you already say in the chair

The dentist's. About seventy seconds.

You have been told you need a crown, and nothing hurts. That is the part that makes people wait, so let me explain what we are actually looking at.

A tooth can be cracked, worn down or heavily filled and still feel completely fine. Nerves are slow to complain. By the time a tooth does hurt, the fix is usually bigger than it would have been, and sometimes it is a different treatment altogether.

A crown covers what is left of the tooth so it stops flexing and splitting. That is the whole job.

Waiting is a real option and sometimes it is the right one. If you want to wait, ask us two questions: what are we watching for, and when do we look again. A plan to wait is a plan. Forgetting about it is not.

Bring it up at your next visit and we will go through your own tooth with you.

The dentist's. Swap the timings and the lab answer for yours.

You are booked for a crown and someone said it is two appointments. Here is why, so the second one is not a surprise.

First visit. We get the tooth numb, shape it, and take a scan or an impression. You go home with a temporary crown on. Usually about an hour.

Then the crown gets made to fit your tooth and your bite. Depending on the practice that happens in a lab or here in the building, and that is what the wait is.

Second visit. The temporary comes off, we try the new one in, check how it feels when you bite, and fix it in place. Usually shorter than the first.

Two things while you are in the temporary. It is not as strong, so go easy on anything sticky on that side. And if it comes off, call us. It is not an emergency, but do not leave it.

Ask us at your first visit how long the middle part usually takes here.

The money beat, on its own. The dentist's or the treatment coordinator's.

People call and ask what a crown costs, and we do not give a number on the phone. Here is the honest reason.

The price depends on what the tooth actually needs. A crown on its own is one number. A crown that needs a build-up underneath it, or a root canal first, is a different one. Nobody knows which it is until we look and take an x-ray.

So here is what we do instead. You come in, we look, and you leave with a written plan. It lists every step, what each step costs, what your benefits are likely to cover this year, and what is left for you. On paper, before you agree to anything.

And if the number is more than you expected, say so out loud. There is usually more than one way to treat a tooth, and the smaller option is sometimes the right one. We would much rather have that conversation than have you cancel and disappear.

The shortest one, and the easiest first video to record.

If it has been three years, or ten, or you have honestly lost count, this one is for you.

Here is the thing nobody says out loud. We are not going to tell you off. Everybody here has seen the whole range, and the person who has stayed away longest is usually the one most worried about a lecture. We would rather you walked in than kept avoiding it.

A first visit back is small. We look, we take x-rays, we talk. Nothing gets drilled that day. You leave knowing what is going on and what the choices are, and then you decide what happens next and when.

One thing that helps. Tell the front desk when you book that it has been a while. They will give you a longer appointment, and nobody will be surprised.

That is it. Come in when you are ready.

Autumn only. The date is the one a practice reads out, not a promise of ours.

Quick one about your dental benefits, because this catches people every single year.

Most dental plans give you a maximum for the calendar year. Whatever you have not used by 31 December does not roll over. It resets, and the part you did not use is gone.

So if you agreed to treatment in the spring and never booked it, now is the time to look at it. Same if you are due a cleaning you have not had this year.

Two practical things. December fills up, so the earlier you call the more choice you have. And if your treatment can be split across two visits, part this year and part in January, ask us, because sometimes that works out better for you.

Call the office and ask what you have left. It takes a minute and we can check while you are on the phone.

The hygienist's, and the one that quietly defends your recall list.

You get a text from us about a cleaning every six months, and plenty of people quietly wonder whether that is just how dental offices sell cleanings.

Here is what actually happens. Your interval is set for you. Some people come every three or four months because of their gums, a history of decay, a dry mouth, smoking or a medical condition. Some people are fine at longer than six. It is a judgement about your mouth, not one rule for everybody.

And the visit is more than a clean. It is the check for the things that do not hurt yet, a look at your gums with a small measuring probe, and a look over the soft tissue. Most of what we find that way is quicker and cheaper to deal with early.

If you do not know what your interval is, or why it is that, ask at your next visit. You should be able to say what yours is and what it is based on.

The dentist's. Read it slowly, the way you would say it.

The needle is the reason a lot of people put off dentistry, so let us talk about it instead of pretending it is nothing.

Here is what happens. Before anything goes near you, we put a numbing gel on the gum and leave it a minute or two, which takes the edge off the surface. Then the anaesthetic goes in slowly, because slow is what makes the difference. Most people describe pressure more than a sharp sting.

Then we wait. That waiting is not us being disorganised. Rushing the wait is the most common reason somebody feels more than they should.

Two things that help. Tell us before we start that you are anxious, because we can change the order we do things. And agree a signal. You raise your hand, we stop. Every time.

If numbing has not worked well for you in the past, tell us that too. It is useful and it changes what we do.

The hygienist's or the practice manager's. It is aimed at the parent, not the child.

If you are bringing a child in for the first time, the week before matters more than the visit does.

Here is the day itself. They sit in the chair, often on a parent's lap if they are small. We count the teeth, have a look, and if they are happy we do a quick clean and put fluoride varnish on. For a lot of children the whole thing is about fifteen minutes.

Now the week before. Three things make it go well.

Keep your own history out of it. If they hear that you hate the dentist, that is what they arrive with.

Skip the words. Hurt, pain, needle, drill, brave. Even when you use them to reassure, they put the idea there. Say we are going to count your teeth.

And do not promise a treat for being good, because it tells them there is something to get through.

Book a morning if you can. Tired children have a harder time, and so does everyone else.

The dentist's. It points back at the written instructions rather than replacing them.

Your written instructions come first, and they are in the envelope you left with. This is the short version of the first day.

Bleeding. Some oozing for a few hours is normal. Bite firmly on the gauze, leave it there, and stop lifting it to check.

Swelling. It usually peaks a day or two after, not on the day, so day two looking worse than day one is not a bad sign on its own.

Eating. Soft and lukewarm. Nothing hot on the first day, and chew on the other side.

The three to avoid. Do not rinse hard, do not use a straw, and do not smoke, because all three can disturb the clot that is doing the healing.

Call us if the bleeding will not settle, if the pain gets worse after day three instead of better, or if you get a fever. Those are the ones we want to hear about, and we would much rather you rang.

Thanks for sending this. I cannot tell you what is going on from a photo, and I would not want to guess about your tooth. Call the office and we will get you looked at properly.