Checkup and cleaning
About an hour. Most people book these twice a year and schedule the next one before leaving, which is how the good times stay available.
Appointments
How booking works, what to expect from each kind of visit, and what happens when plans change.
Booking
Call the office during opening hours, or send a request through the contact page and the front desk will phone you back with times. There is no online calendar to fight with, because for a practice this size a short conversation gets you a better appointment than a booking widget does.
When you request a time, it helps to say which part of the day suits you and how soon you need to be seen. Those two things decide almost everything.
What we will ask
- Whether you have been to this practice before.
- What the appointment is for, in your own words.
- Which parts of the week you can actually make.
- How you would like reminders sent.
Kinds of appointment
Rough lengths so you know what to set aside. The front desk will tell you exactly when you book.
Urgent appointment
Time is reserved each day for problems that cannot wait until the next opening. Call in the morning if you can. Describe what is happening rather than what you think the cause is.
New patient first visit
Longer, because it covers your history and a full assessment. See the new patient page for what to bring.
Children
Booked earlier in the day where possible. Families can usually be seen back to back rather than on separate trips.
Follow-up
Scheduled before you leave so it is already in the book. Length depends on what is planned and you will be told when it is booked.
Reminders
A reminder goes out a week before your appointment and again the day before. You choose text or email when you register, and you can change it at any time by telling the front desk.
Replying to a reminder reaches the office directly, so it is the quickest way to move an appointment. If you would rather not receive reminders at all, say so once and they stop on every channel.
If you need to cancel
Two business days' notice lets us offer the time to someone waiting, which is usually somebody in discomfort. Reply to your reminder or call the office.
Things happen. If you are unwell on the morning of an appointment, tell us and come another day rather than arriving sick.
If something is badly wrong outside opening hours, and it involves swelling that is spreading, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or an injury from an accident, that is an emergency room visit rather than a dental appointment. Go to the nearest emergency department.
Rivergate Dental is a demonstration and cannot be reached. The guidance above is general safety information rather than advice about your situation.