First Visit

Thank you for your interest in West Ridge Family Dentistry! When you’re looking for a new Orillia dentist for your family or for yourself or a loved one, one of the key deciding factors is knowing that your family is offered the level of personalized care you’re looking for, delivered by a team you can come to trust. We have designed our practice with this in mind. Whether you’re looking for a dental team to provide your regular cleanings and preventive care, or require more extensive work, we are dedicated to becoming co-partners in achieving your oral health goals – whatever they may be.

New Patient?

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Please fill out the easy-to-use, private, and secure intake form.



Appointment Booking

At West Ridge Family Dentistry, your first visit experience begins when you call to book an appointment. A friendly intake specialist will find out more about your immediate needs and schedule your first appointment at a time that is convenient for you. We will also schedule a telephone appointment with our Treatment Coordinator, Erin, and answer any questions you may have about our practice, our doctors, and what you can expect when you visit.

Because your personalized care is our number-one priority, Erin takes the time to get to know you and your personal goals and wishes for your smile. During this phone call, she will learn about your medical history, and whatever specific requirements you have for your dental care. If you’re anxious about visiting the dentist, it’s okay. We have ways to help, from giving you the education and information you need to feel at ease, or even to provide sedation during your appointments.


New Patient Exam

At your comprehensive new-patient exam, we will do a complete chart of your teeth and any restorative work that you have had in the past as well as update your x-rays. Then we use a small hand-held scanner called a CariVu that shines a special light on all of your teeth and provides early detection of tooth decay or any small cracks in your teeth that could cause trouble in the future. Our goal is to always address any issues as soon as we can so that we can also use the least invasive methods possible to correct them. This is not only better for your tooth health in the long term, but also for your pocketbook. And, because it’s sometimes hard to understand what we see without seeing it yourself, we take intraoral pictures of your teeth, so you can have a complete picture of your oral health.

Dr. Collins or Dr. Piercy then chart any recommended treatments tooth by tooth, showing you the x-rays, CariVu scans, and intraoral photos so you see what we see. During this comprehensive exam, you can ask all the questions you need to in order to fully understand our recommendations. We do not want you to sit back and passively accept everything we tell you. We want you to understand why we make recommendations so that you co-partner with us and make confident choices for your care.


Dental Hygiene Exam & Cleaning

Your first dental hygiene appointment will be longer than subsequent visits because we take the time to make a complete gum (periodontal) assessment that includes charting measurements of the gum health around each of your teeth, making notations about any bleeding you experience, and using a disclosing solution to determine your plaque-free score. This creates a baseline for your care to determine how often you will require dental cleanings or in what areas education about homecare routines will help you enjoy excellent oral health for your lifetime. We’ll finish up your hygiene exam with a thorough teeth cleaning and scaling, and then polish your teeth for that fresh-from-the-dentist shine we all enjoy so much.


Wrap Up

After your hygiene appointment you’ll meet with Erin and Dr. Collins or Dr. Piercy for an appointment wrap up. We understand it may be hard to remember everything we tell you at this first visit, so we’ll give you a folder containing a copy of your plaque-free scores, your gum measurements, and your hygiene and dental treatment estimates. We want you to be able to have this information available whenever you want to see it. You can ask any questions you have at this time about your dental or hygiene recommendations.

Erin will then walk you through a discussion of costs, will submit any pre-determinations to your insurance company, and answer any additional questions that come up. She will also be available to you on the phone if you ever have any questions after you have left the practice.

Your first visit is an important discovery period – for you and for us – so we will spend time discussing your needs and assessing your oral health in detail. Vital to ensuring your long-term oral health, your first appointment will take a little longer than a regular hygiene visit – its length will depend on what we find and what questions you have about the care we can provide. When you call to schedule your appointment, we can talk about this a bit more in detail.

Our Location

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Hours of Operation

Monday:

8:00 am-6:00 pm

Tuesday:

8:00 am-7:00 pm

Wednesday:

8:00 am-8:00 pm

Thursday:

8:00 am-8:00 pm

Friday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed