What To ExpectAt Your First Visit.

Bring your list of medicines, any allergies, your health fund card if you plan to claim, and any dental records or X-rays you have. If you have a sleep study, a sleep apnoea diagnosis or allergy test results, bring those too.

Each item helps for a reason. Medicines, health conditions and allergies affect which materials and treatments suit you. A sleep or allergy report helps us see the full picture, including any past reaction to a metal or dental material. Earlier X-rays can save you an extra image. When you write your list, include supplements. If you’re not sure whether to ask for your old records, ask our team whether we should request them before your visit.

Bring your questions as well. A short list of what worries you, such as old fillings, snoring, cost or nerves, helps you get what you came for. You can ask what any step involves, ask us to stop, and take time before you agree to anything. If you’re missing something on this list, come anyway and tell us.

Contact our team before your appointment and we’ll send them with instructions. Email care@absolutedental.com.au or call (08) 9321 6398. If filling them in is hard, tell us and we’ll help.

The forms ask about your health history, your medicines and any allergies, so it helps to have your medicines list in front of you. Keep to the facts that matter for your dental care. You can discuss anything more detailed with your dentist in person, and you can ask our team if you’re unsure what a question means.

If reading, writing or the time it takes is a barrier, say so when you get in touch, and ask what help we can offer. Please don’t send detailed medical information in a general enquiry message.

Tell us when you book. We can talk about what worries you, explain each step as it happens, and offer a blanket, neck pillow or music. Ask your dentist about clinical options for anxiety if you’re interested, and they’ll assess whether any suit you.

Many people feel uneasy before a dental visit, and you don’t need to justify it. The worry might be pain, the sound of the drill, a past experience or not feeling in control. Naming it helps us choose what to do. Agree a signal with your dentist, such as raising a hand, and we’ll stop when you give it. Safety glasses are part of care, and we can explain what each step involves before it starts.

You decide the pace. If you’d like a short first visit that covers a talk and a check, ask for that when you book, and we’ll tell you what’s possible. We can’t promise a visit will feel comfortable throughout, and whether a clinical option for managing anxiety suits you comes down to an individual assessment. Call us on (08) 9321 6398 if you’d like to talk it through first.

No. Coming back after a long gap is common, and the reasons are usually easy to understand. A first visit is about where things stand now. We explain what we find, and we plan the next steps with you.

People stay away for many reasons: a bad experience, nerves, low mood, ADHD, money worries or a busy life. You don’t need to explain, though telling us helps your dentist plan. The visit starts with a talk about your health, medicines, sleep, eating habits and dental history, and what you’d like from the visit. Then comes a careful look at your teeth, gums, bite and soft tissues, with X-rays only when they would help answer a question.

You then hear what we found, in plain words, and your options, including waiting where that’s reasonable. We go over costs and materials before you decide, and you can take the plan home to think about. You can ask for a break or say stop at any point. We can’t promise a particular outcome, but we won’t judge the gap.

It depends on the appointment you book and what you’d like to cover. Ask our team for an estimate when you book, and say so if you’d like extra time to talk.

We don’t set one fixed length for a first visit, because it depends on what you’re coming for and on what we find. A visit usually includes a talk about your health, a careful examination, X-rays only if they would help, and a discussion of your findings, options and costs. A visit with more to cover, or one where you want more time to ask questions, may need a longer booking.

It helps to allow some extra time on the day, in case you want to ask questions or book your next visit. If you’re nervous, tell us when you book so our team can plan around it. We can’t promise a length for any treatment until your dentist has examined you.

Only if they will help. Your dentist suggests imaging based on your examination, your history and any records you bring. You can ask why an image is suggested and what it costs before saying yes.

The ADA says the radiation from a dental X-ray is much less than the radiation you’re exposed to from everyday sources, and that your dentist decides how often you need them from how well you care for your teeth, whether you have decay or gum disease now, your risk of developing either and your past treatment (teeth.org.au). If you have recent X-rays from another dentist, bring them, because they may save a repeat.

The new patient offer includes intraoral X-rays and photographs where clinically appropriate, at the dentist’s discretion. OPG and CBCT scans and other advanced imaging are excluded unless specifically stated, so ask about the cost before one is taken. Tell your dentist if you think you may be pregnant.

• Australian Dental Association, teeth.org.au. Dental X-rays

Yes. Raise old silver (amalgam) fillings, reactions to materials, snoring, grinding or food questions whenever you like. Your dentist explains what they find and your options, and suggests seeing your doctor if something needs a medical assessment.

On old fillings, a sound filling can often stay: replacing sound amalgam hasn’t been shown to improve general health (ADA Policy 6.18, 2026). Your dentist checks whether yours are still sound and tells you. On materials, tell us about any past reaction, and you’ll hear which options suit each tooth and what each costs. On snoring, a doctor makes the first diagnosis of sleep apnoea, and your dentist can look at your teeth and mouth and suggest you see your GP.

Bring any sleep study or allergy results. We’ll talk about what you ask, and we won’t promise that a dental change will fix tiredness or another condition. You can raise these at the start of the visit or add them later.

• Australian Dental Association. Policy Statement 6.18 – Safety of Dental Amalgam (amended April 2026)
• Australian Dental Association. Policy Statement 6.7 – Use of Dental Appliances to Treat Sleep-Disordered Breathing (reviewed June 2025)

We can claim eligible items on the spot through HICAPS with participating funds, using your physical card or a supported digital one. Your policy, its waiting periods and limits, and the services you receive determine what you get back, so check with your insurer before you come.

The practice participates in HBF Members’ Plus and the nib First Choice Network for eligible practitioners and services. Check your cover and participating dentist before booking. Other funds’ logos on our website don’t mean a preferred-provider arrangement, so ask your fund if you’re with another one.

Medicare doesn’t cover most dental services (health.gov.au). A good question for your fund is what remains of your annual limit and whether a waiting period applies. Ask us for the item codes and fees in your quote, so you can ask your fund what it pays. We can’t promise a rebate or a no-gap appointment. Details of the new patient offer and payment plans are on our patient offers and payment options pages.

• Australian Government, health.gov.au. What Medicare covers

Your dentist recommends a gap based on your oral health and your needs. No single schedule suits everyone.

Someone with healthy gums and little decay may come back less often than someone with gum disease, a dry mouth, grinding or a history of new cavities. Each check-up is a chance to tell us what has changed in your health, medicines or worries. We look over your teeth and gums, then adjust your prevention plan, food and home-care advice included.

Ask your dentist when to return and what to focus on until then, and write the answer down. Don’t wait for the date if something changes sooner, such as pain, bleeding gums, a broken filling or a new lump or sore. We can’t promise a particular result from regular visits, but small problems are easier to deal with when they’re found early.