Scheduling Your Continuing Care Appointments

Continuing care appointments with our registered dental hygienist Carol Beeler-Cowart are scheduled no just to clean your teeth, but to help control periodontal (gum) disease. Periodontal disease is a progressive condition caused by bacteria. Although it can not be totally cured, it can be controlled. Your continueing care appointments, when supplemented with excellent home care on your part, will help you maintain your oral health and prevent bone and tooth loss. In addition, there is growing body of scientific evidence suggesting possible links between periodontal disease and other systemic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.

We make every effort to schedule appointments for the convenience of our patients. We need your cooperation to insure that everyone has an opportunity for timely treatment. Please keep the following in mind:

• It is very important that your continuing care appointments be scheduled on a regular basis. We will recommend a specific schedule to you, and we urge you to schedule in advance and stick to the shedule for best results
• Early morning and late afternoon appointments are in great demand in our office. We will be happy to schedule you at one of those times if one is available, but we ask that you please make every effort to keep the appointment. Last-minute changes often prevent us from offering these popular times to other patients who have requested them.
• We fully understand that there are times when illness or unexpected obligations cause patients to reschedule appointments. However, we ask that you honor your appointments whenever possible so that you can stay on schedule and derive the maximum benefits from our treatment.
• Patients who are not experiencing pain or bleeding when they brush or floss often do not feel the need to stay on a regular continuing care schedule. Longer intervals between appointments may be recommended for patients who are doing well, but long-term oral health depends in part on regularly scheduling professional visits in our office. We believe that prevention is the best treatment of all.

If at any time you have questions about our prevention program or any other services we offer, please feel free to call us. We want to work in partnership with you to improve your health, and remember, you're never fully dressed without a smile.

Sincerely,

Dr.John V. Ward Jr., D.M.D. and Team