POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Dear Patient,

We would like to welcome you to our practice of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. This information below will help answer many of the questions you might have regarding our office policies and procedures. Please take the time to read it.

First, we enclose a registration and medical history form for you to fill in and bring with you to your appointment. This will save you time at the office.

An oral and maxillofacial surgeon is a graduate of college and dental school, who has then completed an additional four to six years of hospital residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is a specialist in the removal of teeth (impacted and otherwise) utilizing various anesthetic techniques. He is an expert in treating accident victims who has injuries to teeth, the jaw, any other facial bone, and the facial skin. He treats lesions and diseases of the face and oral cavity as well as doing corrective and cosmetic facial bone and jaw surgery. Examples of this are correction of prominent or recessive jaws or chins, malocclusion problems (bad bites), cleft palates, and implants. Please note: For your benefit and ours, we work by appointment. Oral surgeons are often called on to treat emergencies in the office and at the hospital which can affect our appointment schedule. Please ask when you arrive if a delay is expected.

Please bring or have your dentist send the appropriate x-rays we might be able to use. We often need to take further x-rays if the area of tooth is not fully shown, or if the x-rays are more than one year old.

Several types of anesthesia are available for oral surgery procedures. They include: local anesthesia (injections of “novocaine”), the use of nitrous oxide analgesia (a gas which causes a state of relaxation-used mostly for short procedures), and/or the use of intravenous medications to cause a more general state of relaxation or sleep. The choices must be evaluated with respect to your general health, type of procedure, level or anxiety, and most important, patient preference. If you might choose IV sedation or nitrous oxide, then you must have nothing to eat or drink six hours before your procedure. Water and medications up to the time of your procedure are fine. You must be accompanied by someone who can drive you, stay with you at the office, and stay with you once you return home. Nitrous oxide is not covered by insurance.

WISDOM TEETH (third molars): If all four wisdom teeth are to be removed, we feel it is best done in one visit. While this usually involves only about twenty minutes of surgery, the appointment is made for one hour to allow for discussion, anesthesia, and post-operative instructions. Note: If you prefer to have a separate consultation visit, please let us know ahead of time. While, we remove third molars at any age, the ideal time to remove third molars is as a late teenager.

IMPLANTS: Over the last twenty years, dental implants have become the tooth replacement of choice usually in place of conventional bridge work. Ask your surgeon if you would like additional information on them.

We are often asked if a doctor’s recommendation is necessary to make an appointment here. It is not. A very large percentage of our patients are referred by other patients. We are especially delighted when a patient refers a friend or family member, and we hope our care will encourage you to do so!

Finally, a detailed list of post-operative instructions will be provided and discussed by our staff following surgery. We will listen to you and answer all questions you may have before leaving. You will be given the surgeon’s home phone number for after hours. We look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Eric W. Ruckert, D.D.S.

Richard C. Edwards, D.D.S.