Appointment Information

About your appointment

The initial appointment will involve a thorough dental examination, scale and polish (depending on age and need), remineralising agent (depending on age and need), customised oral hygiene instruction and dietary advice, myofunctional and orthodontic screening, airway and tongue tie screening and sleep screening. Depending on the age of your child we will also discuss breast/bottle/solids feeding, dummy/thumb sucking, teething issues/advice and spend time reviewing information about your concerns and your child's symptoms (if any), their functional history and any queries or questions you may have.

With your permission, we may take photos of your child's mouth so Bec can assess the jaw structures, oral rest posture, tongue mobility, risk of airway problems, their bite and degree of dental crowding. We have found that quite often parents don’t actually realise that their child may be showing signs of a sleep or dental issue until we talk them through the photographs and explain to them what we can see. Bec may advise that there is some dysfunction evident and may recommend some further, in depth evaluation and/or some myofunctional therapy. Typically this will require a second appointment.

Depending on available staff, there may be instances where Bec will need to audio record the “charting” component of her examination. This is because young children only have short attention spans and we want your child to have the most positive experience possible. So while hand written charting is also an option, it's not the quickest and doesn't leave as much time for play! The audio recording will be permanently deleted once the information has been transferred onto your child’s record.

If Bec can see that your child is at risk of dental decay between the teeth she may recommend some xrays which cannot be taken in your home. Bec can recommend a clinic in your area to have this done or you can elect to see Bec for this at her “brick and mortar” clinic in Duncraig. This is a separate clinic, not affiliated with Developmental Dental but Bec does see patients there when required treatment cannot be completed within the home environment.

Bec will usually start the appointment with a quick chat with the parent or caregiver to confirm any concerns or queries and then for the remainder of the appointment the majority of the focus will be on your child. This allows Bec to start building rapport one-on-one with your child, creating a good experience for them and building their confidence and ease for her to return for any future appointments. If you would prefer to discuss any sensitive matters such as any concerns with feeding, behaviour, learning or emotional regulation which you don’t feel comfortable discussing in front of your child then please call Bec ahead of time to discuss in private. Your child’s comfort is our number one priority and is key to making this a successful visit for them. We want families to always have a positive experience with us.

Bec will review any photos, findings of the examination and potential options for treatment if required at the end of the appointment and discuss these with you. During this time, your child is welcome to run off and play, grab a snack, entertain themselves with my props and toys or if your child needs you and has had enough of us being in their space we can also arrange a telehealth appointment to discuss this with you at a separate time (not covered by Medicare).

We encourage you to prepare a list of questions, any reports, photographs, videos, radiographs or other information that you feel you would like Bec to look over for the appointment. We want to ensure that we leave you with all your questions fully answered and that we are all on the same page as to the best way forward for your child. It’s important that we understand the “why” behind any treatment or referrals recommended to really appreciate a great outcome.

About the business

Developmental Dental is a family friendly business where kids come first! Even my own! Our hours of business are 9am to 2.30pm Monday to Thursday to fit in with school drop off and pick up during the school term. Fridays we are open 9am til 5pm and one or two days during the school holidays I do open my books for full 9am til 5pm sessions. However, these do go fast and you need to book well in advance.

Payment is required in full on the day of treatment. We accept cash, EFTPOS, Visa and Mastercard with Amex attracting additional fees. At this time due to the mobile nature of our business we cannot securely offer HICAPS processing, so in order to claim any rebates you will have to process these with your health fund after the appointment. This can usually be done quite easily online or through an app on your phone.

We are very happy to accept patients eligible for Medicare’s Child Dental Benefit Scheme, however, there is extra paperwork required for you to fill out as a requirement from Medicare so please let us know in advance if you will be using this as your payment method.

Please note myofunctional evaluations and treatment programs are not able to be claimed through Medicare or private health insurance and will need to be paid fully out of pocket. We have payment plans available if required and this can be discussed with Bec during the treatment planning phase.

Cancellation

Given that we are a mobile business, our days are meticulously planned to allow for as many families as possible to be able to access our services in the most logistically effective way that we can manage. However, I do understand that things come up and children get sick. 24 hours notice will be required to avoid a cancellation fee.

Preparing for your appointment

Please ensure there is somewhere available for me to park my car with easy access to your front door.

Friendly pets are very welcome to come up to me and say hi and have a sniff.

Please do not do any extra housework for my arrival but I will need a well lit, open room to conduct my examination with your child. This will ideally be a play room, rumpus room, lounge room or even the backyard. Somewhere your child enjoys playing and there is room for your child and myself to be sitting around on the floor together with room for my toys, props and instruments is ideal.

When discussing this appointment with your child please avoid the words: hurt, needle, sharp or anything negative and do not use the visit as a threat for better tooth brushing ie, “you better let me brush your teeth, the dentist is coming tomorrow!”

It is best to be very casual about my visit. One or two days before my arrival, it is a good idea to just mention in passing that “Bec will be coming on Tuesday to count your teeth and play some games with us!” If your child needs more information, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure” are perfectly acceptable answers. Show your child my photo so they know what to expect when I arrive and you can follow up with “let’s ask Bec when she gets here.” Too many well meaning parents say things like “it won’t hurt”, “they won’t give you a needle today”, “it will be over quickly” etc etc and this just makes our job so much harder and your child’s experience less than the wonderful time it CAN be. If you or your child is particularly anxious about my visit PLEASE let me know in advance so that I can suggest some extra preparation options for you that will help.

Our business is largely referral based, and if you are happy with our service, we would love you to spread the word the with any friends or family who may be looking for a new dental practitioner.