New to Abbey Wood? How to Register With a Dentist

Registering with a dentist is simpler than most people expect. Here is how it works, what to bring and what happens at the first appointment.

Registering with a dentist is simpler than registering with a doctor. There is no catchment area and no formal list you have to be accepted onto in the way people often assume. You contact a practice, they take some details, and they give you an appointment.

That is genuinely most of it. The steps below are about what is useful to have ready rather than hurdles to clear. Full details of registering with the practice are on our new patients page.

Getting in touch

Ring the practice, fill in the contact form on this site, or send a message on WhatsApp. They all reach the same team. If something is bothering you at the moment, say so at that point, because it changes how urgently we look for a slot.

You will be asked for your name, a phone number and an email address, and a few questions about your general health and any medication. Some of that can be done on a short form before you arrive, which saves time on the day.

You do not need to have left your old practice first, and you will not be asked for a reason for changing. If you simply want to be seen closer to home, that is reason enough.

What to bring

Details of any medication you take, including the dose if you know it. A photograph of the boxes on your phone is fine and is easier than remembering names. Any relevant medical history: conditions, allergies, recent surgery, anything a clinician would want to know before treating you.

If you can get hold of notes or x rays from your previous dentist easily, bring them. They save repeating recent imaging and they give us some history. If you cannot, it is not a problem. We will examine you and build the picture from what we find.

If you are exempt from NHS charges, mention it when you get in touch rather than on the day, so we can explain what that means here before you book.

What the first appointment covers

It starts with a conversation. What brought you in, how you have got on with dental care in the past, and anything you are unhappy with. That shapes what the rest of the appointment is for, so it is worth being candid, including about nerves.

Then the examination: teeth, gums, the bite, and the soft tissues of the mouth, including a check of the tissues for anything that needs watching. We take x rays where they are needed, and images where they help us show you what we are describing rather than just telling you.

How often x rays are taken depends on your own risk and on what we can see, rather than being routine at every visit. If you have had recent images elsewhere and can get them sent over, that may mean we do not need to repeat them.

What you leave with

A written plan. What we found, what the options are, the order we would suggest doing things in, and the cost of each stage in writing. You are not asked to decide anything in the chair, and there is no pressure to book treatment on the day.

You will also leave with an interval: how long we think it is sensible to wait before your next examination, based on your own risk rather than a default six months. That gets reviewed each time you come.

If you need a hygiene appointment, that is usually booked separately from the examination, because it is a different job with a different purpose. We will tell you at the first visit whether one is worth arranging and how often.

Practical details

We are on Harrow Manor Way in Abbey Wood, and we are open Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:30, closed between 13:00 and 14:00 for lunch. If you work standard hours, the start and end of the day tend to be the slots people ask for first, so it is worth booking those a little in advance.

We welcome private patients and NHS exempt patients, and we see children as well as adults, so families can usually be booked together. If you have recently moved to the area and have been meaning to sort this out, get in touch and we will find you a time.

If nothing is wrong and you are simply organising yourself after a move, an ordinary check up is the right appointment to book. It gives us a baseline to compare against in future, and it means that if something does go wrong later, you are already a patient here rather than a stranger ringing on a difficult morning.

It is also worth registering everyone in the household at the same time rather than one at a time. It makes appointments easier to arrange around school and work, and it means we hold one set of notes for the family instead of picking up each history separately later on.

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General Dentistry

Everyday dental care for the whole family.