What To Expect On Your First Visit

reception desk

When you arrive, please call 415-389-5917 to check in. We will have emailed you a questionnaire to fill out regarding your pet's current symptoms, other health concerns, and any medications or supplements your pet receives. If your pet has insurance, please bring a claim form with you or email one to us before your visit.

After you have checked in by phone, one of our assistants will update the Doctor, then bring you and your pet into our clinic, where the Doctor will perform a complete physical examination and an oral examination with photographs. The Doctor will discuss your pet’s condition and give a verbal estimate of the anticipated cost of the recommended procedure(s). You will leave with a report card outlining your pet’s diagnosis, treatment recommendations and estimated fees, information about our anesthetic safety measures, and preoperative instructions.

If a procedure is scheduled, a deposit will be collected ($500, $1000 or $1500, depending on the estimated cost of the procedure).

Consultation appointments typically take 20-30 minutes and cost $225 for a Board-Certified specialist and $185 for a resident veterinarian. If your pet has not had blood tests (a complete blood count and chemistry profile) within 4-6 weeks of the consultation, we will likely take blood (and possibly urine) at the initial examination as well, which adds $250-350 to the cost of the initial visit.

“Why does my pet need a consultation first? Why can’t we just come in for the procedure? “

Although your family veterinarian may have examined your pet recently, it is important for Dr. Lommer or Dr. May to evaluate your pet prior to the procedure for a number of reasons:

Most importantly, because general anesthesia is required for all dental procedures, the doctor who will be treating your pet needs to perform a thorough physical examination on your pet prior to the procedure. Rather than taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to anesthesia, we tailor the anesthetic protocol (including the types and dosages of anesthetic drugs) to each individual patient. It is important for us to get to know your pet’s medical history, current physical condition, and personality in order to select the best anesthetic regimen.

In addition, a dental specialist may identify additional oral problems beyond those identified on a routine physical examination by a family practitioner. By performing the initial examination at a separate visit, we are better able to schedule the appropriate amount of procedure time for each patient.

Please call us at 415-389-5917 Monday through Thursday, 7:30 am – 5:00 pm, to schedule an appointment with one of our doctors.

Cancellation & rescheduling policy: We require 2 business days’ notice for cancellation or rescheduling of consultation appointments, and 1 week's notice for cancellation or rescheduling of procedure appointments. Because there is often a 4+ month wait for consultation appointments, we offer a waiting list for cancellations. If we receive less than 2 business days’ notice and we are unable to fill the appointment with someone from our waiting list, the full cost of the consultation will be charged. For this reason, we require a credit card for a non-refundable $1.00 fee at the time the appointment is made (the fee allows the credit card number to be stored in an encrypted manner). This prevents “no-shows” and allows us to serve another pet when someone is unable to come for their scheduled appointment.

Late arrival: Please note that if you are more than 10 minutes late for your consultation appointment, we will do our best to see you but cannot guarantee that we will be able to. You may have to wait until the following patients’ appointments are completed before seeing the doctor, and it's possible we won't be able to see you at all, depending on the day's schedule. If your appointment has to be rescheduled for another day, the cancellation fee will apply.

Surgical & procedural appointments: These appointments are scheduled by doctor approval only, after we have examined your pet. Procedures are typically scheduled within 1-3 weeks after a consultation visit. We require 1 week's notice for cancellation or rescheduling of procedure appointments; no-shows or cancellations within this time frame will result in forfeit of the deposit placed at the time of scheduling.

Preoperative instructions: Do not feed your pet after midnight the day of the appointment. Water is ok. Most oral medications may be given the morning of the procedure appointment, with a small treat or tiny amount of food if necessary. Certain medications for heart disease or high blood pressure should not be given the morning of the procedure. The Doctor will discuss preoperative instructions with you at the time of the consultation and you will leave with an Oral Health Report card and Preoperative Instruction sheet.

Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Aggie Animal Dental Center

Monday:

7:30 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

7:30 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

7:30 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

7:30 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

Closed

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed