Your First Visit to an Oral Surgeon
A first surgical consultation is not a routine dental checkup. Here is what actually happens, what to bring, and how Dr. Ralph M. Eichstaedt uses that hour to plan your care.
What to Expect Before, During, and After the Appointment
Most patients do not schedule Your First Visit to an Oral Surgeon out of curiosity. A general dentist handed you a referral, an orthodontist flagged a canine that never came in, or a tooth broke over the weekend and now the pain will not settle. Whichever path brought you here, the goal of the first appointment is the same: get a clear diagnosis, review imaging, and leave with an honest plan.
Belleair Oral Surgery & Implants has been an independent, locally owned practice in Belleair Bluffs since 2011. Dr. Eichstaedt is the sole surgeon, which means the surgeon who plans your case is the surgeon who performs it. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, trained in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Washington University and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, with a fellowship in tumor and reconstructive surgery at the University of Miami under the renowned oral and maxillofacial surgeon Robert Marx, DDS. He has been in practice since 1990.
This page walks through the visit start to finish so you arrive prepared. If a same-visit procedure is possible, we will tell you before you drive over, not after.
How to Prepare Before Your Oral Surgery Consultation
Preparation is mostly paperwork and logistics. Fill out the new patient forms before you arrive if we sent them by email. It shortens the check-in and gives Dr. Eichstaedt time with your file before he walks into the room.
Bring the practical items: a photo ID, your dental insurance card, your medical insurance card, and any referral paperwork your general dentist or orthodontist provided. Bring a written list of every medication and supplement you take, including dosages, and note any blood thinners, bisphosphonates, or recent hospitalizations. If you have had a panoramic X-ray or a CBCT scan within the past year, ask your referring office to send the file so we do not repeat imaging you already have.
Two questions come up on almost every call. Can I eat before the appointment? For a consultation only, yes. If there is any chance we will perform surgery the same visit under IV sedation or general anesthesia, follow the before anesthesia instructions and do not eat or drink for the window specified. When in doubt, treat the appointment as if sedation is possible and arrange a driver.
Bring someone who can drive you home if sedation is on the table. Even for a consultation, patients weighing full-arch or implant cases often find it helpful to bring a spouse or adult child who can listen alongside them.
What Happens During the Consultation with Dr. Eichstaedt
The visit follows a consistent order. First, a medical and dental history review with the clinical team, going deeper than a general dental intake: cardiac history, medications, past surgeries, allergies, anesthesia experiences, and anything relevant to healing. This is not a formality. It changes how a case is planned.
Next, Dr. Eichstaedt performs the clinical exam. He looks at the tooth or area in question, checks the surrounding teeth and soft tissue, evaluates the bite, and palpates lymph nodes and the jaw joint when relevant. If your referring dentist sent imaging, he reviews it with you on the monitor. If new imaging is needed, we capture it in the office using in-house digital sensors and CBCT 3D scanning, then walk through what the scan shows.
Then comes the diagnosis and treatment plan discussion. Plain language, not jargon. He tells you what the problem is, what the options are, what he recommends and why, and what happens if you do nothing. That includes what the procedure involves, what recovery actually looks like (yes, there will be some swelling), and which anesthesia option fits the case and your comfort level. Anesthesia choices at this office include local anesthesia, oral sedation, IV sedation, and general anesthesia, chosen around the case and your medical history.
Questions get answered before you leave the chair. Second opinions are welcome and encouraged for major cases: if you want to think it over or consult with your general dentist, take the plan home.
When Surgery Is Completed the Same Day as the Consultation
Consultation and procedure are frequently completed in a single visit. Wisdom teeth removal, straightforward dental extractions, socket preservation, grafts, and some implant placements can be handled the same day if the diagnosis is clear, the schedule allows, and you arrived prepared for sedation. This spares referral patients a second trip and a second round of time off work.
Same-day surgery is not the default. If the case is complex, if additional imaging or lab work is needed, or if you want time to weigh options such as dentures vs. dental implants or a dental bridge vs. dental implants, the surgery is scheduled for a separate appointment. Dr. Eichstaedt will tell you plainly which category your case falls into.
There is also a scenario worth naming: surgery is not always recommended. Sometimes the honest answer is to monitor, treat with antibiotics first, or send you back to your general dentist for a restoration that avoids extraction. If that is what the exam shows, that is what he will say.
Emergency appointment spots are reserved every day. A patient with active pain, a broken tooth, or a spreading infection is not asked to wait three weeks for a routine slot. A daily emergency slot is not a marketing line here, it is how the schedule is built.
Cost, Insurance, and Payment Options Reviewed at the Visit
Cost and coverage get answered directly. Before you leave the consultation, our team pulls together an estimate that reflects the recommended procedure, the anesthesia chosen, and what your plan is likely to cover versus what you will owe out of pocket. If a benefits verification is still pending, we tell you that too rather than guessing.
Most major PPO dental plans are accepted, along with several supplemental plans. For patients without dental insurance, or with coverage that leaves a meaningful balance, Sunbit payment plans are available and can often be approved in the office within a few minutes. Full details on carriers and financing live on the oral surgery insurance and payment options page.
Specific fees depend on the procedure, the anesthesia, and any grafting or imaging involved, so we do not quote numbers over the phone before an exam. What we can promise is that the estimate you receive at the consultation is the estimate, not a starting point that grows once you commit.
Why the First Oral Surgery Visit Matters More Than a Routine Dental Appointment
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon completes four to six years of hospital-based residency after dental school, training in anesthesia, hard and soft tissue surgery, and management of medically complex patients. That is the reason your general dentist referred you rather than handling the case in their chair. The first visit is where that training gets applied to your specific situation.
It is also where the plan gets built. Imaging, diagnosis, anesthesia selection, sequencing of any bone graft or implant work, and coordination with your restorative dentist all start at that appointment. Getting it right at the front end shortens the timeline on the back end.
Spanish is spoken in the office if that makes the conversation easier for you or a family member. The practice serves Belleair Bluffs, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Clearwater, Largo, Indian Rocks Beach, Seminole, Dunedin, and the surrounding Pinellas County beaches, and referring dentists across the county send their surgical cases here.
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Ready to Schedule Your Consultation?
Call Belleair Oral Surgery & Implants to set up your first visit. If you are in active pain or dealing with a broken tooth, ask about the emergency slot held on the day’s schedule.