FAQ

For information on the different student clinics, please call 909-558-4222.

For urgent care, please call 909-558-4222.

For children under the age of 15, please call 909-558-4689.

For orthodontic care (braces), please call 909-558-4616.

The School of Dentistry welcomes new patients. Please call 909-558-4222 to arrange for an appointment. Your first visit will determine whether your dental treatment needs are appropriate for our teaching clinics. Some of our clinics charge a modest fee for this initial screening (examination) appointment. There will be no dental treatment during this visit. If radiographs (x-rays) are needed to make a decision about treatment, there will be a fee.

If you are being referred by another dentist or have radiographs (x-rays) from prior treatment, please bring these x-rays with you on your first visit. Additional radiographs may be necessary before treatment decisions can be made. You may email your radiographs in advance of your appointment to digitalimage@llu.edu.

Patient care is paramount at LLU School of Dentistry Student Clinics. To determine if a case can be properly handled by one of our student dentists, the patient’s first appointment will be with a dental faculty dentist and a student dentist. This initial assessment will focus on obtaining a medical and dental history, radiographs (x-rays), and photographs, to determine your dental needs. 

Not all patients are eligible for dental treatment at our pre-doctoral student clinic. If treatment needs exceed the ability of our student dentists, a faculty instructor will refer you to one of our graduate student or faculty clinics.

For children 14 years old and younger, please call the Hutto-Patterson Pediatric Dental Clinic at 909-558-4689.

For information regarding dental treatment for adults (15 years of age and older), please call 909-558-4222.

*All patients under the age of 18 must be accompanied to every dental appointment by a parent or legal guardian.

Beginning your care

Once you have been accepted as a patient, you will be assigned to a student dentist within 30 days to manage your dental treatment. A complete dental examination including all appropriate radiographs, a dental history, a head and neck examination, an oral cancer examination and a thorough examination of your teeth and oral soft tissues will be conducted. Each student dentist is being trained to provide complete patient care. This examination may take more than one appointment and is very important to your treatment.

Your Dental Treatment

When patients are accepted into the student clinic, they are contacted by a Patient Care Coordinator. At that time an appointment for a thorough and complete examination will be made. Each student dentist is being trained to provide complete patient care which takes into consideration all aspects of the patient's medical needs. This examination is very important and may take more than one appointment to complete.

The results of this initial examination will be explained to each patient along with costs and all treatment options. A student dentist and a faculty member will work with each patient to develop a treatment plan that meets the specific needs and desired outcomes of that patient. Dental treatment takes longer at our student clinics as each treatment step is supervised by our faculty members. If time constraints require a patient to look for alternate care options, they may call the faculty practice at 909-558-4960 to schedule an appointment.

Patients who have dental insurance should bring their insurance information to their first appointment and as a courtesy, the Patient Business Office will bill the insurance company for the treatments. However, it is important for patients to understand that they are responsible for all costs involved in their dental treatment. If a patient does not have dental insurance, payment for services may be made by cash, check or most credit cards. It may also be possible to develop a payment plan with the Patient Business Office. Payment is due at time of care.

Any individual with a dental emergency may call the Urgent Care Department at 909-558-4222 and make arrangements to be seen. Patients who already have a student dentist and are having a dental emergency can call their Patient Care Coordinator or the School of Dentistry operator at 909-558-4222 to reach the appropriate Patient Care Coordinator. If the assigned student dentist is not available, the patient will be seen in the Urgent Care Clinic. For after-hours emergency dental services, call the Loma Linda University Medical Center operator at 909-558-4000.