For New Patients
Dr. Shuch is pleased to accept a limited number of new patients into his practice as his time allows. All new patients are first seen for a comprehensive new patient examination. During this exam, you will have time to meet privately with Dr. Shuch to have any questions answered, and so that he may review with you your past medical and dental histories. Following this meeting, Dr. Shuch will thoroughly evaluate the current state of your dental health, checking your blood pressure and pulse, examining the muscles and glands surrounding your jaws, evaluating the health and stability of your jaw joints, screen you for oral cancer, gum infections, condition of your existing dentistry, tooth decay and oral hygiene status. He will take a series of low dose dental radiographs so that he may properly evaluate the condition of your jawbones for any signs of degeneration, decay or infection. He will also take molds of your teeth and jaws, along with a precise set of jaw records so that he may properly evaluate the dynamic functions of your chewing, in order to see if you have signs of excessive, damaging bite forces. Your exam will conclude with a series of autonomic response tests to confirm or rule out certain dental problems and to evaluate your sensitivity to various dental materials.
The New Patient Exam takes two hours. In order that Dr. Shuch will have the full two hours available to spend with you, please print out and fax or mail in your completed patient registration forms prior to your scheduled appointment. Dr. Shuch will meet with you (and a significant other, if you choose) on a second visit, approximately one week later so that he may review his findings with you, go over his recommendations, discuss your treatment options and answer your questions. Typically, your dental care will begin on your third visit, after you and Dr Shuch have agreed upon what will be done.
All appointments are scheduled for Dr. Shuch’s time, and rarely does he run behind schedule. It is suggested that you plan to arrive early, particularly if you are coming from a great distance, so that you can be sure to be here promptly for your appointment time.Click here for directions. Outside of illness, family emergencies or acts of God (blizzards, ice storms, hurricanes, etc) our office charges a fee for all appointments broken without adequate notice. Adequate notice is one business day for each hour of appointment time. Therefore, if you must break an appointment, please give us a minimum of one days notice if your appointment is one hour in length, two days notice if your appointment is two hours in length, etc in order to avoid being charged.
Our office treats many patients who are chemically sensitive and we therefore require all of our patients to refrain from wearing any fragrance when they visit us for care.
If you have dental insurance, please be sure to give your insurance information to Pam. She will enter it into our computer so that when you have any dental procedure performed, you will be given a computer generated form that you can then send directly to your insurance company for your dental benefit rebate check. It is our office policy to work for you, not for your insurance company. Therefore we do not accept any payments from dental insurance companies but will assist you in getting reimbursed for your benefits. Our office accepts cash, check, MasterCard and Visa. At the bottom of this page there are links for driving directions and for the patient registration forms that you will need to fill out and send in prior to your first appointment. But first, and in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), please read our Notice of Privacy Practices:
Privacy Practices, effective as of January 1, 2024.
This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. If we modify this notice, we will post an update and you may request your own copy.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information (PHI), to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices and to notify you if your PHI has been affected by a security breach.
- We may disclose your PHI to assist in your treatment and to assist you in getting insurance reimbursement. This includes sharing your PHI with other health care professionals such as specialists who may become involved with your care and includes sharing your PHI with your dental insurance company. Also, our clinical and clerical staff will have full access to your PHI in the furtherance of your care. Also, if you have a healthcare representative, patient advocate, or group-home supervisor who has responsibility relative to your healthcare we will also share your PHI with them.
- We may disclose your PHI for public health, legal requirements, or assistance with disaster relief. This includes sharing your PHI with public health officials to prevent or control communicable diseases, report child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse or neglect, or report reactions to medications or problems with products or devices. Also, we may disclose your PHI to military authorities if you are a member of the military, law enforcement in response to a subpoena or court order, The Department of Health, and Human Services to establish our compliance with HIPPA, or to any oversight agency authorized by law to audit, investigate, inspect or credentialize our dental practice. Also, if you are involved in a lawsuit or dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to an lawful administrative order. Also, if there is a natural disaster, an act of war or domestic terrorism, or any kind of disaster resulting in unidentified casualties, we may disclose PHI to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors.
In general, we will not disclose any personally identifiable PHI in patient education, research, publications, or marketing pieces unless we ask you separately for your permission. You have a right to a copy of your PHI and you may also request restrictions to our disclosure of your PHI upon submitting a written request under your signature. Also, you may ask us to amend your PHI, through a written and signed request that includes your explanation for why the information should be amended. We may deny this request, but if we do, we will furnish you with a written explanation.
If a circumstance arises where your PHI has been subject to a data breach, we will notify you as required by law.
This document is posted to our website and a paper copy is available for you in our office upon your request.
If you have questions or concerns you may contact our office and speak with Pam or Suzanne.
11 US Hwy 206, Suite 201, Augusta, NJ 07822, 973-579-7400