Three minutes now, a phone call today.

Ninety minutes. Digital X-rays and a panoramic, intra-oral photographs so you can see your own teeth on a screen, six-point gum measurements, an oral cancer screening, and then twenty minutes sitting up, fully clothed, having a conversation about what we found. You leave with a printed plan and prices. We generally don’t clean on the first visit — that’s booked separately once we know what your gums need.

We’re in-network with Delta Dental Premier, Cigna DPPO, MetLife and Ameritas. We’re out-of-network but happy to file for Aetna, United Concordia, Guardian and BCBS of NC — you’ll usually still get most of your benefit, and Delphine will estimate your share in writing before anything starts. We don’t currently accept Medicaid or NC Health Choice, which we’re not proud of; call us and we’ll tell you who nearby does.

No. It is genuinely the most common thing we hear on the phone and it is not interesting to us. Nobody here will ask why, nobody will sigh, and nobody will tell you what you should have done. We start from where you are today. Dr. Thorne in particular has built an entire career on this and he is very good at it.

Call (828) 555-0142. We hold two emergency slots every clinic day and we don’t give them away to routine work. If you call before 10am you will almost certainly be seen the same day. If we genuinely can’t fit you in, we’ll say so immediately and point you somewhere that can, rather than leaving you waiting for a callback.

Yes, and about one patient a week is. Nitrous oxide is the usual answer — $75, on in two minutes, off in five, and you drive yourself home. For deep cleanings or if the mere idea of a scaler is unbearable, oral sedation works too. Nobody will ask you to justify it.

Six marked spaces behind the building off the alley, plus free two-hour street parking on Montford. The rear entrance is level with a 36-inch door and there’s an accessible bathroom on the ground floor; all six treatment rooms are on the ground floor too. The front steps are the only stairs in the building and you never have to use them. ASL interpretation with two weeks’ notice, at no cost.

Please do. We see children from about age three and we’ll happily book a parent and two children back to back so it’s one trip. Children under 14 are $29/month on the membership plan. If your child has had a bad experience elsewhere, say so when you book and we’ll give you Tasha and the first slot of the morning.

Usually two to three weeks for a routine new-patient visit; the early-morning and Friday slots go first. Same day if something hurts. If you’re flexible on the day, Delphine keeps a short cancellation list and people often get in within a week.