General Information

What to expect when you visit our office.

In Preparation

Please complete our New Patient Paperwork prior to arriving for your first appointment.

This paperwork includes a detailed Medical History, Medications, Supplement Use Questionnaire, our Privacy Policy, and Insurance Information (if applicable).

To help in the diagnosis and development of your treatment plan, please bring with you a list of all current medications and any dental insurance information you may have.

Our waiting room is open. Please come in and enjoy a tea or coffee!

At Your Consultation

Our clinical team will perform a comprehensive examination to determine the nature and extent of your periodontal condition.  Dr. Fritz or Dr. Schuldt will then discuss treatment options with you and plan the best course of action for your individual case.

This appointment generally takes between 45 minutes and an 1 hour and 30 minutes. During this time you should experience little, if any, discomfort.

Our treatment coordinators will work with you to fit the treatment into your busy life as seamlessly as possible.

With your permission, we will send a digital report of your visit with us to your general dentist and/or physician to keep your records complete.

After Your Appointment

Dr. Fritz and Dr. Schuldt always leave ample time to answer questions you may have, but in the event that questions arise after you’ve gone home, you will always leave our office with an information package with answers to commonly asked questions and the direct contact information of Dr. Fritz or Dr. Schuldt

Our website and Blog are a useful archive of information.  Our blog will also link you to several informational videos and publications.

Cancellations and Re-Scheduling

Our goal is to provide exceptional and timely service to all of our patients. If you must make a change to your appointment, we encourage you to let us know at least two (2) business days (Monday-Friday) prior to your scheduled appointment to avoid a cancellation or re-scheduling penalty. 

If you must make a change to your appointment that requires sedation, we encourage you to let us know at least one (1) week prior to your scheduled appointment with one of our Registered Nurses to avoid a penalty.

Should you need to re-schedule your upcoming appointment within a 2 business day window (1 week for appointments requiring sedation), we will ask that you pre-pay for your next appointment. 

Should you need to cancel your upcoming appointment within a 2 business day window (1 week for appointments requiring sedation), you will be subject to a $400 cancellation fee in addition to needing to pre-pay for your next appointment.

Finances

Fees

Our goal is to provide you with the very best treatment at a reasonable cost. 

All of our fees are openly explained in detail before any treatment is initiated.  We do not accept assignment of your insurance benefits from your insurance provider.  This simply means that while we submit all claims to your insurance company for you, our policy is to receive payment of fees from you at the time of your visit and your insurance payment will be sent directly to you.

Dental Insurance

Our treatment coordination team will be glad to help you to submit your dental insurance claim.  We are also happy to assist with insurance questionnaires and forms of all kinds.

Our treatment coordinators are experts in dental insurance and are available at any time to answer your specific questions.

Financing Your Treatment

We understand and are sympathetic to financial pressures, and so our treatment recommendations are always made to be conservative, whenever possible.  

Please speak to one of our treatment coordinators about financing options.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, debit, e-transfer, and cash. We do not accept cheques or American Express.

Patient Satisfaction Survey

Our periodontists and staff are privileged to assist with your treatment, and we continually strive to refine our service. If you have received care, please take a moment to fill out our patient survey.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are three ways to become a patient with us:

  1. Your dentist, hygienist or family doctor can refer you directly.
  2. You can refer yourself. A referral from your family dentist is not required.
  3. Some of our best patients come from our best patients! We welcome and encourage referrals from our loyal patients who have visited us in the past.

There is ample free parking directly in front of our office.  The office is completely barrier free (wheelchair accessible).

We get asked this question a lot.  So much so, that we performed a study to provide an evidence-based response to the question “Is this going to hurt?”.  Results of the study, which were published in the Dentistry Journal, showed a positive correlation between anticipated pain and actual pain.  The factors that influenced the amount of pain our patients felt after surgery were things like:

  • anticipated pain (I think it’s going to hurt, therefore it is vs. I don’t think this will hurt so bad, therefore it isn’t)
  • age (older individuals reported experiencing less pain)
  • sedation during surgery (patients under sedation during their treatment reported less pain during recovery)
  • the number of pain pills used during the recovery period (more pain pills, more pain, as expected).

To make your experience with us as comfortable as possible, we use a combination of topical and local anesthetics as well as intravenous sedation with one of our registered nurses, should you be interested in this avenue.

Check out the study here!

The decision to pursue periodontal treatment and wellness is an important one and should be treated as such.  Therefore, when deciding who to entrust your oral health care to, we have generated a series of questions that you should ask your dentist, periodontist or oral surgeon in advance of your treatment.

 

  • How many of these procedures have you done before?
  • What is your success rate of this procedure?
  • What are the possible complications?  And what will you do for me if these complications occur?
  • What brand of implants do you use?  Does the brand of implant matter?
  • How long do you anticipate my healing time will be after this surgery?
  • How will this procedure help me in the long term?

Most of my major life decisions were made on canoe trips.  Things like, the choice to go to dental school, to open my own practice, to grow my hair out… While on a canoe trip to Temagami in 2002, I was inspired to design the office you see now in Fonthill.  I figured that you could choose to decorate a dental office with pictures of diseased gums, or canoes.  I chose canoes!  I hope the theme resonates with you.  See how many you can spot on your next trip to our office.

We strive to support you and your patient by providing the highest quality of care. For us to do this smoothly, we would deeply appreciate having the following information before the patient’s arrival:

  1. Referral slip – We ask that you include the patient’s contact information so we can assist them in scheduling their initial consultation.
  2. Radiographs – We request that you send a copy of the patient’s most recent diagnostic x-rays to [email protected].
  3. Any and all information you have relevant to why the patient is being referred. 
  4. Urgency – If you feel the patient should be prioritized for an urgent issue (pain, possible malignancy).

Referral forms can be submitted utilizing the methods listed below:

  1. Online referral form (link the patient referral form)
  2. Via email: [email protected] 
  3. Faxed to the 905 892 0005

The best way to convey the value of a referral to Dr. Fritz and Dr. Schuldt’s clinic is to express your confidence in their expertise and reassure the patient about the benefits of specialized care. Emphasize that Dr. Peter Fritz and Dr. Luisa Schuldt are highly skilled periodontists who work closely with you to achieve the clinical and aesthetic goals you and your patient have developed.   

Highlight the close collaboration between your practice and Dr. Fritz and Schuldt’s clinic, ensuring seamless continuity of care. Assure your patients that they will be in excellent hands, particularly for diagnosing periodontal disease, optimizing aesthetics, and managing complex interdisciplinary cases. This approach helps the patient feel secure and valued, knowing that their treatment plan will be executed by a trusted and specialized team.   A referral is sending someone you care about to someone you trust.  

To ensure efficient scheduling, the best practice is to schedule the patient with us while they are still in your office. Alternatively, you can fax, email, or call us with the patient’s information. We are committed to contacting the patient within one business day and will keep you informed about the patient’s appointment schedule with Drs. Fritz or Schuldt.

If the patient requested to self schedule: If your patient prefers to schedule directly with Dr. Peter Fritz or Dr. Schuldt, we will contact your practice for more information once the appointment is made. However, our data indicates this method is the least effective for completing the referral. Whenever possible we would greatly appreciate your support by sending us the referral slip as described above or to call us to schedule the patient while they are in your office.

Direct Inquiry: If you have any questions regarding a specific patient, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team members for follow-up.

Below is our standard communication protocol. We can tailor our communication to meet the specific needs of your practice upon request:

  • Patient Scheduled: You will receive an email notification when the patient is scheduled.
  • Post-Consultation: A letter or encrypted email (based on your preference) will be sent following the consultation.
  • Treatment Plan Modification: We will call the dentist or hygienist to discuss any modifications to the treatment plan.
  • Post-Treatment: A letter or encrypted email will be sent with detailed information about the treatment provided.
  • Implants Ready for Restoration: We will call your office while the patient is still present (preferred by most practices) and follow up with a letter or email once the patient is ready to proceed with the implant restoration.

Please let us know if you have any specific communication preferences, and we will adjust accordingly.  For our co-managed Hygiene patients, we are happy to provide you with a copy of the patient’s latest periodontal probing. Just ask!

Dr. Peter Fritz and Dr. Luisa Schuldt take all feedback seriously and view it as an essential component for continuous improvement in patient care. Almost all conflict comes from a mismatch in expectations.  Communication is essential to clarify expectations.    If you receive a complaint regarding our services, please notify our office immediately. Your prompt communication allows us to address and resolve any issues efficiently and effectively.

To report a complaint, please follow these steps:

  1. Direct Contact: Call our office directly 905 892 0800 to speak with a team member. We are committed to addressing concerns as quickly as possible.
  2. Email Communication: Please email Dr. Fritz or Dr. Schuldt at [email protected] detailing the concern. Please include all relevant information to help us understand and resolve the issue thoroughly.

We deeply value our professional relationship with your practice and are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of care for our patients. Your cooperation in providing feedback ensures that we can continue to improve and deliver the best possible outcomes.