A dentist in downtown Vernon, taking new patients.

Accepting new patients, now

If you've moved to the North Okanagan, lost touch with your last dentist, or simply haven't been in for a while, you can book a first visit today. The practice has been seeing patients on 32nd Avenue for years, and it kept doing so through the change of ownership in July 2026. It never closed, and there is nothing to wait for. Patients come from Vernon, Coldstream, Armstrong, Lumby and Lake Country.

How to book

Call (250) 545-2169, Monday to Thursday between 8:00 and 5:00. That is the fastest way in: the person who answers can find you a time on the spot.

If you can't phone during those hours, leave your name, number, a time window that suits you and what it's about in the callback form on our home page, and we'll phone you back within one business day to book you in. The form doesn't book an appointment on its own; a person does, on that call.

Email (info@tandemdental.ca) is read by the front desk Monday to Thursday and is fine for questions that aren't urgent. If something hurts, phone instead, or read what to do about dental pain.

What the first visit is like

It's a conversation before it's an exam. You sit up, beside your dentist, at eye level, with a screen between you so you can see what we see. We ask what brought you in and what you'd like from a dentist, then we look together. Depending on what you need and when you were last seen, that may include x-rays and a full examination. If you came in about one specific problem, it can be a shorter, focused exam instead.

Then you decide what happens next, which can be nothing, for now. If treatment is worth doing, it comes back as a plan written in plain English: what it is, why it matters and what it costs, with every fee on it before you agree to anything. "Not yet" is a complete answer here, and nobody lectures you about how long it's been.

What to bring

• Your dental insurance card, if you have one. Where your plan allows it, we bill the insurer directly and you pay only your portion.
• A list of any medications you take and any medical conditions your dentist should know about.
• The name of your last dental office, if you remember it.

If you're nervous

You're exactly who the practice is built around. You set the pace, you can pause anything with a raised hand, and nothing happens in the chair that hasn't been decided together first, sitting up. Tell whoever answers the phone that you're nervous; it helps us plan the visit around you.

What it costs

The practice follows the BC Dental Association Suggested Fee Guide, and the fees for new patient exams, checkups and x-rays are published on our fees page, before you even call.

Finding us

Suite 202, on the second floor of Maple Centre, 2903 32nd Avenue, downtown Vernon, BC V1T 2L6 (map). Open Monday to Thursday, 8:00 to 5:00. Closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday.