For dentists — referring to Blignaut · Kotze

How do I refer a patient to you?

There are three routes:

1. Email the referral letter to the practice. Include the patient's contact details so we can phone them directly to book; attach digital x-rays where available.
2. Phone the practice and we will take the patient details, then phone the patient. This is the simplest route if you prefer to discuss the case verbally first.
3. Send the patient with a letter to walk in. Reception will book them in.

For urgent referrals (suspicious lesions, traumatic injuries, acute swellings), phone the practice and say "urgent" — we aim to see urgent cases within a few working days.

What should I include in a referral?

The minimum information that helps:

• Patient details — name, contact number, age, medical history overview.
• The clinical concern — what you are seeing, what you have tried.
• Your question — what you would like our opinion on, or what procedure you would like us to do.
• Recent x-rays — digital is easiest. A panoramic plus the relevant periapicals is usually sufficient.
• Photographs — for mucosal lesions, even a smartphone photograph of the lesion at the time of your examination helps establish a baseline.

We do not require a structured referral form; a short letter or email containing the above is what we need.

What will you send back to me?

For every referral, you receive:

• Acknowledgement of receipt — usually the same working day.
• A written clinical report after the consultation, typically within a few working days, covering our findings, diagnosis, and the recommended treatment plan.
• A copy of the cost estimate sent to the patient, where treatment is proposed.
• A treatment-completion summary when treatment is finished, including post-treatment status, prognosis, and the recommended follow-up plan.

If the case is one where we will retain the patient for ongoing surveillance (treated periodontitis on maintenance, lichen planus under surveillance, implants for peri-implant follow-up), the summary will be explicit about the recall pathway and how the patient's general dental care continues to sit with you.

What is your scope of practice?

Both Dr Kotze and Dr Blignaut hold the same single combined specialist qualification in periodontics and oral medicine (in South Africa this is one registrable specialty — a four-year MChD leading to HPCSA registration as a "Specialist in Periodontics and Oral Medicine"), so either doctor can see your patient across the full scope below. The principal areas of our practice:

Periodontics:

• Diagnosis and treatment of periodontitis (non-surgical and surgical phases).
• Periodontal regenerative surgery in suitable cases.
• Dental implant placement (single, multiple, full-arch).
• Peri-implantitis management.
• Gum graft surgery (recession treatment, soft-tissue augmentation around implants).
• Crown lengthening.
• Periodontal maintenance programme.

Oral medicine:

• Diagnosis and management of mucosal diseases (lichen planus, leukoplakia, autoimmune blistering diseases, aphthous ulceration).
• Oral cancer screening and surveillance of potentially malignant disorders.
• Biopsy of soft-tissue lesions, with histopathological diagnosis via an oral pathologist.
• Salivary gland disorders (xerostomia, sialadenitis assessment).
• Burning mouth syndrome management.
• Oro-facial pain assessment.

Because both doctors hold the same dual qualification, you can refer to either of us interchangeably; we discuss complex cases together and provide a second specialist set of eyes in-house when it is useful.

What do you NOT do?

To be explicit about the scope boundary:

• General restorative dentistry (fillings, crowns, root canals, bridges) — back to you.
• Routine cleanings for patients without a periodontitis history — back to you.
• Routine recall check-ups — back to you.
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery beyond our specialist scope (impacted wisdom teeth, jaw surgery, major facial trauma, oncologic resection) — to an OMFS colleague.
• Orthodontics — to an orthodontist colleague.
• Prosthodontic full-mouth rehabilitation of complex cases — to a prosthodontist, with us providing the periodontal foundation.

When we receive a referral that includes work outside our scope, we either refer onwards (with the referring dentist's knowledge) or hand the work back to you with a clear note about the appropriate next referral.

Communication preferences

We are available for:

• Brief case discussions by phone (the doctors will return calls if not immediately available).
• Email about specific clinical questions.
• Joint planning for complex cases — we are happy to schedule a brief joint discussion when a patient's treatment crosses general/specialist scope.
• Continuing education: we participate in study groups and discussions; if there is a topic you would like an in-practice presentation on, ask.

Refer & Return Promise

The same seven-point promise we make to patients:

1. We acknowledge receipt of every referral.
2. We contact the patient promptly.
3. We keep you updated.
4. We provide a clear written treatment summary.
5. We do not unnecessarily take over general dentistry.
6. We return the patient for ongoing restorative care.
7. We are available for clinical referral questions.

Points 5 and 6 are the part that matters most to a referring dentist. Our practice depends on the trust of referring dentists in our area; that trust depends on us holding to the boundary above.

Two of these points are grounded in the HPCSA's codified rules. Under the dentist annexure to the HPCSA Ethical Rules of Conduct, a dentist or dental specialist "shall perform professional acts only in the field of dentistry in which he or she was educated and trained and in which he or she has gained experience," and "shall not fail to communicate and cooperate with dentists, dental specialists and other health practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of a patient" (HPCSA Ethical Rules of Conduct, dentist annexure rule 2(a)–(b); general Rule 21).¹ So confining ourselves to specialist scope, and cooperating with you on diagnosis and treatment, are professional obligations — not just preferences.

Returning the patient to you for routine care is a step further than the rules require. There is no codified HPCSA rule that obliges a specialist to return a patient; we frame it as the professional norm of a referral practice and as our own practice policy. The HPCSA Scope of the Professions sets out what the Periodontics and Oral Medicine specialty covers, which is the same boundary we describe above.²

The L3 page below

The most common single concern referring dentists raise is the scope question:

• Will you take over my patient's general dentistry? — the explicit answer with the operational detail.

If you have a question this page does not answer, please phone the practice and one of us will return your call.