Dentists to Avoid

There are lots of dentists out in the world practicing dentistry. Some are wonderful and others are less than what you should settle for. Many people have a fear of the dentist in the first place; sometimes this is a result of a past bad dental experience. Here are some traits of oral health care professionals to avoid.

- Insensitive chair-side manner: A dental practitioner needs to have a certain amount of sensitivity to his or her patients. Many patients are scared to come in the first place; if this person is cranky, rude or downright mean, it can make the experience horrible. This professional should ask questions and listen to you before he or she is working on your mouth. If you tell him or her your concerns and fears, the responses should be respectful. There should be no shaming comments made about your teeth. If the dentist snaps at you, yells at you or laughs off your concerns, get out of the chair and find one who speaks respectfully and listens to you.

- Doesn’t seem to care about your pain level: A good practice is making certain that the Novocain has kicked in before beginning the work. Injecting a quick shot of pain killer and then starting to yank around in your mouth can be very discomforting to say the least. He or she should test the waters before jumping in.

- Tardy to the extreme degree: Nothing’s worse than taking time off of work, rushing to get to your appointment, then sitting in the waiting room twiddling your thumbs for an hour before being called in. A patient’s time is important, too. Emergencies happen and can be forgiven on occasion. Punctuality is important, however, and a sign of respect. If a dentist keeps a patient waiting for long periods of time -- every single time -- without offering an explanation or apology, it’s time to look for another doc.

- Unwelcoming office staff: The receptionist and secretarial staff in a dental practice should be professional, welcoming and competent. Their job is to make sure the doc’s day goes smoothly and that the patients are comfortable as they sign in for their appointment. A cranky receptionist can scare a patient away even as they are making an appointment over the phone. If an office staff person is rude, unfriendly and disrespectful, this is a red flag of how the dental practice may be run. The inappropriate behavior should be brought to the attention of the dentist, as well. If swift remediation occurs, the office may still be a keeper, but if not, time to keep looking for another practitioner.

- Pushy sales tactics: If a patient has exceptionally good dental insurance and the staff tries to get them to do all sorts of unnecessary work, it’s time to head out the door. Examples of unnecessary procedures may include replacing perfectly functional silver fillings with porcelain while insurance is intact. If you wanted to see a salesperson, you could have strolled the car lots and hung out with used car salesmen or saleswomen.

There are many wonderful dentists in the world. Don’t waste time on the chumps.