Tips to Finding a Great Dentist

Dentistry has come along way from its earlier days when literally anyone could hang up a shingle and declare themselves a dentist. Today the road to becoming a dentist is a lot longer and a lot harder than simply hanging up a sign. Most complete a four year bachelor degree and then attend dental school where they apprentice under professionals to learn how to become a dentist.

And most are pretty good at what they do. Not only does dentistry require medical skill and a bedside manner so to speak, but it also requires a strong artistic flair that shows itself in restorative dental work.

If you’re looking for a dentist a good place to start is by word of mouth. Ask friends or family members for referrals and check online web sites to learn more about a particular doctor. Most businesses have informational web sites that are very useful to gain more information about their business including the basics like their hours of operation, their location, the type of payments they accept and a bit about their philosophy on dental practices and a bio on the doctor and current staff.

It’s also a good idea to talk to the receptionist and find out some things that may not be covered on a web site such as what type of insurance plans they accept, if they are accepting new patients and how long it will take you to get into be seen for your first visit.

A successful dental practice with one or two doctors will usually have a wait time of three months even for an initial visit. Ask the receptionist or who ever schedules the appointments, how long you should plan to wait for a follow up visit once you are on a treatment plan. Those visits should have a shorter wait.

You can also try a newer less established doctor and probably get in to your initial visit faster than a few months since there won’t be a load of established patients ahead of you. This is a great way to grow with a dental practice and make yourself an established patient to get shorter wait times to be seen when you need to get in down the road.

On your first visit you should find the office clean and welcoming and the staff open and receptive. You should have a good rapport with the doctor who will be treating you along with the staff. You should expect to be told what the doctor is planning to do before they do it and if you are paying cash for the visit make sure you remind the check in staff as well as the doctor that you are on a cash budget and need to know before a procedure is done what the cost will be so you don’t walk out into the reception area after your appointment and have a huge bill waiting for you that you didn’t anticipate.