Choose a Dentist: Location and Staff

Forty minutes is a long time to drive just to get your teeth cleaned with nasty-tasting fluoride or baking powder. Forty-five minutes is too long to drive just so a woman in a hygienist coat with little dancing teeth on it can tell you that you really need to floss more and, oh, hey, you have a cavity or seven. Fifty minutes is way too long to drive so that a doctor can look at you for five minutes and tell you that he's sorry but you're going to need braces.

Long story short, your first concern when trying to choose a dentist is convenience. These days, gas is not cheap and you've got more things to be worrying about than driving halfway across town to have your teeth cleaned. Therefore, when you begin your search, start with the practices that are near to where you live or work.

However, though the location is the first concern, it is by far not the most important one. Once you've got a list of possible practices, try and get a feel for how the office is laid out and what the employees are like. You're not going to like a receptionist who takes at least five minutes to acknowledge you or never even takes the time to say "Hi." Dental hygienists who stop midway through your appointment to say, "I was never very good at this" should also probably be avoided.

The best way to find a practice is referral. Ask your colleagues, your friends, and family, even your pastor to recommend the practice they frequent. Word-of-mouth is often the best way to find your dentist for life. Also, you want to start your search before you are dying of toothache. It's much easier to get to know the patient when he's not screaming in pain. It's good to have an idea of what your teeth look like on a normal day, too, for reference when something goes wrong.

The team at the office should work together like a well-oiled machine. They should joke with each other and make small talk in the break room when they're not working. When one of them empties the coffeemaker, they should start brewing another pot. Coming to work should not be drudgery but something that they enjoy. The doctors shouldn't be aloof and inaccessible. Instead, they should be just one of the guys. If they treat each other with respect, they're going to be a lot more likely to treat you with respect as well.

You're going to be with these people for as long as you live in this location. Teeth cleaning and care never goes away. That's why it is very important to take care in choosing your dentist and make sure that you pick someone you are going to get along with well and trust with your mouth. After all, they're going to have their hands halfway down your throat for a very long time.