If you need to find a new local dentist, there are some things you should know and some things you should avoid. All dentists have pros and cons. You are never going to find a dentist that is completely perfect. This is the same for every professional that you will come across. Even high trained specialists are still human and still have flaws. However, there are certain things a quality dentist will do and certain things he or she won’t do. Here are a few things to avoid.
Don’t go for the loud mouth.
If you are looking up local dentists in your area, don’t just look at the top dentists. Some of the best dentists are those that aren’t widely known. They don’t flaunt their talent, personality or techniques, they let their work speak for itself. It’s a pretty common thing that if you feel like you need to overcompensate for shoddy work, you’ll be loud about the positive things. However, if someone is confident in what they are doing, they don’t broadcast it. They know that word will spread. Keep that in mind when you feel yourself being won over by flashy ads and charismatic personalities.
Don’t stop at the big names.
When you are feeling overwhelmed at the amount of local dentists that you have to choose from, it’s easy to just pick out the names that you recognize. By doing this, you might be overlooking the one place that you would fall in love with if you just tried it out. Well known names are definitely well known for a reason. They are probably very good but they tend to be missing the charm of local dentists that can focus on the patients rather than the corporate policies and regulations. Smaller practices are able to set their own rules and business conduct requirements so it’s usually a lot more friendly and relaxed. Big name dentist offices have to live up to a certain standard and can tend to be a little more cold and unapproachable in doing so.
Don’t underestimate the power of your gut.
There’s something to be said about listening to your feelings when you are meeting a new dentist or other type of medical professional. You are literally placing your health and well being in to the hands of someone else. Your gut is basically your conscious. If something is not sitting right with you regarding a particular dentist, don’t continue to see them. It’s better to listen to those inner warning voices. If you don’t, you might have a mishap happen with your mouth, teeth or jaw and then you’ll remember back to that feeling and wish with all your heart that you had just listened to yourself. You won’t regret not going to a particular dentist, because you won’t know what you missed.
Don’t dismiss your kids’ opinions.
Children have an uncanny ability to be able to judge a person’s character. If this dentist is going to be seeing your kids to and after meeting him, they just do not like him or her, take this into account. Of course, you also have to take it with a grain of salt because chances are, as with most kids, they might just not like the idea of going to the dentist. They might think if they can get rid of the dentist then they won’t have to go at all. They don’t really understand that you’ll just find someone else. Even so, take a moment to consider your kids’ concerns and see if they are genuine.
Don’t stick to only the dentist offices nearest you.
You could start looking nearby your home. However, if you don’t find something that you love, broaden your search. It might be a hassle to drive a little out of your way whenever you have an appointment but it’ll be worth it. If you schedule the whole family at the same time all the time then you’ll only have to make the drive twice a year anyway. That isn’t that much and it’s worth it to have a dentist that you know and love and trust. This is especially true when the entire family has decided that they like the dentist.