How to know if you have a great dentist

Excerpt: Picking the right dentist can make a world of difference for your dental health...

Posted on: February 22, 2022

Picking the right dentist can make a world of difference for your dental health. In the worst case scenario, bad advice can turn a simple toothache into a full blown dental abscess. We’ve decided to make this checklist of questions so that you can have a good guide to way to help qualify your dentist.

Does your dentist listen to you?

Having a dentist that listens to you makes a huge impact in your quality of care. Everybody’s mouth is different, as are your dental needs, having a dentist who respects your individual needs is a critical factor. You might think that this level of care is standard, but just like any other service provider, dentists have different methods to deal with their customers. If you mention to your dentist that you’re prone to anxiety for example, then it is up to the dentist to put your concerns at ease. Some patients are incredibly sensitive about dental appointments and it can be a very uncomfortable experience for them.

What We Offer

We love asking our patients questions about their needs. We often get patients who may have varying degrees of anxiety among other things, and we always do our best to accommodate them.

Your dentist will provide you with accurate advice

The world is full of miss-information, if you’ve ever been on the internet before it’s pretty easy to notice the amount of faulty news and tips. Even with all the bad information out there, you should be able to confidently turn towards your dental advisor for up-to-date information that will be of great use to you. You also need to make sure that your dentist keeps up with any new sources of information. If they are hesitant to share extra info to you, this may signal that they are not confident in their knowledge, or they are mostly profit-oriented, and are less concerned with your actual oral health.

What We Offer

Our dentists love staying educated, even our head dentist spends many hours in classrooms and courses so they can keep up-to-date on all the newest dental techniques. We even hold seminars for our staff on lots of different topics.

Your dentists respects your time and resources

Dental coverage can vary wildly from patient-to-patient, and a fair amount of patients may not have any at all. This means that dental procedures can get expensive, very quickly. A good dentist will consider the fact that not everyone can afford the best treatment all the time, so if you are looking at a root canal, it may be out of your price range. If the price is an issue, it is up to the dentist to recommend a more affordable option, such as a tooth extraction. If the dentist does not do this, it may be a sign that they didn’t consider all of the factors that may or may not be an issue.

What We Offer

We get that not everyone has the budget available for dentistry work, we also are very aware about the effects of the current pandemic, and other factors that may be in your life. We love sending reminders, and follow ups among other things to keep your worrying out of your wallet.

The clinic has a comfortable atmosphere

Dental clinics and appointments can already be a trigger for some patients due to previous history or they may just have a fear of dentists. It should be on the dentist not to assume that everyone is comfortable with going to the dentist clinic. The clinic should be clean, comfortable, and relaxed. If the dentist is stressed, and their admin staff are also stressed, then this will be passed on to the patient, even if the team didn’t mean for it. Great customer service and a respectable staff will make or break an appointment for a lot of patients.

What We Offer

Our clinics are kept modern, and up-to-date. We make sure to keep everyone as relaxed and at ease as possible. If our patients do have extreme cases of anxiety, we have multiple forms of sedation at hand.

Avoids upselling

There are sometimes when upselling can be incredibly useful. If the patient requests a dental extraction, but isn’t aware about the option of having a root canal, then this advice could be very useful. However, if the dentist is regularly pushing other treatments that the patient doesn’t need, it can run out there dental coverage, and may provide only a slight benefit. If your dentist constantly pushes procedures on you that you didn’t ask for, it can get very confusing, and not to mention, annoying. Your dentist should be more concerned about you, then there profits. Make sure your dentists mostly recommends the procedures that you actually need, and ones that will actually help you specifically.

What We Offer

Since customer service is a main focus, we avoid upselling. We do our best to sell you only what you need, and only what will benefit you and your budget the most.

Learns about your needs

Your dental records will tell the dentist what they need to know from your past, but if the dialogue isn’t open, then your experience might be lacking in terms of quality and comfortability. They should be asking you lots of questions like:

Are you on any new medication?
Do you have a history of anxiety?
What didn’t you like about your previous dentist?

Taking some time to ask these types of questions can save both the dentist and the patient lots of issues down the road. People often don’t volunteer information unless they are asked specifically for it.

What We Offer

Since customer service is a main focus, we avoid upselling. We do our best to sell you only what you need, and only what will benefit you and your budget the most.

Appointment Follow ups

Even after you have had your appointment, and the dentist completed the procedure, they should ask how you’re doing within a week or two after the surgery. For example, if you got a dental extraction and the site doesn’t heal up properly, you might not realize it. The dentist will call and ask you questions on the site, depending on your answers they will be able to tell you if you need to comeback or not.

What We Offer

Our team of dedicated admin staff are all about reminding you of your upcoming appointment, and following through with you when it happens.

Emergency Services

Dental issues seem to happen when it’s least convenient for everyone involved, including your dentist. This is why it’s a great idea to ask ahead about what to do in case of an emergency, especially after hours. Smaller clinics often can’t handle emergencies during their off time. You may need to keep a specialist, or alternate clinic in mind just for emergencies. If your dentist offers 0 emergency services, then it may be worth while to find one that does.

What We Offer

Our team of dedicated admin staff are all about reminding you of your upcoming appointment, and following through with you when it happens.