With more than seventy five percent of adult Americans experiencing some time of dental phobia, finding the right dentist for you is half the battle. But, how do you do that? Here are some tips for finding the best dentist for your needs.
Word of Mouth Ask your friends, your family, even your co-workers. You never know who’s had a really great experience with their dentist, or knows someone practicing in your area. At the same time, if a colleague has had a bad experience with an office, they’ll pass a long that information as well, sparing you the same incident. If your new to your town and moved recently, you may even want to ask your previous dentist, as they might have a great recommendation for you as well.
Check them out Before heading to an appointment don’t be afraid to do a little background check of your own. With the internet playing such a large role in patient recruitment, dentists, more than ever, have an online presence. You can get a good feel for the office just from their website. It’s also important to check out what people have said about them online, sites like Yelp often have ratings and reviews for medical practices. To go one step further, set up a one-on-one consultation to get a real feel for the office prior to committing to a cleaning.
Specialist Just like your day-to-day physicians, dentists specialize in certain topics, so it’s important to identify which field is most important to you. If you’re looking to have veneers put on, you’ll need to find someone who focuses in cosmetic dentistry. If you’re looking for a dentist for your young children, it’s important to find someone who focuses in pediatrics. If you or your kids are dealing with a lot of dental anxiety, you can even find people that practice sedation dentistry which helps in those situations. A quick Google search will help identify associations that will send you to the closest specialist in your area.
Shoshana Davis is a guest blogger and freelancer for TopDentists.com, a dental health resource, part of the Everyday Health portfolio.