When it comes to finding a dentist, or even evaluating the one you have, how do you differentiate between the good ones and the bad? We’ve offered some helpful tips below to help in your evaluation. Keep in mind though, no dentist office will be perfect, but you should at least see them working on some, if not all, of the areas mentioned. Pick out what’s most important to you in a dentist and filter your experience through that perspective. And pay close attention to the special categories marked below as these are the areas we believe should be top on your list.
First Impression
The first impression of your dentist and his/her office actually consists of three parts.
*Pain Level
A mark of a good dentist is being able to give treatment in a way that minimizes a patient’s pain. Poor dentists will not worry about minimizing a patient’s pain and will be much rougher in administering routine care like cleanings or giving shots.
*Equipment Cleanliness
Find out how they clean their equipment. How do they sterilize it? A high quality dental office will not be offended by you asking the question and they might even show you what they use to clean their equipment.
*Good Hygiene
If your dentist keeps his/her gloves on after he/she has cleaned your mouth and you see him/her rummaging through drawers, writing notes or doing anything else, that’s not a good sign. And if you see your dentist doing any of these things before cleaning your mouth, that’s an even worse sign.
*Monetary Obsession
Good dentists care about their patients and improving their oral health. They aren’t interested in scamming their patients or getting as much money as they can out of them. You may believe it’s impossible to know for sure, but there are some sure ways to figure out where their real intentions lie.
*Poor Work
If your fillings fall out, veneers come off and crowns come loose not long after the work has been completed, it could be a sign that you are seeing a bad dentist. However, if you ate something your dentist told you to stay away from and your filling or crown or veneer came loose, don’t blame your dentist.
Staff Queries
Get to know your dental hygienist. Ask him/her if their family gets their dental work done at that office. If they say no, that should be a red flag for you. If the dental hygienist isn’t even comfortable bringing their family there, then you shouldn’t be comfortable going there either.
Post-Checkup Response
How do you feel after your checkup? Your dentist is supposed to improve your dental health not create more problems. A good dentist can provide his/her patients with routine services without causing you longer discomfort. If you’re still experiencing bleeding weeks or months after you have had a root canal, crowns, bridges, or if you dentures keep falling out, then you need to find a new dentist, no question.
Know the Difference Between Good and Bad Dentistry
Here’s how (ask yourself these questions):
Filter your experience through this lens and you’ll be able to determine the quality of your dentist. Need more tips on evaluating your dentist, see How to Interview a Dentist.
What has been your best dental experience? Describe it for us in the comment section below.
This content was originally published here.
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