Essential Factors To Consider When Finding A Good Dentist

You’ve moved house, settled into your new home, now comes the arduous task of finding new local services like doctors and dentists. This process need not be as challenging as you think.

So, where to start?

We have put together a list of top things to consider and questions to ask when choosing a dentist.

Ok so our number 1 choice would be recommendations. Ask your nearest and dearest where they go and who they see. We have found people are generally very forthcoming with opinions regarding the service they receive and are normally completely un-biased. So a great first choice!

Second option would be to ask a local pharmacist, they often have knowledge of good practices, though bear-in-mind they may also not have first-hand experience of their services.

Another option available to you would be to search online. Apart from a using the search engines, we suggest visiting local community forums and asking for other users’ recommendations and more importantly the reason for their views. This will provide a great starting point. Most dental practices will have online scores/reviews that you can read before taking the time to call the practice yourself. There are also dedicated online sites to help you find NHS GP and dental practices such as www.nhs.uk so if this is the service you are looking for input your postcode and a list will come up with the closest ones to you.

Finally the BDA (British Dental Association) www.bda.org has a comprehensive list of all dentists, both private and NHS along with their specialities. They will be completely impartial when providing you with this information so you may find you then need to search online to find out more details.

Right, so when you have found a practice that you think will suit your needs, we suggest you always take the time to pick up the phone and find out some more information about them for yourself.

Here are some questions you may want to ask:

• What are the opening hours? Are they convenient for your schedule?
• Is the practice easy to get to from work or home?
• Are they mainly focused on aesthetic and restorative dentistry or do they advocate prevention?
• What arrangements are made for handling emergencies if your dentist is not in on a particular day?
• How long would the average wait be to see a dentist if you had an emergency?
• Is information provided in writing about all fees and treatment options before treatment is carried out?
• How likely is it that you need to be referred to another practice, should you require specialist treatment?
• What services are offered in-house?
• If you have any special needs, now is the perfect time to discuss whether the practice can accommodate them.
• Are there finance or payment plans available should you want to spread the cost of treatment?

Obviously there are lots of other questions that may be relevant to your particular case, but we hope these suggestions help.

Fundamentally when you call the practice(s) you should consider:

• What was your first impression when you called or popped in?
• Were the staff welcoming, courteous, knowledgeable?
• Was the practice clean and tidy?
• Do they invest in modern technology/techniques?

If the answer to any of these is “no”, then perhaps you should discuss it with them or alternatively look to join another practice.

Hopefully, though, the answers to all the above was a resounding “yes!” so all that is left is to schedule your first appointment.