Top 6 Things to Look Out for When Choosing the Right Dentist for You
At Iqaluit Dental Clinic, we believe selecting the right dental clinic and dentist is crucial for getting the best treatment for yourself or your family member. You cannot go to a dental clinic blindly and expect top-tier treatment. In fact, it is more likely to disappoint if you select a dental clinic without doing proper research or considering the most important factors.
Here are the top 6 things to look out for when choosing the right dentist for your needs:
1. Consider their expertise and experience – One of the easiest ways to ensure you select a good dentist is to check their expertise and experience in dental practices. An experienced dental professional can quickly diagnose various types of dental problems and figure out how to solve complex dental problems without any issues. Additionally, they will know how to reduce or eliminate dental anxiety experienced by patients so that they can have the best treatment.
Here are a few recommended practices to confirm the expertise of a dental professional:
- Check their credentials and qualifications – You can visit the official website of the dentist to check their qualifications, credentials, education, awards, bio, and other important information easily. Alternatively, you can also call the dental clinic to verify their information.
Ideally, it is best to select a dentist with a specialization such as an orthodontist, prosthodontist, endodontist, periodontist, and so on to ensure you select an expert and receive the best treatment.
- Check reviews and testimonials of previous patients – Another way to verify the expertise of a dental professional is to check the reviews and testimonials left by previous patients. It is a good idea to check their official website as well as third-party review sites to read unbiased reviews and testimonials of patients.
You can learn a lot about the expertise of the dentist and the service quality of the clinic by reading reviews and paying attention to particular patterns. For instance, it would be wise to avoid dentists that have frequently misdiagnosed patients.
2. Research the location and timing – It makes sense to select a dental clinic that is in your local region or at least near it. This would allow you to visit the clinic quickly during dental emergencies. And, it would be more convenient to visit a clinic near your house every six months for regular dental checkups.
Additionally, it is important to select a dental clinic with flexible office hours, especially if you are a working professional and cannot visit the clinic during regular 9-5 weekday hours.
Ideally, you would want to select a clinic that has short wait times. For instance, avoid dental clinics where you need to wait 6 months before you are able to visit the dentist. You can learn about their wait times when scheduling your first appointment.
3. Verify the type of dental services offered – All dental clinics don’t offer every type of dental service, especially if they lack the necessary experts. Thus, you should select a dental clinic that features many dentists, each a skilled expert in a certain field.
Let’s look at the common dental services offered by multispeciality dental clinics:
- Root canal treatment
- Preventive dentistry
- Restorative dentistry
- Wisdom teeth removal
- Dental check-ups and examinations
- General Dentistry
- Orthodontics
- Bruxism
- Conscious sedation
- Cosmetic dentistry
- Invisalign treatment
- Extractions
- Mouthguards
- Children’s Dentistry
Additionally, it is important to ensure they can accommodate your particular needs. For instance, you or a family member might have a particularly complex dental history, ongoing oral health treatment plans, or accessibility needs such as another primary language or wheelchair access.
4. Check their service quality – The service quality of the dental healthcare professionals in a clinic can completely change your experience for the better or worse. You can definitely feel the service quality of a dental clinic during your first appointment.
For instance, you can pay attention to how the dentist, hygienist, and other staff members treat you and your family. Experienced professionals will aim to reduce all your dental anxiety, concerns, and worries by offering helpful advice and answering all your questions. Additionally, they will maintain a clean, well-lit, and orderly environment so that patients can feel comfortable and relaxed.
Additionally, the staff members will be well-trained to deal with and entertain kids so that they don’t cause any trouble to the other patients.
5. Consider the convenience – The best dental clinics go above and beyond what is expected of them by the patients. For instance, the best clinics will perform a thorough oral examination, a basic cleaning, take x-rays, inspect any previously installed restorative dental work, and discuss your dental history during your first dental appointment.
They might also feature telecommunications technology such as two-way smartphones, video, and email that allow the patients to consult their dentist from home for follow-ups and minor complaints. You can simply send the vital signs and symptoms you collect at home to your dentist. This will reduce in-person office visits which can be convenient for many people.
6. Check the insurance coverage – Dental services can be quite expensive and it makes sense for patients to pick a dental clinic that supports many different types of insurance plans. For instance, when you need to get root canal treatments, dental implants, or fillings. You need to ensure the clinic you select is on the network of your dental insurance plan so that you can enjoy the most benefits. You can simply call your insurance provider to confirm whether a dental clinic is on your insurance plan. Alternatively, you can directly call the dental clinic.
At Iqaluit Dental Clinic, we suggest you select a reputable dental clinic that features experienced dentists and dental staff who are up-to-date with the latest dental education and can safely use the most modern dental tools and equipment. Additionally, it is important to select a dental clinic that offers superb customer service so that they can guide you every step of the way and provide solutions to your dental problems without any errors.