It’s either the white jackets that they wear or the professional medical offices they operate out of that makes us almost inherently trust dentists with the health of our smiles – even if we’ve never visited them in the past.
Whatever it is, you would definitely be better off if you remained at least a little bit skeptical when visiting a new dentist, if only to make sure that they aren’t committing any one of the common mistakes dentists make today.
This information is especially useful for you if you’ve recently switched dental offices, moved to a new area and needed to find a new dentist, or just weren’t all that happy with the last dental professional you worked with. This is the kind of inside information that you’ll be able to use to better guide you to the perfect fit for a professional that will help make sure your smile stays just as happy and healthy as humanly possible.
If you’re able to avoid the common mistakes that dentists make today, you should be in pretty solid shape, and won’t have any reason whatsoever to fear your dentist. If you don’t take the time to make sure that your dentist isn’t making these same mistakes, you might be in for a sticky situation!
Try not to work with dentists that get worked up by problem patients
A lot of dentists in the US today are willing to work with pretty much anyone and everyone they can just to keep their offices open, but these are the kinds of dental experts that you’re going to want to try and avoid as much as possible.
You see, you have to look at it this way. If your dentist is used to dealing with difficult people all day, the odds are pretty good that they’re going to be stressed out, agitated, and all kinds of anxious – and who wants someone like that poking around in their mouths?
Try not to work with dentists that do not treat their staff well
You can definitely tell a lot about a person by looking at the way that they treat those that they are responsible for or in charge of. If you are visiting a new dental office for the first time, definitely try and spend a little bit of time there focusing on the kinds of interactions that the dentist their staff.
While it may not be possible to understand the full breadth and depth of the different relationships that are going on under the surface of people that work together every business day (maybe four years and years) by observing from afar for 15 or 20 minutes, you may be able to spot some issues that may or may not make you completely comfortable moving forward.
This is critical inside information that you aren’t going to get anywhere else, and it’s definitely something that can help you decide on whether or not a particular dental office is the right fit.
Try not to work with dentists that haven’t built up a reputation in the community just yet
Though there are certainly some fantastic first time dentists out there, and there’s definitely something to be said about dental professionals that have just now graduated from a dental training program and dental school (they are almost always up-to-date on the latest and greatest solutions, procedures, and technology), you never want to be someone’s guinea pig.
If at all possible, try to work with established dental offices in your area to ones with rock solid reputations for delivering quality results at a reasonable rate. This is the kind of information that you’ll be able to dig up on the Internet, as well as the kind of info that you’ll be able to pick from the minds of the people in your social circle.
Ask your friends and family members for dental recommendations, speak your coworkers about the dentists that they visit, and always try to get a feel for the dentists that have their names come up quite frequently. These are the kinds of dentists that you’ll want to think about working with, or at least the dentist that you want to research more thoroughly.
Try not to work with dentists that do not have in-house financing plans
Even though the odds are pretty good that your dental insurance is going to cover the procedures that you have taken care of, if you’re looking to have any cosmetic work done – or aren’t carrying your own dental insurance – you’ll need to take advantage of the financing options that your dentists provide.
If they do not have in-house financing plans (take your of the financing themselves), the odds are pretty good that they’re going to farm them out to third party companies. If they go that direction, you’re almost always going to pay through the nose when it comes to interest rates, and your repayment terms probably aren’t going to be all that friendly, either.
It’s definitely something to think about.