3 Tips for Finding a Family Dentist

Are you currently looking for a new dental care provider for you and your family? If you are or you know someone who is looking, you have a pretty good idea of how difficult it is to find a good dental care provider that meets all of your criteria, that is if you have criteria. What if you need to find a dental care provider and you don’t know where to start or what to look for? It is the intention of this article to provide three tips for finding a family dentist in an effort to aid those who are looking in their search.

The first and perhaps most obvious tip for finding a family dentist is to verify that that the dental care provider is appropriately credentialed. Specifically, you want to make sure that the dental provider is in fact a member of the American Dental Association (ADA). Although verification of ADA membership is crucial in establishing the credibility of the doctor as well as his/her willingness to adhere to a prescribed standard level of care, it also serves as a validation that he/she is appropriately educated and/or trained in the field of dentistry. Another tip for finding a family dentist is to actually pay a visit to any prospective dental care providers. In doing so, you will be able to make several key observations that can and will aid you in ascertaining if the dental care provider is right for you and your family.

Specifically, you should observe the cleanliness of the office environment, the types of dental equipment (i.e. new technology) as well as the take notice of the level of customer service, both from the staff members as well as the actual dental care provider. If any one of the aforementioned items is lacking according to your observations, i.e. the dental care provider doesn’t interact well with children, you should move on to the next dental care provider on your short list of prospective doctors. The third tip for finding a family dentist is to inquire about office/dental care provider flexibility. Specifically, does the dental care provider have emergency availability and payment plan options? Flexibility is critical, particularly with respect to entire families, as it indicates a higher level of customer service when a dental care provider makes allowances for changing family needs.

Although the search for a family dentist can be incredibly time consuming and difficult, it is critical that you take the necessary time to research and test out prospective providers in an effort to determine the best fit for you and your family. In doing so, you should make note of appropriate credentialing, cleanliness of the office environment, presence of new technology, level of customer service as well as the policies that promote flexibility or lack thereof. Ideally, you would want to pick a dental care provider that meets all of the aforementioned criteria; however, depending on your needs and the needs of your family, you can and should make adjustments.