For many people, being at the dentist is one of the most difficult things or a scary place to visit. This can be due to poor experiences as a child or anxiety. At West Bowmanville Family Dental, we believe in providing consistent and reliable care from our family owned practice to our patients. So how do you make sure you are selecting the right dentist to care for your family?
When we as consumers decide to make any purchases, we often research the best products online and look for reviews to make sure other consumers are satisfied with their decisions. The same thought process should happen for healthcare. Picking the closest dentist or first dentist you see in the phonebook is not the best approach. Take your time to read reviews and feedback about the dentist office you are researching in the area. Look for reviews on ratemds.com, Google & Facebook reviews and an active social media presence. These are all strong indicators of past patient satisfaction and can lead you in the right direction
Word of mouth, and general reputation in the community go a long way towards making sure you have made the right decision for your family. Asking friends and family can also offer some insight about their experiences.
You should take the time to drop by the office and meet the doctors and the team member so you can get a general feel for the office. An important question to ask is whether the doctors are owners of the practice or associates. In our experiences, an owner-based practice is preferable, as associates tend to come and go leading to change over and lack of consistency in your dental care.
Its important to ask if your dentist has additional training for the treatment you are requesting or may want down the road such as cosmetic treatment or dental implants. Do they have results from actual patients and can they provide contacts for those patients if you need to speak to them?
The dental team should be able to show you before and after shots of actual work performed by the dentist and have additional training in this area you are requesting. For example, how many dental implants does the dentist place per year? Does the dentist only place the final cap or crown on the implant or is the procedure done start to finish in office?
Is your dentist able to provide options for anxiety and fear? How does your dentist deal with anxious patients and are they patient and understanding of your concerns? Does your dentist offer a variety of options like laughing gas (nitrous oxide) or oral sedatives? For some patients deeper sedation may be required so you should ask if this office provides this service, which needs more training.
Is your dentist available when you are working or do they have evening or weekend appointments? Our office is open evenings on certain days and offers weekend appointments for those busy families.
Will you be referred out of the office for everything, such as root canals, oral surgery, dental implants, orthodontics, etc., or do they offer these services and the option of seeing a specialist, all in one location with the same team that you know, like, and trust?
Believe it or not, many dentists do not treat children. If you have a family or are planning to, this is important to know. If they do accept children, find out what their reputation is with kids and families – ask around. Often someone in your circle of friends, family and co-workers will have first-hand experience to share.
More than just treating kids, does the office promote oral health for kids, have events for kids and families, etc. that demonstrate their desire to work with kids and families. There is a difference between accepting kids and excelling in the treatment of kids.
There are so many advancements in technology in the health care professions, and choosing a practice that is ‘up’ on the latest technology may give you some benefits you did not expect.
For example, an intra-oral camera (a tiny pen camera) can give you views of the inside of your mouth that you have never seen
– it allows your dentist to show you a tooth close up so you can understand exactly what is being recommended and why. In this case a picture is truly worth 1000 words.
There are also advancements in x-ray technology – digital x-rays produce high resolution images with a fraction of the radiation of traditional x-rays.
There have also been huge advancements in the way dentists take impressions (moulds) of your teeth for things like dental crowns or orthodontics. Instead of the trays of goop that many find uncomfortable, a digital scanner can be used to create a 3D picture of your teeth, like using a video camera. Then your digital impressions are sent electronically to the laboratory that will make the appliance resulting in greater accuracy with a shorter wait time.
Nobody ever wants to have a dental emergency, but odds are at some point in your life either you or a loved one will need urgent dental care. Asking in advance and knowing what the office protocol is and when they are available to see you, or at least take your call and give advice will give you peace of mind knowing that you can access care when you need it.
For your free consultation with one of our Bowmanville dentists, please contact us at today at 905-697-1118
