Boise Dentist Blog
The professional blog of Doctors Dan Bruce, Steve Bruce, Rosa Pothier and Rob Ririe
How to Choose a Dentist
The other day I was thinking about why patients choose a dentist and continue to go to that person. I came up with 3 of the top reasons:1. The dentist doesn't hurt them.
2. The work feels good.
3. The dentistry looks good.
If it looks good, feels good and doesn't hurt, then a patient really has nothing to complain about. There are, however, some other considerations to take into account to assure the best care. Here are a few:
4. You get a good referral from a trusted source.
5. You trust the dentist.
6. You have the same philosophy as the dentist (here is our mission statement, for example).
7. The dentist keeps up with continuing education. This is a reinvestment in the practice. If you want to know what your dentist is up to, give them a call. This is also important because there are always new discoveries occurring--for example, the suspected link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease.
Finally, here are some things I personally would look for, but more have to to with my philosophies:
8. The dentist is environmentally responsible (They have an amalgam trap, they recycle, etc.).
9. The office uses local resources (i.e. labs, supplies, etc) when possible to keep jobs in your area.
10. The doctor is involved with local charities and donates his or her time.
So here are 10 ways to decide on a dental practice. Notice I didn't mention location and insurance. These are important things, but don't have anything to do with the doctor. In my opinion, dentistry is very important to your overall health, so making the choice of a dentist is worth some taking some time over.