Has anyone ever "googled" their dentist?

[kitkat]

I'm sure some of you found your dentists via internet searches but I actually found mine through my health insurance and only 'researched' her very recently. I was actually looking for reviews of what others have said about her but I found out some very interesting stuff about her past. I found an article from 1991 and turns out she used to be a partner with a dentist who owned a practice in the JFK Airport in New York. They were known as the 'airport dentists'! Funny that she's never once mentioned this; only that she used to live/work in New York. In the same article it talks about some exciting times working there and also says that when a commercial plane crashed near the airport in 1990 killing 73 people, they were 2 of the first civilian responders at the site that helped pull the 85 survivors from the wreck. It also says the demand grew for airport dentists and they were asked to open a second office at La Guardia Airport (also in New York) but they decided to just stick with JFK. They talk about performing work on CIA agents, Kuwaiti pilots detained during the Persian Gulf War, and underground Mujahadeen from Afghanistan that were incarcerated by the United States. How fascinating! You never really know people like you think you do. Generally, I do not support google searching when it comes to dentistry but for fun, you should try to google search your dentist if you haven't yet and see what comes up. You never know what you may learn about them! I was quite surprised by what I found.

 

[griffinej5]

I have googled my dentist. It's hard to actually find her. Looking just now, I found that she RSVP'ed to the Senior Farewell, and I have found her facebook page, but it's private. Her name is fairly common, and apparently it is common among dentists, so finding one that is actually her is tough.

 

[kitkat]

I have googled my dentist. It's hard to actually find her. Looking just now, I found that she RSVP'ed to the Senior Farewell, and I have found her facebook page, but it's private. Her name is fairly common, and apparently it is common among dentists, so finding one that is actually her is tough.

I have also found the FB page for mine which is private but shows interests, things she's "liked", and a friends list. She has talked about facebook a few times during appointments so I knew she had a profile. The article I found and her facebook page is actually under her maiden name which is on her diploma in the office. So she is a bit tricky to track down. Her first name is very unusual so that helped me out. Now I kind of sound like a stalker! I did not find much in way of reviews ...I actually planned to go leave a positive review for her which is why I searched her in the first place and found she has quite a few negative reviews, one decent one, and one outstanding good one . But you know how people can be. They tend to dwell on the negative and often no reviews is a good sign since people only go out of their way to report negative experiences!

 

[OCDGuy]

Mine is very difficult to find anything on....

 

[AndiGirl]

My dentist has some good reviews. People seem to like him and he has a good chair-side manner. LOL! I also found some personal information about him. He has been married twice.

 

[comfortdentist]

Generally it is a good idea but be aware that some dentists pay a company to produce good reviews and there is also a company that blackmails dentists by rating them poorly unless you pay a significant fee each month so watch out for doctorooglebased reviews

 

[kittykat]

ive googled and looked up their license information to see if they have had any disciplinary action taken against them. was once treated by a dentist who had a suspended license so now i take the time to make sure all is well.

 

[griffinej5]

So, I found my new dentist's last name out today, and I of course googled her. She was in the 2008 Olympic Trials for swimming (obviously she didn't make it or I'd have just said who she was). Also, her father is a graduate of UPenn Dental. She must be pretty smart based on what I found, but my other dentist I had before I think was smarter, because she was in the honors program.

 

[Oshin]

I did after getting prices and before going in for consultation. I feel that in this age of technology that we should google and find out about anyone who does a service for us. Granted, there can be some reviews that aren't exactly reliable, but with research, you can make an informed decision whether it's someone you feel is right for you.

 

[iDent]

Call me a hypocrite. . .although I'm an overall data-privacy advocate, I ALWAYS conduct internet searches on potential healthcare providers. In my experience, the best search format to use (in the United States) is "Dr. Firstname Lastname, City, State."

For dentists, the most informative thing usually found is an official practice website: my dentist, "Dr. Yes," has a fairly succinct but informative biography on his. The endodontist Dr. Yes sent me to in 2012, "Dr. Endo," turned out to be a good endodontist, but I was initially wary of her and her practice partners because they don't seem to have any kind of internet presence.

Internet rating sites are of extremely limited value. Even the relatively reputable ones like Healthgrades may not have enough entries about a particular dentist to be statistically significant, and sites like Yelp and Dr. Oogle are known to be less than objective. Often, rating sites have entries posted by practice employees (and employees' friends and relatives) posing as satisfied patients.

Of note, I don't expect healthcare providers to be my soulmates, but I want to avoid obvious personal and ethical conflicts. When I was searching for a dentist in 2012, one contender closer to my home who offered sedation was eliminated in part because I would have been somewhat uncomfortable with his political and religious beliefs, but mostly because I learned, through internet research, that he made a not insignificant amount of money selling a dubious and expensive nutritional supplement. I'm not opposed to nutritional supplements in general (in fact, I take several), but I had learned from MDs where I work that this particular supplement is not beneficial. Maybe Dr. Snakeoil is a good dentist, but I most certainly did not want to hear his sales pitch every time my teeth needed attention! Also, I think selling a questionable nutritional supplement, especially to patients who trust your judgment as a healthcare provider, is unethical.

An interesting story that I have told before on DFC: nearly two years ago, I was researching a particular doctor as a potential new medical specialist. In the course of my internet research, I learned that he enjoyed the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, which most women old enough to have worn ERA Yes! buttons consider soft-core porn. As a civil libertarian, normally I'd say that what kinds of pictures Dr. RX-Rated peruses in his spare time are his private business. However, as a healthcare provider, it is extremely unprofessional to admit such "aesthetic preferences" in the internet universe where patients can learn about them. Perhaps needless to say, I selected a different specialist. . .

 

[comfortdentist]

It was interesting reading what Ident had to say. I know a couple of doctors who have very strong feelings on different sides that would turn off some patients but I will say they treat all people well.
As to doctors who are always marketing and selling questionable products or devices I absolutely would leave that practice.

 

[iDent]

A few days after I originally posted on this topic, I ran another search on my dentist, "Dr. Yes," for fun, and found that someone left him an extremely bad internet review several weeks ago. The review wasn't criticizing his dental care as much as his office's billing practices, as well as another incident (not described) that the unhappy patient said s/he was reporting to a state government official, but not the dental board as would be appropriate. The patient used two very negative adjectives to describe his/her overall experience.

Although no one is perfect, I know Dr. Yes's overall patient-satisfaction rating is well above average, and personally think he, of course, is to be commended for being the only dentist who ever really helped me address my odontophobia. Therefore, even though I don't put much stock or faith in online healthcare reviews, I left him a mostly-positive one to counter the mostly-negative one. If I weren't committed to protecting Dr. Yes's privacy, I'd include a link to both reviews.

* * *

In response to Dr. Kimsey's (comfortdentist) comments about healthcare providers treating everyone well regardless of political, religious, and/or philosophical differences, I believe this is usually true, and one of the foundations of professionalism. Essentially, this is more likely to be a concern for patients than providers, because the healthcare relationship is much more personal/emotional from the patient perspective.

I know from his own website biography that Dr. Yes and I probably have two major life/philosophical differences, but they're differences I respect, because I honestly believe they exist on both sides for ethical reasons: if I lived his life, I might make his choices, and perhaps vice versa.

Why are sharing at least some values, interests, and/or lifestyle similarities and avoiding serious ethical conflicts issues for me? After all, I'm selecting a healthcare provider, not a spouse or close friend. This is complicated (and I've been accused many times in my life of being overanalytical), but I'll attempt to answer:

1.) Having a longterm interest in business ethics, I consider these questions even when choosing a retail store, so I'm certainly going to do it when selecting a personal service like healthcare. When entrusting the care, repair, and maintenance of your body to someone, one has to trust and should ideally like the healthcare provider as a person. Professional skills are paramount, but personal compatibility is important too. . .especially for the dental phobic.

2.) Although I don't actually befriend my healthcare providers and owners of independent businesses I patronize on a regular basis, I consider them acquaintances and am friendly when I interact with them in their professional/business settings: it's just a personality trait; I don't like small talk and love good, meaningful discussions. Considering that I may converse on a slightly deeper level in professional/business settings than many people, the traditionally socially-taboo topics of politics and religiion (admittedly two of my favorites!) occasionally arise.

For example, last spring Dr. Yes, who knows where I work, brought up a highly-charged topic involving my nonprofit healthcare employer that was at the forefront in local politics and news at the time. I responded regarding my position and political-activist input on the issue, and how I was pleasantly surprised by the ultimate outcome. Dr. Yes almost certainly agreed with my specific position, but may have disagreed when I said, "Usually the system doesn't work, but occasionally it does!" Politically I'm a cynical idealist. . .based on our life/philosophical differences mentioned earlier, Dr. Yes is probably more optimistic. In order to be my dentist, he almost certainly has to be!

3a.) Because I am paying (directly or indirectly via insurance) my healthcare providers large amounts of money, I want to ensure that "my" money (once it becomes their money) does not finance anything I find highly objectionable, and potentially funds something I admire. This past year I decided to find a new GP, and selected the one I chose for three reasons:
i.) He is a partner in an independent clinic, not a "health system," and runs his practice as he wants (no ten-minute appointments!).
ii.) He and I grew up in the same region of the same state, so our childhood backgrounds are generally similar. For example, he knows why I tend to be stoic when in pain: partly it's the geographic culture of our formative years!
iii.) He is a private pilot, one of my unfulfilled dreams! (When I pay my medical bills, I'm indirectly paying for at least some of his aviation avocation!)

3b.) Had I become a patient of Dr. Snakeoil, the sedation dentist mentioned in my original post on this topic who made a tidy sum selling a questionable nutritional supplement, I would have indirectly funded his religion, which would have made me somewhat uncomfortable (a handful of my relatives are converts to the same religion, so I speak from experience, not just prejudice). I also would have indirectly funded Dr Snakeoil's significant contributions to a nonprofit organization which conflicts with some of my own political beliefs.

No doubt Dr. Yes and I have opposing viewpoints on certain issues, but again, I respect Dr Yes's differences because I honestly believe they are made for ethical reasons from his perspective. With Dr Snakeoil, I suspect most of his values are determined by the single bottom line, not the triple bottom line or anything else other than money.

The world changes one person at a time. . .