Why did you choose your dentist?

[kitkat]

I am curious to see why people choose a specific dentist/office over other places when they do finally decide to make the call. What influenced your decision when trying to make that first appointment?

 

[krlovesherkids777]

So there are kind of 2 layers to how I chose mine.. A few years ago I was looking for emergency dentists when something came up and his website had some easy going pictures on it and a video where he looked very non threatening so I had in the back of my mind.. if I have an emergency I will go to him.... well... I ended up finding my previous dentist and followed him around some and he ended up at the very clinic with my dentist who I had basically already chosen .so when he left the practice I ended up with Dr A.. so I guess it was somehow meant to be .

 

[MountainMama]

I chose based on recommendations. I live in a very rural area and there are only about five dentists within a 45 minute drive. 45 minutes to an hour and there are a lot more, but I wanted to stay fairly local if possible.
Everyone I asked gave the same name which is how I ended up here. It helped that the website has a mission statement saying that they provide compassionate care and quality work.

 

[kitkat]

Mine was chosen for me ...I was still a teenager at the time so my mom randomly picked somebody close to home and forced me there. I think I got very lucky that I ended up with a dentist that knew how to deal with nervous/scared patients. If I had to do it over and I was calling the shots, I would probably go off of recommendations or online patient reviews.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

I have to say too, when I chose my endodontist it was all based off reviews he seemed very anxious friendly and professional. and he was exactly that.. so reviews can be really helpful

 

[LittleLynnie]

I chose mine because I wanted an honest dentist who didn't want to charge for unnecessary work.

 

[frostgirl]

When I was looking to start again with a new dentist last year, I emailed a number of places in my area that had a lot of positive patient reviews. The reason I chose my current dentist is because of the great email correspondence with a member of their staff. So glad I did

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

I been going to the dental pratice all my life, however currently I see the owner of the practice, she is great and helps calms me down.

I hope if my appointment does get cancelled in April because of the covid-19 it can be rearragned as soon as possible

 

[powerwus]

My Dentist was merely close to home. I had a terrible experience the first time I went to this place, too. Having thought I was cavity free (I go every three months for cleaning, check up once a year and my last one in my former city had been clean, or so I thought), I was surprised that EIGHT cavities were found.
When the Dentist filled one the filling fell out a day later. The real kicker thought was when asked about my anti anxiety meds, the Dentist scoffed and said, "You have anxiety? Go take a walk in the woods. That will cure it more than any pills."
Needless to say I was adamant that HE would NOT be my Dentist at this practice, and I went with a wonderful pair of women there, who were both quite dismayed when I told them of my experience with the guy.
They also do everything in house, bringing in outside specialists to do periodontal, Endodontic and surgical work so you don't ever have to go out of your way to a brand new office.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

powerwus,

Sorry to hear of your first experience with the male dr , expecially invalidating your anxiety. Not something we need at all. Though a walk is always nice, the invalidation of your anxiety and the way he seem to handle it was not. Hope the pair of women dentists will prove to be very kind and competant as you go on your dental journey there.! That is great you can have all the care in one place, its always nice to be in a familiar setting for all your work!

 

[ReginaPhalange]

After spending a lot of time on here before making an account, I realised that not all dentists were the same and that being comfortable with them made a big difference. So I think I googled dentists that were good with nervous patients and found one quite close to home. They had an entire section on nervous patients, with videos from patients as well as one of the dentists. I mentioned my fears in the email and was relieved to get the same one from the video ?

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

Out of all the dentist who currently work at the practice I see the owner as my dentist, but will happily see any of the others, all got good manner,have never scolded me about how my teeth are, the last owner she scolded everyone even if our teeth were perfect

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

Also I choose the dentist, as she does a good check for any signs of oral cancer (each time) and if we find something we are worried about in our mouths, she will take a look and tell us whether it is okay or not.

 

[Gilbo]

I picked 'positive patient reviews', which seems to be the most popular option anyway. The trouble is, as I haven't even managed to see the 'wonderful' dentist there yet, they are telling me that I'm actually NOT a patient until I've had my first appointment there! So I am literally caught between a rock (old dentist) and a hard place (new dentist), as neither of them will see me, or do anything to help and nor will the emergency dentist now, as I believe they think that there is a limit to how many times you are able to visit! (My real dental emergency, is not 'officially classed' as an emergency, so that means it doesn't count and I'm not really going through Hell at all)!

Seeing our local BBC News programme this evening, which addressed dental emergencies and problems, an 'expert' on there said that they don't expect dentists to ever return to any kind of normal, or 'like it was before' and that a lot of practices probably won't re-open until the end of the year at least! (If they even survive their financial problems).

I really need a temporary single denture and possibly even another extraction due to constant toothache, which would mean needing two dentures (two single teeth attached to an upper plate). I have found a YouTube video, which shows you how to construct your own dentures (scary!), but that, laughable as it is, really seems to be my only hope!

I hope this nightmare will end soon!

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

The dentist at our practice shows us our xrays and point out things (not to shame us, like if we have a cavity forming or got a cavity, or we need a root canal, or worst a tooth taken out) and also if we see something on the xray the dentist will tell us whether it is oaky are not.