1) Are you choosing the closest dentist to where you live or work? Although this seems to be the most convenient way, it should not be the primary reason to go to any doctor or dentist especially since you trust that the closest provider will also be the most competent. The office location is just one of the factors that should help you choose your dentist. Before choosing a dentist it’s a good idea to check their credentials and what other patients say about their practice
2) Picking your dentist primarily based on your budget of treatments. The fact is there are an awful lot of dentists willing to treat patients for considerably lesser amount than their peers. We need to understand that if there is a stark difference, then surely the dentist is compromising in the quality of work or inventory. Why would someone want to trust an inherently dishonest dentist with their wellbeing?
3) Picking their dentists based on their looks. This is especially true for those using that mobile aps to help find a new dentist; Many of the listings feature young good looking recent graduates. That being said, some of them are lacking in clinical experience. Make sure that they have appropriate experience.
4) Choosing a dentist solely based on glowing internet reviews. This can be a bad idea since it is certainly possible to “game” the system and some practices can gather a great number of 5 star reviews that don’t actually reflect the quality of the dental work that the practice delivers.
5) While a friend’s recommendation can be a great way to find a new dentist. Although good word of mouth is important often the questions, we ask our friends can be equally important. Such as “Why do you like going there? How long have you been a patient? How well does his or her dental work hold up? Be careful if the only recommendations are based on how modern the office looks and how attractive and nice the staffs are. Many excellent practices do not look state of the art modern and may have middle aged staffs that have been with the practice for years.
6) Choosing a dentist based solely on a practice website or their internet presence. Many practices have invested in their websites and SEO and spend a significant part of their marketing budget on internet marketing. While this is a good strategy to help them to attract new patients it doesn’t necessarily correlate with the quality of a dental practice.
7) Be wary of practices or dentists that say yes to all your treatment plans and do not give a logical reason for the same. Also make sure your dentist discloses the pros and cons of each and every treatment plan. Don’t be afraid of asking your queries that you may have. Part of being a good dentist is communicating about why suggested treatments are in the best interest of their patients.
8) Picking a practice based on convenient extended office hours. The fact is that dentists, like everyone else do not perform their best work late in the evenings.
9) Choosing a practice where the dentist himself or herself does or practice all the specialities themselves. While this is good for the practice, it isn’t always optimal for their patient’s treatment. Make sure your dentist has specialists team associated with their clinic to get best possible results.
In my Dental Practice ExlDentist, DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon, apart from overseas patients, we have patients coming from 40-50 kms far as well, simply because of our level of commitment towards our work. Apart from our genuine reviews that patients have given and our experience of more than 14 years in the practice, we keep upgrading ourselves and our inventory to give the best possible results and to keep up to the new age dentistry as well. Also at Exldentist, we have team of 7 specialists giving all our patients world class experience.