Looking for a dentist is a lot like looking for a friend. You can’t hire someone right off the bat without knowing if you can trust them or not. Here are some questions from WebMD you can ask potential dental professionals to determine whether someone is right for you:
1. What are your office hours? Can you fit in those hours into your schedule without a hitch?
2. Where’s the clinic? If it’s on your way to or from work, then that’s obviously ideal. However, if it takes you more than an hour to get there on a good day, if you consider traffic and commuting hours, you might have to start looking into using other dental professionals in the area.
3. What’s your specialty? What kind of dental doctor did you have in mind? Do you want someone who’s skilled with the usual dental services, such as root canals to tooth extractions and every other service? Or are you looking for someone to perform cosmetic dentistry procedures such as teeth whitening and creating veneers or crowns, among others?
4. How updated are you with the latest technologies and practices? Sometimes, new technologies and techniques can be more efficient than old practices and less risky. If your dentist doesn’t seem to be keeping up with the latest treatment trends and technologies, then that’s one reason to start looking for someone else.
5. What happens if I’ve got an emergency? Will the doctor be there if you need emergency tooth extraction at three in the morning on a weekend? Or would his assistant be there instead?
6. How much are the fees and payment plans? You need to know how much the treatment costs. This will help you compare quotes from other dental providers and make an informed decision.
7. What insurance policies do you accept? What kind of insurance coverage works with the clinic? Find out if your insurance company will shoulder some part of the expense or if the doctor is in-network.
8. What about missed appointments? Is the doctor tough on missed appointments? Will they allow you to reschedule sans payment?
9. How many other patients like me have you treated before? This lets you know if your doctor has already dealt with the same problems or patients with the same condition you have.
10. Is it the right fit? This is a question to ask yourself rather than the dentist. Do you feel like you can form a long-term professional relationship with this doctor?
If that’s a yes, then congratulations. You’ve finally found the dentist in Livonia you’ve been looking for!
