When You are Searching For a Dentist

By Staff Writer at DiscountedDentalCard.com

In days past when you needed to find a dentist you were pretty much restricted to the phone book or by referral from someone you know. Using the yellow pages was...and still is a chore, especially if you are located in a large metropolitan area with pages of listings.  About the only way of reducing the choices is to find a local phone book for your area.

This may provide a reasonable list to wade through but still has one major limitation.

There is not much information about the dentist other than what is in the yellow page advertisement. Does the dentist specialize in a practice you may be looking for such as orthodontics, implants or oral surgery? Does the dentist accept your insurance or dental plan? If so, will the back office process the often daunting claim forms and submit them to the insurance company. What about the quality of care you may get from the dentist advertised? Does the dentist have a license, a degree from a highly regarded dental school, any malpractice litigation, or been subjected to state regulatory sanctions? Are the schedule of fees high, low or reasonable for your area? In fact, the dentist with the biggest ad is spending the most for the ad.  How is this expensive ad being paid for? With patient fees of course!

You need to have a way to get a list of pre-screened dentists for your area.

Fortunately today the internet is one of the best uses for a search of this nature. Search engines to your rescue! Even using a general search engine such as google.com with a search phrase such as "dentist your town or city" will get results you can start with.  But for the best results, you need to find a directory or website that is specifically designed to help people find exactly what they are looking for in a dentist. Directories and theme websites will be organized by category and searchable according to your criteria.  Additionally some, but not all, of these services will pre-screen in an attempt to weed out the bad apples.  The best way to locate these sites is to start with a general search engine with directory in the search phrase.  Your results will have sites like 1800dentist.com and bestdentist.com. These are good places to start. Often you will be asked to fill an online form out in order to build your profile.  In order to match you with the best possible dentist for your particular situation in the database, data such as your age, insurance coverage if any or how you will pay without insurance, specialist requirements, and whether you are in need of emergency treatment is needed.

Your Final Cut

Once you have your short list of three or four candidates from the list matched to your profile you can continue to qualify the candidates. At this point the job is much easier because the website's database has done most of the heavy lifting for you. You now have much more time to conduct additional due diligence...which you should not skip. You may find forum sites where patients have been willing to comment on the treatment they have received.  Find out from your state dentist licensing board about your candidates' license and problems they may have dealt with in the dentist's record. You can also do a records search for lawsuits. Finally call and interview the dentist. Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions. If they can't or won't answer your questions...your list just got smaller. Other find a dentist resources..dentist directory