Deciding on the dentist who will oversee the long-term health and wellbeing of your family’s teeth is an incredibly important decision. As we all know, a visit to the dentist for a regular check-up should occur every six months or so. As such, your family dentist will be someone you see on a regular basis, for many years to come – you need the best.
A good dentist is often the difference between a poor job and an exceptional finish. As such, it’s crucial that you work with a dentist that you can trust, and has the necessary experience to provide the best services possible. Even if you’re seeking a dentist who specialises in one particular area, it’s important to seek one who provides comprehensive treatment from start to finish.
It’s crucial that you check for the following factors before arriving at a decision.
Extensive Industry Experience
It goes without saying that you need to consider the basics, like credentials. You should enquire into your dentist’s academic history (such as the dentistry schools they attended), additional qualifications they carry and even if they belong to any other local or national dentistry organisations. Furthermore, it’s important that your dentist is regularly updating their qualifications through ongoing professional development.
In Australia, your dentist should also be registered and accredited by the Australian Dental Association (ADA). Accreditation by this independent third-party ensures that basic standards and qualifications are met.
Like with any other professional, a good mark of quality is how embedded a potential dentist is within the industry, and how long they’ve been working for. Keep an eye out for years of experience – Dr Anna at Care Dental Camberwell for example, has been in practice for many years. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to see a dentist’s portfolio by simply visiting their website to learn more about them.
Past Work
One of the best ways to gauge the effectiveness of a dentist is through examining a portfolio of their work. This should include both ‘before and after’ images of patient work, as well as positive client feedback. This will give you a basic idea of the results you can expect from their practice in most cases.
Use of Advanced Technologies and Techniques
A family dentist who is proficient in treatments that utilise cutting edge technologies is one who will be able to tailor treatment plans especially for you and your family. This can be particularly important in the event that your children need orthodontics or braces.
Simply put, keeping up with the latest developments in dental practice gives a dentist a huge advantage in being able to provide comfortable and effective treatments. It also shows that the dentist is not locked into what they are comfortable with, but is committed to learning new skills to help provide the best service possible.
Furthermore, a practice using some of the most advanced technology around translates into high-quality treatments. In particular, things like dental veneers and crowns are complex to produce and require sophisticated technology to ensure that they will be accurately tailored to your mouth, and are durable (as this saves on maintenance costs in the long run).
A Special Interest in Paediatric Dental Care
Future health can be secured during childhood, which is why setting your children up for a healthy lifestyle is so important. Dental health is an essential part of your child’s health, which is why visiting a dentist who has a solid understanding of the science behind paediatric dental care is so crucial.
Holistic Approach to Dentistry
For most families, you’re likely to be more comfortable with a dentist who offers a holistic approach to their practice.
Holistic dentistry incorporates both natural health philosophies and traditional dentistry techniques to provide dental care that improves your overall health and lifestyle (not just your smile).
The goal of holistic dentistry is to provide extremely thorough dental care, using minimally invasive procedures, safe biological and biocompatible materials, and recommendations that prevent or eradicate discomfort, disease, and damage.
Real Concern for Patients
With any type of dental treatment, it’s important that you feel as though your dentist truly cares about your health and wellbeing, particularly if you have any fears or phobias.
You should be able to talk to your dentist about topics such as:
- Whether they are comfortable performing a range of old and new procedures
- How experienced they are with a particular procedure
- How certain they are with the success of a procedure
- How suitable your teeth may be for a particular procedure
- Relative cost per procedure
Discussing these in detail in person gives you a great opportunity to examine the dentist’s approach to healthcare.
This simply means finding a practitioner who makes you feel comfortable, and can speak to any and all of the concerns you may have.
Cost and Convenience
Convenience is often an underrated factor in choosing a dentist. With regular appointments, saving on travel costs and travel time is always an advantage.
Lastly, the costs associated with dental treatment will vary depending on your dental health and extent of treatment required. It’s important to find a practitioner that is still upfront about the general costs of their treatment plans, and will work with each client to finance their treatment responsibly.