How to Choose A General Dentist

Springfield, Holyoke, Longmeadow, and Wilbraham, MA Dentistry

A good general dentist can keep your mouth healthy for life, so your choice of a general dentist is an important one. A qualified general dentist has graduated from dental school and uses either DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) or DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) after his name. No specialized post-graduate work is required to practice as a general or family dentist.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Your General Dentist

You would not necessarily want to choose the dentist closest to you. Quality of dental care and compatibility of personalities are as important as convenience of office location, or more so. If you are searching online, you can search for a phrase like “General dentist in Springfield” or “Wilbraham general dentist”. That will give you a list of possibilities and you can then study their websites.

Look at the dentist’s bio page, probably called “Meet Dr. XXX” or “About Our Dentists”. This should tell you the educational background and professional affiliations of each dentist. Choose one with several professional memberships, as these keep dentists up to date and in touch with their peers.

If you have any dental procedures or needs in mind, look at the web pages dealing with those. How much experience does the dentist seem to have? Are there Before and After photos of actual patients? Does the dentist refer patients out to a specialist for certain procedures? (A general dentist should be doing that, as she has no specialized training.)

Look at each site’s Technology page, if there is one. An up-to-date dentist will have a laser (instead of the old scalpel); a digital camera; perhaps Air Abrasion (for use instead of a drill in some cases); DIAGNOdent (or another device, for early caries detection); and preferably digital X-rays (for greatly reduced radiation exposure for you). There may also be sedation dentistry offered, with an oral medication to help you relax.

Schedule Some Consultations

When you have chosen a short list of possibilities, take a written list of questions with you to each consultation. You can ask such things as:

• Is there any emergency care offered?
• Is there someone on the team who can help with financing arrangements?
• How long has the dentist been practicing?
• What comforts are offered (nitrous oxide, oral sedation, blankets, pillows, heating pads etc.)?
• Is there more than one office location, and if so, do the offices offer the same procedures and will my dental data be accessible from all offices?

Look around while you are in each office. Do the team members seem to work well together? Do they seem to enjoy their jobs? Does the office seem well-organized and efficient? Are people friendly to you?

At some point you will know which dentist to choose and once you have chosen, it is best if you stay with that general dentist. You will save yourself from dealing with piecemeal dentistry, where different dentists do varying quality work without reference to previous work done or future problems looming.

If you have young children, their dental habits can be given an excellent start if they have guidance from a good general dentist, and their dental care as they grow can be consistent. This can prevent future dental problems from developing.

At Baystate Dental, we have highly-qualified dentists and multiple locations. All our offices are linked so that your data, radiographs and photos can be accessed from each one. We offer a full array of general dentistry, as well as cosmetic dentistry and neuromuscular dentistry. We are always available, since we are open on weekends and offer extended hours during the week.

If you would like to schedule a personal dentistry consultation with one of our dentists, please contact our us today.