Should You Break up With Your Dentist?

BY: Dr. Roy Daniels

Lucky patients know that a good dentist listens to them, works gently with personal care, produces results they expect and charges affordable prices with understandable billing. Good dentists often become friends with their patients and treat them and their family members for life.

But sometimes even a good dentist can turn into one that doesn?t meet your oral health needs. It can be a difficult decision to switch dentists, especially if you?ve been with the same one for many years. Here is a half a dozen of red flags warning that it may be time to move on:

1.� You can?t reach your dentist afterhours.
If you have a dental emergency, you need quick access to dental care. You should be able to reach your dentist or one of her associates easily, 24 hours a day.

2.� The wait has become intolerable.
A well-organized office will take measures to reduce your waiting time. You shouldn?t have to wait more than 30 minutes for a scheduled appointment.

3.� Your dentist doesn?t listen to you.
Does your dentist seem rushed, impatient or like he?s not hearing you? A dentist who doesn?t listen may miss a critical diagnosis.

4.� He pushes a ?discount? plan.
Discount plans in which you pay a fee upfront for supposedly reduced dental fees are not valid insurance plans and usually not a good deal for the consumer. �

5.� He gives you the hard sell for services you don?t want.
Offering cosmetic services such as porcelain veneers or tooth whitening is fine, but you shouldn?t feel pressured to go through with such procedures.

6.� He does inferior work.
Occasionally, all dentists can have some work that fails, but it shouldn?t happen repeatedly.

If you decide to change dentists, write him a letter explaining why. That way you?ll feel less awkward if you have a chance meeting, and you can ask to have your records transferred.

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Source: http://www.oralcareandhealthdaily.com/blog/break_up_with_dentist/index.html

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