How To Choose The Best Dentist For Your Family’s Needs

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Gone are the days of picking a dentist based on where you live and where your family has lived years on end. Dentists, like everyone else, do eventually retire or move on and at times like this, you need to try and find a new dentist. This may sound easy enough, but you need to pick the right dentist particularly if you want him to take care of your family’s dental needs as well. For example, if you have young children, you may want to visit a dentist with pediatric experience. Although there are plenty of dentists around, you will need to do some research.

City Dentist or Local Practice?

The things you will need to investigate if you want your new dentist to be the perfect fit for your family’s needs are wide and varied but elements including the location of the practice, also need to be considered. If you work in Sydney, for example, you may be looking for an experienced dentist in Sydney CBD, but does this sit with your family’s busy schedule? This said, there is no valid reason why you can’t use a dentist near your office – unless a hefty course of treatment is needed, it is easy for a family to travel to the CBD for checkups. 

Dentist Checklist

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Aside from location, there are a number of other things that might be worth considering before you register with anyone dentist including but not limited to:

• Qualifications – Does the dentist hold qualifications from a leading Dental School? In all honesty, all dentists are highly qualified and generally have their qualifications mounted on the walls of their practices, but it doesn’t hurt to ask anyway!
• Specialisms – Dentists who offer specialist services such as pediatric dentistry will generally need to undergo additional training specific to their specialism. The same applies to those dentists who offer cosmetic services such as tooth bleaching and laser whitening.
• Referrals – If you or your child needs orthodontic treatment or surgery to remove wisdom teeth or similar, you will need a dental practice with specifically trained specialists or at least a dentist with a network of dental professionals that he can refer you to.
• Personal Qualities – Do you feel comfortable with your dentist? Most dentists possess a great deal of personal skills that are essential for them to carry out their role. If you feel comfortable when asking a dentist questions when visiting their practice, this is an indicator that this dentist can meet your expectations.

There are many more considerations to take into account when choosing a dentist for both you and your family but thankfully the vast majority of dentists in Sydney and throughout Australia possess both the qualifications and personal skills to treat almost anyone. If you need highly specialized services such as jaw reconstruction, your local dentist will refer you to a surgeon with appropriate skills and experience. For general family dental care, you can feel confident in approaching the dental practice that is close to your home regardless of whether it is long-established or recently opened.