Whether you have just moved to the area, obtained new dental insurance or you don’t wish to continue with your current dentist, it isn’t always easy to find a new dentist. Before you begin your search, it’s important to consider what is most important to you. For example, do you prefer someone with a specific certification or extended office hours? Does the practice accept your insurance? These are just two of the important considerations that go into locating a new dentist.

Some Tips for Finding the Best Dentist

Once you have listed what you need in a dentist, it’s time to begin a preliminary search. We recommend the following as a starting point:

• Ask your family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who they see for dental work.
• Check with your regular pharmacist or doctor for a recommendation.
• If you’re moving or changing insurance companies, ask your current dentist if they can provide you with a referral.
• Consider using the Find a Dentist tool on the American Dental Association website.

If you prefer to do an online search, Google is the best place to start. It receives 1.6 billion unique hits every month and is ranked first by Amazon’s Alexa. That means you’re likely to receive the greatest quality and quantity from your search. Bing is the second-most common, with approximately 400 million monthly searches and an Alexa rating of 22. Yahoo comes in third with approximately 300 million monthly searches, but it does not have an Alexa rating.

Call and Visit the Dentists on Your Short List

After narrowing down your choices to two or three, place a call to the dental practice to learn more about it. Some of the questions you might want to ask over the phone include how the dentists deal with emergencies and the types of insurance the office accepts. If dental anxiety has kept you from visiting a dentist for a long time, ask if the practice has treatment options available to help you with that.

Your next step is to visit the dental office in person. You can usually form a reliable impression before you even talk to anyone by noticing if the office appears clean and orderly. Does the staff seem helpful or annoyed with your questions? If a dentist has time to meet with you, be sure to ask about their education, approach to preventive dental care and whether the dentists and their support staff regularly attend continuing education courses. If you’re satisfied with your phone and in-person interviews, the next step is to schedule an appointment.

Premier Dental Care is Now Accepting New Patients

We would be honored to be your new dentist in Gallatin, Texas. Feel free to contact us at 615-452-1292 with questions or to set up a time to meet Dr. Jeff Powers.