Tips for finding the best local dental practice. What is a master dentist and why should I care?

With the explosion of dental services on the web it seems a good time to identify what to look for in a dental practice.

Most dentists seems to fall in one of three categories, a "Dental Factory", "Solid Pro" and "Master Dentist". The last group represents less than 10% of all practicing dentists.


"Dental Factories" and the docs that work there aren't hard to find. Look for the flashing sign or "too good to be true" sales offer. These are usually young folks, doing what it takes to pay back big loans for school.

The "Solid Pro" can found be found at the nice looking practice down the street. This is the dentist a friend might send you to, a competent doc with experience, working their way up.

This leads to the last category the "Master Dentist"  Big terms like this shouldn't be used lightly. There is only one way to become a master at anything and it's called experience. Something happens to the "Solid Pro" as years of practicing extends into decades. After completing literally thousands of procedures the "Master Dentist" learns to anticipate problems before they happen. He doesn't just know how to fix things, he knows the best overall solution.

Experience alone isn't enough. The complexity of dentistry requires ongoing education. It's not mandatory for the "Sold Pro" but is for the "Master Dentist". The combination of experience plus continuing education is what earns these docs the lofty title.

A layman's tip for figuring out how much ongoing education the doc has is the string of letters that appear with his/her name. The longer the better though MAGD (Mastership from the Academy of General Dentistry) is good. Having Academy Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry listed in the doc's bio is even better. There are only a few hundred of these type dentists in the world.

                                             

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One visit crowns and veneers have arrived - fast smile improvement results.

Image
With the quick pace of modern life time is short and responsibilities many. It's our  job to provide quality dental health care in the most convenient way possible. Normally to get a new crown or veneer took a few weeks and a couple of visits. Wait no longer with our new one visit crowns, veneers and more. Get a new smile faster, more convenient with less time off from work than than ever before. With our new CEREC system crowns, veneers and more can be made in one visit, while you watch.The trick is accomplished by a new computer technology that we use to scan the inside of your mouth and create a tooth with a printer like device. One visit veneers, crowns and more are real porcelain veneers just as tough as previous versions. Each one is carved from a solid block while you watch. The entire process from begin to end takes around an hour and half. Best of all there's no additional cost for the convenience. Best of all we have a special touch to eliminate pain and mak
Read more

Medication Can Seriously Affect Dental Health

Image
People at a greater risk for  oral diseases  should have dental check ups more than twice a year, which means about every 3-4 months.    Tobacco  and alcohol use,   diabetes, pregnancy,  periodontal  and gum disease, poor oral hygiene and certain medical conditions are some of the many factors that your dentist takes into consideration when deciding how often you need your dental cleaning and check up. More and more patients that are taking multiple medications for their general health such as  Osteoporosis  medications, Statins for high cholesterol, multiple meds for high blood pressure etc.   We have had many patients on these drugs for years and all of a sudden they develop a dry mouth.  This condition can cause serious damage to your mouth.  We've had 4 patients on medications that skipped their regular cleaning and the next time we saw them they had 10-20 cavities caused from the dry mouth.   If you notice a dry mouth please contact your physician and us immediately to s
Read more

A SPECIAL PATIENT RECOMMENDATION & "The Coleman Dental Experience"

Image
We were very grateful recently to receive a kind letter from a patient named Joe G. What's it like to be a patient at Coleman Dental? Hear the answer straight from a patient. From the moment I got to the Dental office Jennifer made me feel comfortable. When she told me she would handle my insurance, I knew that she just saved me a ton of time trying to get reimbursed. Dr. Coleman and staff did an excellent job on my teeth today. He has the latest technology. When he told me he would use the laser to do my tooth prep instead of injecting Novocaine and making my face numb, I was ecstatic. I like most people do not like that shot in the gum  as well as their face getting numb for hours, so the laser was a nice surprise.  Even when Dr. Coleman has to use the injection technique, his application is second to none, as you rarely even know that a needle has gone in. I had a lunch meeting today so I already had some anguish going into the appointment. I was hoping for a
Read more