Local Reviews of the Bests Dentist in your Area

Contents

Easy Map to Find a General Dentist Near You
Other Sites with Dentist Reviews
Anonymous vs. Credited Reviews
Who’s Writing the Review?
First Impressions – Consider Carefully.
Speaking of Costs
The Dentist’s Office and Business
Harnessing the power themselves – dentists using internet reviews

Finding a good, qualified dentist for yourself and/or family can often be very stressful, much like searching for a needle in a haystack. Aside from recommendations given to you by people you trust, the best way to find a dentist is through unbiased patient reviews of dentists. Many dentists advertise through channels like yellowpages and 1-800-dentist – you should bypass recommendations from those channels, since they are not real. Here are a list of quality dentist review sites that we recommend.

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Easy Map to Find a General Dentist Near You

Here’s a handy Google Map that automatically shows the nearby dentists.

Other Sites with Dentist Reviews

One dental supply manufacturer estimates that up to 60% of all people have some fear of the dentist. That’s one of the reasons why the increasing proliferation of internet “dentist review” sites make so much sense; people are looking for ways to feel better about selecting a dentist – with help from existing patients – in an objective and unbiased way.

But reading the reviews takes a little skill – and there are some guidelines you should follow to get the most value out of your research. Here are a few tips to help you find the kind of dentist you’re looking for.

Doctor Oogle — Dr.Oogle Dentist Reviews One of the most comprehensive sites, with about 90,000 reviews.

RateMDs.com Dentist Reviews Reviews of both Doctors and Dentists. Difficult navigation & filtering, too many ads.

Judy's Book — Judy’s Book Dentist Reviews Decent amount of dentist listings for the US. Easy to use.

Yelp Dentist Reviews Extremely comprehensive list of dentist reviews for metropolitan areas.

Insider Pages Dentist Reviews Has tens of thousands of dentist reviews. Bad search filtering options.

Yahoo! Local Dentist Reviews Has many local dentist listings but very few reviews for each dentist. No way to verify validity of reviews.

Anonymous vs. Credited Reviews

People who create reviews of dentists fall into two categories: those who are willing to leave their name and those who aren’t. What does this mean to you? Generally, if existing or former dental patients have to leave their name to review their dentist (on sites like Demandforce, Zocdoc or Angieslist), you’re unlikely to hear negative reviews – or the reviews will be so bad that the reviewer was willing to risk ending his relationship with the dentist to complain. So – read these reviews with an open mind.

On the other hand, anonymous reviews (like those posted on DR. Oogle, Yelp, Citysearch, Insiderpages, etc) are frequently written by new or first time patients who may or may not have the depth of experience needed to accurately assess the dentist’s skills.

What’s the solution? Do your homework. Check out both credited and anonymous sources – you’ll get a wider perspective and be able to make a more informed decision before your first visit.

Who’s Writing the Review?

As you choose the internet sources you’ll be using to review dentists, it’s important to remember the kind of user the site attracts. While people of all ages check out reviews of one kind or another on the internet – some sites attract younger users 25-35. Now that’s great if you’re looking for a dentist to have a teeth cleaning, teeth whitening treatment or general dental care–traditionally, people under 35 don’t tend to have a lot of serious dental issues.

Social platforms like Yelp, or Judysbook, etc. attract younger users – while sites like Angieslist or Citysearch attract a wider demographic. What you’ll want to look for are specific references to the type of work you’re interested in. If you’re experiencing dental discomfort and are over 35, look for reviews that mention specific procedures: root canals, planning and scraping etc., then you’ll know you’re headed in the right direction.

First Impressions – Consider Carefully.

As mentioned above, during the course of your research, you will undoubtedly come across dentist reviews from patients who’ve only had one appointment before writing a review. Can you get a clear impression of a dentist from a single review from a single-time patient? Yes and no. Read carefully – and look for clues you can verify: pricing is subjective (relative to your budget) and so is chairside manner – but tips such as, doesn’t accept some insurance plans, dirty office, or others – may deserve some credibility. If you can, however, try to find a review from a longer-term patient who’s referring to a specific procedure or issue. Also – educating oneself about the kind of dentistry in which you’re interested may help you more accurately evaluate some reviews and even save you money in the long run.

Speaking of Costs

As I said above, dental costs are subjective. What a dentist charges in Duluth, MN may sound like a bargain to someone in New York City – so not all dental review sites mention costs. Also, some people have dental insurance while others don’t – and that can greatly affect the price you wind up being charged. The smartest thing to do is to develop a “short list” of dentists in your area based on the other criteria you’re using – and then call them to get a feeling for their pricing structures.

Remember, too, that dental work is a medical procedure – costs for complicated treatments or with specialists, such as periodontists, will likely be more expensive than standard check-ups, x-rays and or cleanings.

The Dentist’s Office and Business

Don’t forget to consider how a dentist does business, too. Comments regarding office condition, billing practices, staff courtesy can reflect how a dentist practices his craft, as well. A clean office and a pleasant receptionist/hygienist/billing clerk are keys to a well-run operation. Lots of turnover, disorganized or incorrect billing, or poor attitudes behind the desk often reflect poor quality throughout the practice.

So take any mentions of inadequate service seriously. People – of any age or from any source – can tell when something isn’t “right” with regard to sanitation, money practices or general courtesy.

Harnessing the power themselves – dentists using internet reviews

Good word of mouth is a powerful thing – that’s why internet review sites – of any nature – are so incredibly popular. So, it was only a matter of time before dentists themselves began to embrace the technology.

Some dentists are keeping track of their reviews and using positive comments to advance their business on their own websites or in their own literature. Others are making sure that negative comments are addressed through fast, counter-action – with positive comments either self-written or solicited from favorable patients.

It’s going to make smart internet research even more tricky in the years that follow – but you can make sure you can find out what you need to know as long as you use our guidelines:

Know who’s doing the reviewing – anonymous or credited
Know who’s frequenting the review site – younger vs older
Pay attention to the length of time the reviewer has been a patient
Check out costs locally
Consider comments about the business as well as about the dentist

Using these common sense tips, you’ll be able to find a dentist who meets your needs – and feel good about your decision – before you ever open your mouth.