How do I find a good dentist in Seattle?

[impatient patient]

Finding a good dentist has proven awfully difficult:

* Patient reviews seem to care about unimportant things: pain, time, chair manners, front office, etc. Why? I only care about health, longevity and cosmetics, and cost (but I do have Delta Dental).

* More and more dentists seem to reward patients for good reviews.

* Dentists pay each other referral fees, don't they? So to what extent can dental referrals be trusted?

* The "Top Dentists" publication in Seattle Met is showing 700+ dentists in no particular order. That's more dentists than I thought practice in Seattle, how do they find enough teeth for everybody? That's not helpful at all. Besides, could that voting be "doctored", too?

* One would think having a professor from a prestigious dental school would work, but I've heard of a well-known professor who did not do a very good cosmetic job (did not get the right hue; must be color-blind)

So, I am at loss. At this point, I am willing to pay a good money for a referral. How do I approach it? I need an implant, too, among other things.

BTW, I am a programmer, and am considering a few programmatic solutions to fix this informational void. Would any dentist or front office specialist be interested in working with me on it? If it can be done, it can be big.

 

[Great Lakes Dental]

Hi impatient patient,

Apologies, since my office is located in Canada and no doubt our systems function differently. Nevertheless, have you tried 1-800-Dentist? My understanding is their service works to address exactly the scenario you've described. You could also check Facebook to see what people are saying about a particular office or Dentist online. If you're having difficulty trusting those sources, then perhaps the old-fashioned way of asking around would suit you best. Good luck. I'd be interested to know how you arrive at your decision, once you get to that stage.

Regards

Dr. Jennifer Thomm
Cosmetic Dentist
Sarnia, Ontario

 

[impatient patient]

I'll try 1-800-Dentist. I wonder on what basis do they choose whom to recommend? I know that many (non-dental) organizations here in the US choose not to refer people out of fear of liability - crazy I know.

Never thought of Facebook. Here, we have Yelp, but, like I said, Yelp seems increasingly doctored (by giving patients perks for a review for example), and also patients seem to not know a good dentist from a bad one, or at least it's been my impression. Dentists here will correct me if I am wrong.

How do I know a good dentist when I see one anyway? Perhaps there is a good question to ask, that only a good one would know an answer to?

 

[iamdoctor]

I think you must take help of local search directories.
Here are some list :-
Yelp
Google Local busines
Yahoo
Just type dentist and name of city and they will show you an entire list.

Remember:- Before consulting read user reviews. If a dentist has lots of positive reviews than call them and ask for appointment.
Along with search about the dentist on google as well.

You will find many ways to get authentic information about seattle dentist.

 

[Great Lakes Dental]

Hi impatient patient,

The reason Facebook is more reliable is because people must actually stand behind the things they say online. So even if a Dr, encouraged one their patients to give a good review (through some kind of 'perk'), that person still needs to believe in what they're saying otherwise they'll be advocating someone to their friends and family that they don't actually hold in high regard. The system isn't perfect, but in terms of trusted reviews, Facebook is more reliable then most other online 'anonymous' sources for exactly the concerns that you've expressed.

In terms of what to look for, here a few quick tips:
- What school did they receive their doctorate from?
- Review your local dental board website. Most dental boards (like our RCDSO in Ontario, Canada) make disciplinary actions public.
- Check out the office, does it look clean and up to the standards that you'd expect from a health care provider?

Hope this helps and good luck.

Dr. Jennifer Thomm
Cosmetic Dentist
Sarnia, Ontario