To ensure good oral health, you need to visit the dentist at least once a year. Sounds simple, but for some people it can be a real challenge: fear of the dentist, difficulty making an appointment or even a bad feeling with your current practice. To help you, we’ve put together our top tips to help you choose your dentist.
Defining your needs when choosing a dentist
It’s important to take stock of what you want from your dentist. Your choice will depend on your needs.
- Are you looking for a hygienist for an annual check-up?
- Are you looking for orthodontic treatment?
- Or do you need treatment for a specific problem?
Once you have defined your needs, you can contact the practices on your list to confirm that they will be able to treat you according to your specific criteria. Some of them have a list of their services on their website, so don’t hesitate to have a look around to see what they have to offer.
Criteria to consider when choosing a dentist
Location
Choosing a dentist close to where you live means shorter journey times and less risk of unforeseen problems. You’ll also be able to get there more easily in an emergency. Don’t forget to check if there’s a car park nearby or if you can get there by public transport. For people with reduced mobility, it’s also important to find out beforehand to avoid any nasty surprises if accessibility is poor.
Prices
Transparent pricing is essential when choosing your future practice. Swiss dentists must use the SSO DENTOTAR® fee schedule. Check that this is mentioned on their website. Don’t forget that dental costs are not reimbursed by compulsory health insurance in Switzerland.
Services offered
As mentioned above, it is important to check the services offered by the firm. The list can be long and vary depending on the professionals on site, for example:
- Dental hygiene
- Dental medicine and check-ups
- Emergency care
- Dental surgery
- Aesthetics
- Care for children
Some practices even offer special care if you have stomatophobia (a phobia of the dentist). If this is your case, you can talk to them about your problem to see if they have any solutions for you!
Choosing your dentist also means choosing someone who is available
An essential point to bear in mind when choosing your dentist is his or her availability. Imagine: you’ve finally found the dentist that’s right for you. One day, you’re in serious pain but the practice can’t see you for 1 month… what do you do?
Check the timetable
Depending on your schedule, it may be convenient for you to make an appointment on a Saturday or in the early evening. When you choose a dentist, remember to take this factor into account. What’s more, some dentists have special opening times for emergencies. If something happens to you, you’ll be able to get treatment more easily.
Making an appointment is easy
To make sure that making an appointment is easy, you can check the following points:
- Is it absolutely necessary to contact the practice by telephone?
- Is there a long waiting time on the phone?
- Does someone always answer the phone?
- Are there other ways of making an appointment?
For example, some practices in French-speaking Switzerland offer online appointment booking, particularly on OneDoc. This can also be a deciding factor: making an appointment from the comfort of your own sofa is very pleasant!
Check e-reputation
To confirm your choice, you can also check the practice’s communication/reputation on the Internet. It’s all very simple, but Google reviews, for example, can tell you a lot about how patients are welcomed and treated at the practice. Of course, it’s always possible for a patient to have an unpleasant experience and leave a mediocre rating. We advise you to look at the reviews as a whole to get an idea.
A clean website, efficient online appointment booking and even social networking accounts can influence your decision when it comes to choosing a new dentist. Seeing the practice behind the scenes is reassuring: you know what to expect when you arrive there for the first time.
Don’t forget the feeling
A good experience with a dentist obviously depends on the feeling you get during your appointment. Here are a few key points to bear in mind:
- Am I made to feel welcome when I arrive at the practice?
- Do the professionals explain what they are doing?
- Do I feel comfortable before, during and after treatment?
- Are the premises clean?
- Are the staff friendly?
- Do the dentists take my medical history into account?
All these things will influence your experience and are important if you are to feel comfortable. Appointments aren’t always fun, so you might as well find a dentist who knows how to put you at ease.
