Updated: 2/18/2020
Going to the dentist can be a nerve-wracking occasion. It’s even scarier the first time you visit a particular dentist, as you may not know what to expect. For this reason, it’s very important that you are comfortable with your dentist. If you are looking for a new dentist, you may want to follow these tips to finding the dentist that is right for you.
Ask for Recommendations
When choosing a new dentist, a lot of times you may have no idea where to begin. The American Dental Association suggests starting with a list of recommendations from friends and family. Your doctor may have a recommendation as well. Moving to a new city or state? Ask your current dentist if he knows of any good dentists in the area. Receiving recommendations from people you trust will help you feel more comfortable with the dentist you end up choosing.
Interview Multiple Dentists
Once you have put together your list of recommended dentists, you will want to interview them. Getting to know the dentist will not only give you a better idea of how their practice is run, but you will also feel more comfortable when you go in for an appointment. It’s important to interview more than one dentist, so that you have other options if one doesn’t work out.
How to Interview
The interview process should be a time when you get to know the dentist and learn what to expect from him should you choose to be a patient at his practice. Prior to the interview, come up with a list of things you want to know about the dentist. Examples of questions you might ask are:
- Where did the dentist receive his training?
- How long has he been in practice?
- Are there any procedures the dentist does not perform?
- About how much would common procedures such as exams, cleanings, or x-rays cost?
- Does the dentist accept your insurance or discount plan?
Other Considerations
Some other things that you might want to ask yourself upon visiting the dentist include:
- Was the staff friendly and helpful?
- Did the office appear to be clean and orderly?
- Is the office conveniently located?
- What are the office hours? Are they convenient for you?
Your dentist will be someone that you have to visit several times in your life. Because of this, it’s important that you find your dentist satisfactory. You will be most pleased with your dentist if you are comfortable with him and you know what to expect. Following these steps to finding a dentist will help you to find a dentist that will not disappoint.
Thank you so much for these helpful tips! I will definitely use these while I am searching for a new dentist!
You should base your choice of dentist on referrals for it is surely proven and tested.
i need a crown but can not afford it
I havent receive my card to go to the dentis,I need today plese and the list of the Dentis to go .My area is 77082 in Houston TX. My phone is 713 295 0176. Thanks Carmen Ruiz
Sorry to hear that, Carmen! Please give us a call and we can look up your temporary i.d. that you can use at the dentist right away! (You should have received an email with it, check to make sure it didn’t get caught in Spam mail.) Hope that helps!
I just joined and was referred to Absolute Dental here in Reno. They got me in for x-rays within an hour, but when the dentist came in, she tried to build bridges in my mouth. All I was really concerned about was the tooth that had been exposed when the gold crown came off last week. At my age (66) I don’t plan on having bridges! I went in the next day and picked up my x-rays.
Now I am looking for a dentist who can do root canals and crowns etc.
Edna, be sure to check out our quick and simple provider page to see a complete list of dentists and endodontists in your area! If you have any trouble, just give us a call at (800) 372-7615
i havent recieved my cards yet and i need to see a dentists asap i have had a toothache for a mouth now… thank you ,,,, tammy
Hi Tammy, your cards should come in the mail in 7-10 days from the date you enrolled in a plan. If you purchased a Careington plan, you should have received a temporary I.D. number in your email. That number is all you need to take with you to the dentist. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (800) 372-7615 and we can look up the number for you.
There is a problem with your recommendations for picking a dentist. In the area within 15 miles of my home (30 mile round trip) all the Dentists work for Aspen Dental which, after extensive research on line, I found very poor reviews from people who have used them in the past. It appears I’m going to have to drive over 50 miles round trip to see a recommneded dentist with this program.
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble finding a provider, Terry. While our providers do go through an extensive screening process, we have over 80,000 providers nationwide, so we are unable to monitor the quality of each individual dentist. If you are looking for a wider network of providers, you may try searching for the Aetna or POS plans as they have a bigger network.
You may have 80,000 dentists Nation wide but you only have Aspen Dental within reasonable driving distance of my home. They have many dentists working in their office that may or may not be good dentists but their anti customer policies, mentioned in many complaints on line, keep them from being good dentists.
Do I have to pay for the dentist to check and see if I need a root canal?
Hi Maram, you will have to pay a fee for the dentist to look at your mouth. However, with our discount plan, this price is greatly discounted, in some areas costing only $14! Be sure to check out our fee schedule for prices. Thanks for stopping by!
how do i know my complete fee schedule for aetna dental access plan. i just went to see a dentist that charge me $49 for new patient but i saw online only cost 34 dollar
Dentists in the Aetna dental plan set their own fee schedule and therefore the prices vary between different dentists. Because of this, we are unable to provide a full fee schedule on our website — only a sample with estimates of what you will be charged. Only the dentist will be able to tell you the exact prices that will be charged.
Hi
Is there a way to see if a root canal is needed through an xray?
I just had a tooth made ready for a crown and the dentist said to tell her if I’m having any indication of sensitivity in case I may need a root canal. My gums have been really sensitive since two teeth were made ready for the crowns. Isn’t there a more certain method to determine the necessity if a root canal?
Hi Vanessa, you should talk to your dentist if you think you might need a root canal. The dentist has the means for verifying whether or not a root canal is needed, and any x-rays or other tests involved would go through her.
I had a root canal approximately 10 years ago back in Ohio. The top area crown? has fallen out. Is it possible to clean it up and put it back in again rather than take out the whole root canal and start again? Thank you
It really depends on the particular tooth and how long it has been. You’ll want to call your dentist and discuss this with them. They might be able to just re-cement the crown without having to do a root canal. If it has been a long time since it fell out or since you got it, they may have to do a new crown but may not have to do another root canal.
Make sure you put the crown in a tight, zip-lock bag and then call your dentist to explain what happened and schedule an appointment.
Is there a reason for estimating the cost of an extraction and a one tooth
bridge by over $400??? This happened recently after signing up with Careington 500 plan. I in turn offered $1500, which he accepted.
I’m sorry. I don’t think I fully understand the situation and your question. Could you please expound on this a little more so I can provide you with the answer you need? Thank you!
What if I have an emergency out of town.
Here are two articles we’ve written where we talk about dental emergencies, and experiencing a dental emergency out of town: In Case of a Dental Emergency, Have a Plan and Avoiding a Dental Crisis During the Holidays We hope these are helpful for you!
I live in Joplin, M0. and the list of dentist has been narrowed down to two. The others on the list no longer take this discount plan. I would like to use a plan that works with any dentist.
Hi David, I’m sorry you have had trouble finding a dentist near you. I did a quick search in your area and found over 100 providers nearby: //www.1dental.com/dentists/. When you visited or called the dental offices near you, have you been referring to your plan by name or as the 1Dental plan? Dentists will need to know the name of the plan you have when you call. Since you have our Careington Care 500 plan, you’ll want to make sure you refer to the plan as such when you speak to the dental office.
All dental plans will have a network of dentists for you to see. That’s how they get the agreed-upon rates at dental offices – discount dental plans and dental insurance plans have a list of dentists who agree to take their members at an agreed-upon rate. We wrote another blog post on this topic that you may find helpful: https://www.1dental.com/blog/2017/04/05/how-do-dental-provider-networks-benefit-you/
If you have further questions or need our help, please give us a call at 855-329-6305 or email us at customercare@1dental.com. We’d be happy to help!
I need a dentist for Belleville IL Mine went out of business.62221
Hi Janice. Thank you for writing. You can visit our provider search page here: https://www.1dental.com/dentists/ to find another dentist in your area. Looks like we have a couple of dentists in Belleville and many more in Shiloh. These dentists accept our Dental Access plan. If you need help using this plan, please reach out to our Customer Care department for additional questions at customercare@1dental.com or give us a call at 833-692-5966.
I need a good dentist in the Port Arthur, Beaumont, Tx area plz..
Here are some dental offices in your area: https://www.1dental.com/dentists/ The zip code may not have saved though. If not, just enter your zip code into the search bar and it will pull up a list of dentists in your area who accept our dental plans.
I can’t seem to find the list of Dentists. Is the “Family Comprehensive & Cosmetic Dentistry” on your list? Robert N Saunders DDS is one of the dentists there.
You can find our list of providers here: https://www.1dental.com/dentists/
Also, if you ever have any other questions about your plan, please feel free to reach out to us at customercare@1dental.com for a quicker response from us! 🙂