The greatest dentist of all: Hermey, the misfit from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

My friend who is a very good dentist gave me this advice in selecting one. It’s hard to find a good dentist (we’ve gone through a few of them) and I found his advice invaluable. So here it is:

1. If the first exam for you (adults) takes less than 10 minutes and he says “everythings looks fine”, then he’s probably not the most thorough or comprehensive dentist and you may want to move on. Every first exam should include a thorough gum examination called “probing” where they measure around all the gums of all your teeth. If you don’t have that, then he’s probably not too good.

2. Your dentist should take the time to explain any problems, and if possible, show you if he has the technology. Also, before you agree to do any dental work, make sure he goes over the cost and procedure. If your dentist (or sometimes the office manager) doesn’t seem willing to explain things, then move on.

3. In terms of a dentist’s actual skill, you really won’t know until you get some dental work done. If you have any dentist friends, ask them to take a look at what was done. They should be able to give you some idea if the work looks good or sloppy.

4. Look the dentist up on the web. There are a couple sites that rates dentists. ratemd.com and doctoroogle.com are some examples.

5. Does your dentist appear sincere, honest, and friendly? Really, these are the qualities that most people would describe as a good dentist. If you don’t feel comfortable with a particular dentist, then move on. You should not feel like it’s an assembly line because those dental practices that churn out patient after patient in record speed are not into good comprehensive dentistry.

About your questions on sealants, yes, it’s a good idea to place sealants on permanent molars for kids, even if they never had cavities. These teeth are the most vulnerable to getting cavities, especially when they become teenagers, and sealants can do wonders to prevent cavities. Sometimes we place sealants on baby teeth, but only if they have “deep grooves” and are not expected to come out anytime soon. Sometimes we place sealants on permanent premolar or bicuspid teeth, especially if they also have deep grooves. I routinely place sealants on kids teeth. They generally pretty inexpensive and are fairly easy for the kids to sit through.