HOW should you go about choosing a dentist? Should he or she be the one who is in the neighbourhood? That would be fine if you are a gambler by nature and so the chance of you being right would be the same as you are winning the lotto. That dentist may be good or maybe not. The only thing you know is that he or she is conveniently located near to where you live. Should you ask someone you know to recommend one? Maybe, but it is perhaps that person who is satisfied with the dentist’s work and not you and so it is their opinion.

Even when one considers that in this country, for every practising dentist there are about 12,000 persons, there could be some problem when the time comes to choose which dentist one should go to. Although many persons have little or no choice when it comes to deciding who their dental practitioner should be since they attend a public clinic, the fact remains choosing a dentist is no small matter these days.

Dentistry-like medicine, accounting or law, is a profession. It is not a business, although there are business practices and financial aspects to discuss and employ in the practice of these professions. They are looked upon as being different from a business.

Professional people generally get more respect, and more is expected of them. What distinguishes a business from a profession, at least in the eyes of the public? For one thing, business is characterised by the sentiment of “Let the buyer beware”. In other words, anything the seller can get away with goes. We have consumer protection laws because consumer needs protection. We have heard about quality control and advertising gimmicks.
A profession should be a field where people of integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity are retained by the public. That is not to say that we do not find these admirable qualities in the business or business people.

Try asking a dentist to explain his findings in your mouth, the details of treatment, clinical expectations and follow-up visits. Ask about the available options and price of each. Carefully make a mental note of his reaction to your probing questions. Prospective patients should be astute enough to recognise and stay away from dentists who use dentistry more as a business rather than a profession. If your dentist should ever say, “ You’ll get the final cost when I’m finished”, beware and don’t fall for that gimmick.

The world of dentistry for the layman is an unknown world full of pain, superstition, misinformation and apprehension. It is for this very reason that this author decided to start this column nearly fourteen years ago. Since then I have always tried my best to have a weekly publication. My objective is to arm the dental patient with the basic knowledge of dentistry so that they cannot be easily fooled.

The profession becomes culpable whenever there is a general lack on the part of dental personnel to respond appropriately to the patient’s needs while allaying fears and apprehensions. Dentists owe the public for the privileges and financial security they enjoy and must pay with outgoing concern for their dental well-being.

Your choice of a dentist can affect your dental health for the rest of your life. It should not be a “crisis choice” when you are in pain. At such times you cannot think rationally and make any intelligent choice. If the dentist you get is not your kind of person, thank him, pay him and leave. It will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

Finally, dental care is a two-way street. Each time the machine breaks down, it gets harder and harder to fix, and it will not work quiet s well as it did before. If you want success, become a working partner with your dentist. If you find that this is impossible with the dentist you picked, then try another one.