HOW should you go about choosing a dentist? Should he/she be the one who is in the neighbourhood? That would be fine if you are a gambler by nature, so the chance of you being right would be the same as winning the lotto. That dentist may be good, or maybe not. You only know that they are conveniently located near your home. 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, so it is their opinion.

Even when one considers that in this country, there are about 12000 persons for every practising dentist, there could be some problem when choosing which dentist to go to. Although many persons have little or no choice when deciding who their dental practitioner should be, since they attend a public clinic, 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 from 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 the public retains people of integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity. That is not to say that we do not find these admirable qualities in business or business people.

Try asking a dentist to explain his findings in your mouth, treatment details, 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 avoid dentists who use dentistry more as a business 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. For this reason, this author decided to start this column nearly 14 years ago. Since then, I have always tried my best to have a weekly publication.  My objective is to arm the dental patients with basic dentistry knowledge so 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 an 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 an 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 as well as before. If you want success, become a working partner with your dentist. If you find this impossible with the dentist you picked, try another one.