How to Find a New Dental Clinic When You Move to a New Place
Moving to a new town/city/country brings with it a host of decisions to be made, top of which are related to your health and that of your family. In addition to finding a good physician, you must work hard to find a new dental clinic where your oral health issues will be attended to. Below are helpful tips to guide you to the right dentistry practices and help you narrow your options once you build your list of possibilities:
1. Get personal referrals
Begin from where you know: talk to your colleagues at work or neighbours with children and find out where they go. You can also ask staff members where their children are enrolled. Most people will be ready to offer their tips, opinions and personal experiences with various dental clinics around your locale. You don't have to settle for any of their recommendations; this is merely a starting point.
2. Talk to your insurer
Naturally, your insurer should be consulted in the process of searching for a new dentist, since the practice must be included in your healthcare coverage plan. Call your provider to ask about dental clinics they cover in your new locale.
Ideally, this is a good place to start, especially if you don't make friends easily. Once you have a list of possible providers, you can now find out from colleagues and neighbours whether they are familiar with any of the dental clinics on your list.
3. Set up consultations
Using the two steps above, you will have a list of several potential dentists. Set up a consultation with all your potentials (3-5 clinics is a good number). You should go prepared with a variety of questions in order to ensure that the dental clinic provides all services your family may need. Carry your family's dental history charts for the dentist's perusal.
Take this time also to observe and make your own assessment of the staff members' professionalism and courtesy, cleanliness of the space as well as proximity to your home. Observe how they interact with other patients; you can learn a lot about the dental clinic's practices.
Ask about their policies, the dentists' credentials and/or specializations, services available within the practice and services that will be outsourced to other practices. Ask if you can be shown around to have an idea of the equipment available in the clinic. If you're looking for a family dentist, confirm that they have experience handling patients of all ages.
Practices that go out of their way to make dental appointments easy and fun for children are preferable. Children are antsy enough about dental visits, especially once they have become accustomed to a certain dentist and are forced to go to a new one because of parents' relocation. You want to make the transition as hassle-free as possible for the children.
Armed with this information, you should now be ready to make a final decision about your new dentist.
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