Red flag, green flag.
Dr. Brett Langston: Hi, I’m Dr. Brett Langston.
Dr. Rachel Miro: Hi, I’m Dr. Rachel Miro.
Dr. Brett Langston: We’re here at Dental Implant Aesthetic Specialist here in Brookhaven, Georgia, and we are here to help you watch your mouth.
Today, we’re going to be talking about some red flags and some green flags when you’re looking at joining a new dental practice. There are lots of dental offices to choose from, and it can kind of be an overwhelming dilemma. We’re going to give you some green flags and some red flags to look out for when choosing a new dentist.
Checking Reviews: Are There Any Five-Star Ratings?
Dr. Rachel Miro: Let’s say you’re looking for a new office, and they don’t have any five-star reviews.
Dr. Brett Langston: That’s a red flag. While reviews alone don’t define a great practice, it gives you good context and good feedback of what you can experience and what you can expect when you go to that office. So, we have over 350 five-star reviews on Google alone.
It’s something we’re really proud of. We’ve put a lot of work into providing a great environment and a great experience for our patients, and we feel that reflects really well in our reviews.
First Impressions: How Does the Front Desk Treat You?
Dr. Brett Langston: So, you call a dental office for the first time, and the front desk says, “Hang on,” and you’ve been on hold for about 10 minutes.
Dr. Rachel Miro: Red flag. When you call an office, that’s your first line of contact. You want to make sure that they listen to what you have to say. It’s okay to be put on hold for a little bit, but after that, you want to make sure that all your concerns are answered and that they’re able to get you scheduled for what you need.
Cleanliness and Safety: Are Gloves and Masks Used?
Dr. Rachel Miro: Let’s say you get to a dental office, and when they sit you down in the chair, the person that’s looking in your mouth, either the doctor or their hygienist, they don’t have gloves and a mask on.
Dr. Brett Langston: That’s a big red flag. Personal protective equipment is important not only for us to keep ourselves safe, but also for the patients so they don’t get contamination, and we can make sure they have a clean, safe experience.
Medical History: Are They Asking the Right Questions?
Dr. Brett Langston: So, at this new dental office, you come in for a procedure, and they don’t ask you for your medical history.
Dr. Rachel Miro: That’s a huge red flag. As dentists, we want to make sure that we are in tune with our patient’s medical history, whether it’s the medicines that they’re taking or things that have happened to them in the past, like hospitalizations. This is really important because here we use different things on our patients, and we want to make sure that the patients are treated in the safest environment possible.
Patient Comfort: How Are Anxieties Addressed?
Dr. Rachel Miro: Let’s say you walk into a dental office, you’re really anxious, really scared. They sit you down in the chair, and they just say, “Shut up, you big baby, suck it up.”
Dr. Brett Langston: That’s a big red flag, a huge red flag. Here at our office, we offer a patient comfort menu. We want to make sure that our patients feel supported and that their anxieties are addressed.
Whether you want water or you want something to rest your jaw or you want a pillow or a blanket, we’re here to treat all your concerns. We even have a therapy dog. This is Oakley, our therapy dog. We’ve found a lot of patients that have general anxiety about coming to the dentist are put at ease just by having a friendly face and a dog they can pet to help calm them down.
Education and Credentials: Are They Displayed?
Dr. Brett Langston: So, the first thing you see when you walk into the dental office is a proud display of their diplomas and degrees.
Dr. Rachel Miro: Green flag. I think you really want to make sure that the dentist that you’re going to went to an accredited university, has postgraduate training, and is really continuing their education, whether it’s with certificates, residencies, whatever it is. You want to make sure that you’re receiving the optimal care, and education is a huge part of that.
Dr. Brett Langston: Yeah, absolutely. Dr. Miro and I both did residencies after our dental school so we could specialize in areas of treatment that we really wanted to become experts in. While not all dentists need to specialize, it’s really important that you make sure that whatever dental team you seek is up to date with the latest dental knowledge and technology.
You want to make sure that your dental team is continuing their education so you can get the best treatment.
Dr. Rachel Miro: As Dr. Langston was saying, continued training is extremely important. After dental school, I went ahead and did a residency that allowed us to get exposure to sedation. So, here in our office, we’re able to offer our patients IV sedation so they can feel relaxed during their procedures.
Sterilization Standards: Is the Equipment Clean?
Dr. Rachel Miro: Let’s say you walk into an office, and you see their sterilization room, and you see all their equipment, and it’s all clean, it’s all sterile, it’s all wrapped in baggies. You can really tell that they put a lot of effort into taking care of it.
Dr. Brett Langston: That’s a green flag for sure. One of the things we really pride ourselves on here is our commitment to sterilization and our commitment to clean instruments and proper hygiene. Anytime we have a patient that comes into the office the first time, we always make a point to show them our sterilization room. It’s very open, it’s very clean. It’s very important in the dental profession to make sure you’re maintaining the highest level of cleanliness. We’re very serious about our commitment to cleanliness and preventing cross-contamination. We have the most technologically advanced sterilization area, and we have team members who are trained specifically to keep things clean and hygienic.
Advanced Technology: What Tools Are Available?
Dr. Brett Langston: So, you walk into the dental office, and you see all this big equipment that you have no idea what it’s used for.
Dr. Rachel Miro: Probably a green flag. Here at our office, we want to make sure that we have the highest up-to-date technology, and a lot of times, they just look like funny, big devices. But here, what we have is a CBCT, which is a 3D x-ray that allows us to see absolutely everything that’s going on in your mouth. We have 3D scanners that allow us to get rid of regular impressions. We have a milling device that we can make you a crown all in one day here in our office. We also have a high-end lab here where we’re able to really treat our patients and give them same-day temporaries that look so realistic, you won’t even be able to tell. We also offer our patients digital X-rays with the lowest amount of radiation possible—it’s said that eating a banana gives you more radiation than this unit.
Final Thoughts
Dr. Brett Langston: We’ve reviewed a lot of things that are red flags and green flags. There are a lot of great dental offices out there, so if you can’t come to see us, we just want to make sure you’ve got something to look out for and make sure that whoever you do go to see is able to address all your dental concerns and takes good care of you as a patient.
Dr. Rachel Miro: As a patient, we want to make sure that all your concerns are addressed, whether it be discomfort, your anxieties. As a doctor, that’s what we want for our patients, and we hope that you can go to a dental practice that can address all those concerns for you just like ours.
I’m Dr. Rachel Miro.
I’m Dr. Brett Langston, and we’re here to help you. Watch your mouth.
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