A mistake which so many people make is not looking to switch up their family dentist when the time comes. Now for some this comes down to a sense of loyalty which they feel towards them, especially if they have been seeing them for a long time, for others this is because they fail to spot the signs that it is time to change.
A good family dentist is a wonderful thing to have and it will ensure that you and your family will be looked after for many years to come. This will also bring familiarity which is just what we need for these kinds of services. With this being said however, there are some signs which show that it is time to move on.
Length Appointment Times
It is a tough balance for dentists to get the right number of clients on their books, and still be able to offer speedy appointment times for their patients. The risk here is that dentists take on too many clients and therefore you end up with a long wait time to get seen, which of course is far from ideal. If this happens as a one off then there isn’t much to worry about, but if you find that you are always having to wait weeks before you get seen, it could be time to move on.
Changing Dentists
It used to be that each dental practice would only have a handful of dentists working there, and usually you would get the same dentist each time. What many dental practices are doing now however is hiring locums and ever-changing dentists and that can result in you seeing a different professional each time. If this is happening then it goes completely against the idea of having a family dentist. Simply because you are going to the same building doesn’t mean that you are visiting your family dentist, if the person changes all of the time. If your dentist is off sick then that is one thing, if however you find that there is a constant changing of dentists then find yourself somewhere new.
Changing Prices
Something which so many dental practices get wrong is that they change their prices in a sudden way, and this is certainly enough to put people off. Changing prices are a fact of life and as equipment, rents, salaries and other costs rise, so too do the fees which they charge. There is however a certain way in which prices should be increased, and that is gradually. Many dentists try to placate their patients with no rises in fees, and then have to slap the prices up by a huge percentage to catch up. If this is the case then you are much better off trying to find a better family dentist which won’t do this and which will instead seek to do things in a much more sensible way.
Loyalty is nice, but you should still expect a high standard from any family dentist.