# How to choose a dentist **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554 "2016-11-03T19:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/1 "2016-11-03T19:52:30Z")
I have to pick a dentist from a list on my insurance company’s website. After narrowing them down based on distance from my house, I’m left with a dozen or more to choose from. There are enough other dentists between my town and the choices I’m given that asking friends for recommendations seems doomed to futility — everyone I know surely goes to someone closer. Is there an Angie’s List or Yelp for dentists? Is there anything I can do other than throw a dart at the computer screen (which, now that I think about it, wouldn’t do much good anyway)? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/2 "2016-11-03T20:24:33Z")
Yelp is the Yelp for dentists. Just throw the name of the closest dentist in there and see what comes up. My dentist has 116 reviews and 4.5 stars. You should be able to get a sense of whether the dentist is worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/3 "2016-11-03T22:03:24Z")
If you regularly have dental cleanings/check-ups every 6 months, you are likely to spend less than a few minutes a year with your dentist. However the dental hygienist that cleans your teeth, will spend about an hour +/- each year. If my dental hygienist left to go to another office, I’d follow her in a heartbeat, and leave my dentist behind. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/4 "2016-11-04T16:02:57Z")
Thanks, **Spoiler**. I didn’t know that. **Omar** , I agree completely, but hygienists aren’t listed on the insurance company’s web page. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/5 "2016-11-04T16:14:45Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Thanks, **Spoiler**. I didn’t know that. > > **Omar** , I agree completely, but hygienists aren’t listed on the insurance company’s web page. The good news is that people frequently discuss the quality of the hygienist in the dentist’s Yelp reviews – also the office décor, the receptionist, the wait times, and every other aspect of the experience. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/6 "2016-11-04T21:47:46Z")
You might change the search to see which ones are closer to your place of work (assuming you do) rather than home. Most visits are during the work day and having my dentist only 5 minutes away mean I can be there and back within my lunch hour. ETA: an office near your work might also be popular with your coworkers so you have a ready pool of people to ask for how they’d recommend. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/7 "2016-11-05T15:56:53Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > You might change the search to see which ones are closer to your place of work rather than home. I chose my dentist because she has evening hours twice a week till 7 or 8 pm, so I can go after work. I need routine stuff done 4 times a year…and I ain’t gonna waste a half day of lost work/vacation time each time. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/8 "2016-11-05T21:53:24Z")
I avoid dental practices that hype cosmetic work. Bleaching, veneers etc. They have the big box ads in the yellow pages. I much rather see a dentist that focuses on the basics. Cleaning, checkups, etc. I don’t want a sales pitch to make my teeth whiter. I use a large practice. There’s 4 dentists, and at least 8 hygienists. Up to date. I got a dental implant done there. Had several crowns. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-choose-a-dentist/770554/13 "2016-11-06T20:21:22Z")
My process is very rigorous for selecting a dentist: 1. See who is in my insurance’s network. 2. Find which one is the shortest distance from my office (I usually go for things like dental/optometrist/GP visits mid-day during the work week.) 3. Select that person.