Top 3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Family Dentist

Welcome to Plano, TX. You’ll love it here! To help you tick off one of the items that may be on your long to-do list, we’ve created this post on the advantages of a family dentist and the top 3 things to consider when choosing the best dentist for your family. Let’s get started!

Advantages of a Family Dentist

Perhaps the biggest reason family dental offices are so unique is that we provide a broader base of care, both in the variety of in-house treatment options we offer and the age range of patients we treat. At Millennium Dental, we’ll welcome your great-aunt Mary as merrily as we would your two-year-old nephew. You’ll have a better understanding of the dental development of everyone in your family because all your records will be in one place. A family dentist like Dr. Harrison can also quickly spot any dental issues that run in the family, meaning they will pay extra attention to the dental development of the younger generation to catch these issues early on and get them treated before they become a problem.

Another advantage of choosing a family dental practice like Millennium Dental: every family member will get the services they need at one place even as they continue to grow—from general dentistry services, like cavity fillings, cosmetic whitening, and veneers, to restorative dentistry treatments, like dental implants and bridges. Dr. Harrison and her team can help you prevent, identify, and treat any oral health issues at every age and help your whole family avoid unnecessary dental problems.

How to Find the Best Family Dentist for the Whole Family

With what you now know about the advantages of a family dentist, another question you may wrestle with is, “How do I choose the right family dentist for my family?” Most people do a quick Google search for the nearest family dentist and choose a practice with an online presence that also has flexible payment plans, which are all great deciding factors, but they’re not the most important things to consider. Instead, start with the following when choosing a family dental practice:

Someone Who Takes the Time to Hear You

One of the biggest complaints in modern-day dentistry is that it’s such an assembly-line product. You are diagnosed, treated, and then pushed right out the door as if you were just another interchangeable widget. When you don’t have the confidence that your dentist pays attention to you as a unique patient, you might not be visiting the best family dentist. Here at Millennium Dental, we do things a little differently. Dr. Harrison and her team will take the time to listen to your concerns and do their best to honor your wishes.

Someone Who Makes You a Part of the Decision-making Process

Followers of our blog most likely know a lot about dentistry and dental procedures. It may not be enough to get you a pass on the National Board Dental Examination, but it makes you far more capable of effectively contributing to the decision-making process regarding your oral health than you would have been before the invention of the internet. So whenever you’re about to embark on a costly and/or extensive dental treatment, you should feel completely at ease with your decision. You should never feel as if you were rushed into making a choice before knowing all your options. A good family dentist will provide answers to all your questions about every aspect of the various treatment options available. An even better dentist will point you to literature either in an online library or a website to help you learn more about your choices. And do you know what the best family dentist of all will do? In one word: visuals, especially for cosmetic dental procedures. It’s not unreasonable for you to ask for before-and-after photos so you can have an idea of what to expect. If your dentist can also provide videos, that would be even more useful.

Someone Who Takes an Interest in Your Children

It’s worth the effort to find a dentist who not only takes an interest in your kids but also knows how to make them feel comfortable so they can have a positive association with dental appointments and (hopefully) commit to a lifetime of proper oral hygiene. What this looks like varies from one dental practice to another, but what they all have in common is a warm, inviting atmosphere with a waiting room that contains games, toys, movies, or coloring supplies to engage your children. You’ll know you’ve found the perfect place when everyone at the practice treats your family kindly and uses kid-friendly language to explain dental procedures to your child.

Book a tour of our Plano, TX, family dental office.

This list includes our top 3 things to consider when choosing a family dentist. Once you’ve narrowed your search to three or five practices, schedule a tour of the office so you can take a look, see firsthand how the staff interacts with patients, and ask any questions you have about the services they offer. We look forward to seeing you and your family soon!