Did you know that one out of four Americans suffers from tooth decay? Many more have other dental problems, such as gum disease or cavities. This is why booking an appointment with your local Boise ID dentist is so important.
But there is a problem: how should you go about booking an appointment with a dentist in the first place? After all, first, you have to figure out how to choose an Idaho dentist, then you have to figure out when might be a good time to book, and so on. Fortunately, booking a dental appointment isn’t as difficult as you might think, but there are several factors that you will need to consider.
Keep reading and learn more about how to choose dentists in Boise and how to set up a dental appointment online.
Choose the Right Type of Dentist
Many people think that all Boise ID dentists are all the same, but this is not true. While many dentists can treat general dental problems, some are much more specialized. The type of dentist you choose will all depend on what kind of dental problems you have.
For example, suppose that your teeth hurt and you know that you have a few cavities.
Cavities are very simple dental problems to deal with, and nearly every dentist can help you with these.
Getting cavities drilled and filled is also a relatively simple dental procedure, and you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get it done.
This is more or less the same case with tooth decay, gum disease, tooth whitening, and so on. All of these dental issues are generally very mild and don’t pose serious issues to your dental health. So, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting these treated at a family dentist or a general dentist.
But what if you have very crooked teeth and are in need of braces?
In this case, you still may be able to go to a general dentist, but such a dentist may not be skilled enough to give you the treatment that you need. Instead, you may need to go to an orthodontist.
An orthodontist is a dentist who is very skilled at straightening teeth with the use of braces. Orthodontists are also skilled at straightening the teeth with alternative methods such as Invisalign clear aligners. Whatever the case, it is usually the better choice to go to a dentist who is more specialized if you want to get your teeth straightened.
That way, you’ll know that the dentist will do a good job and that your teeth will be in good hands.
Oral Surgeons
There are also oral surgeons. You likely won’t need to go to an oral surgeon unless you have a severe dental problem.
For example, suppose that your wisdom teeth are impacted and have not erupted above the gum line. Because these teeth are so far down in your jaw and may be impacted against your jaw bone or other teeth, a regular dentist won’t have the tools to dig out these teeth safely. Instead, you would need to go to an oral surgeon who can put you to sleep with anesthesia and safely remove the impacted teeth.
Oral surgeons can also fix certain jaw problems. For example, if you have a very severe overbite or underbite, the only way to fix the problem may be to remove a portion of bone from your jaw. Of course, ordinary dental services don’t have the tools for this, and you would have to go to a professional oral surgeon.
They are also more skilled at preventing excessive bleeding and preventing infection.
And, of course, if you have a child, you will want to find a good pediatric dentist. A pediatric dentist is especially skilled at treating dental problems in children. This is important because children have very different oral health compared to adults and their mouths and jaws are still in development.
Whatever the case, it is very important to choose the right type of dentist before you go and get any kind of Boise dental care.
Choose a Dentist That Fits Your Insurance Plan
If you’re looking to save money and take advantage of your dental insurance, it is a good idea to do a bit of research and see what kind of dental services in Boise match your plan. You can do this by exploring the dental options available from your insurance provider. Depending on your insurance, you may only have a limited number of dentists available to you, or you may have many to choose from.
The last thing you want is to choose a dentist and later find out that the dentist isn’t covered by your insurance plan. If that happens, you’ll have to pay for the dental services out of your own pocket. But what if you already have picked out a dental office that you would like to visit and get treatment from?
If this is the case, you better double-check and ensure that the dental office is part of your insurance network. While you can, of course, go to dental offices that are not covered by your insurance, most people try to avoid this since it only makes them pay extra costs. Fortunately, if you have an established insurance provider such as Blue Cross, you’ll find that most dental offices will be covered.
On the other hand, if you have a more niche kind of insurance, you will find that fewer dental options will be available to you. But what if you don’t have dental insurance at all?
What if You Don’t Have Dental Insurance?
In this case, you will be freer to choose what kind of dental office you want to get treatment from, but you will need to pay for the treatments out of your own pocket.
However, there are still some dental financing options to choose from to save some money. Without insurance, you should make sure that you choose a dentist that has flexible payment options. That way, if you can’t pay the service fee right away, you can pay for it at a later time without any consequences.
There is also such a thing as Care Credit. Care Credit can help you finance dental services and make it easier to pay over several months. If you’re lucky, you might even find a dental office that offers its own dental plans.
These plans can help you pay for whatever dental services you need over a long period of time. Some dental plans might even offer you discounts on some basic dental procedures such as teeth whitening or cleaning. Whatever the case, you should always aim to save money when going to the dentist, especially for larger and more invasive (and more expensive) procedures.
Check the Online Customer Reviews
When choosing a good dentist, you never want to forget about online customer reviews. These online reviews are more helpful than you might expect when choosing a quality dentist. This is because these reviews can tell you information that a dentist’s website might not disclose.
Reading some online customer reviews and doing a bit of research ahead of time can save you a lot of time, money, and energy. Most Idaho dentists have at least a handful of reviews. If you find a dentist without any reviews, you should be a bit wary.
A dentist without any reviews may be new, or he may provide unprofessional services. Whatever the case, you should try to get your dental care from a dentist with several customer reviews. That way, you can read up on the dental office from people that have already been there.
That way, you can infer some information from their previous experiences. If you see a dental office with a mountain of negative reviews, you can be sure that such a dentist is not one that you want to treat your dental problems. On the other hand, a dentist with many positive reviews must be doing something right.
When a dentist has a lot of positive reviews, it means that the dentist cares about his patients and about giving them the results they’re hoping to achieve. This is important because some dentists don’t care much about their patients at all. When going through the customer reviews, be sure to read the individual details so you know what to expect when going to a certain dental office.
Positive and Negative Reviews
For example, one review might complain that a certain dental treatment is too expensive. Another might praise a dentist for being very accommodating and caring. Another might complain that the dental office was dirty and unwelcoming.
The more reviews a dental office has, the better. That way, you can sift through several different reviews and see if there is a pattern among them. For example, if the majority of the customer reviews complain that the dentist was rude, then the dentist is probably rude and you shouldn’t waste your money getting your teeth treated there.
Also, make sure you read the customer reviews with a grain of salt. While many might be helpful, some might complain about minor or petty matters which, of course, won’t matter in the grand scheme of dental services. As long as you read customer reviews that are informative, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a very professional dental office.
Choose an Understanding Dentist With Good Listening Skills
The last thing you want to do is choose a dentist who doesn’t listen to you and doesn’t care what you have to say. Such a dentist can quickly give you a terrible and uncomfortable dental experience. For that reason, before making a choice, you will want to make sure that you choose a dentist who will listen to you and who actually cares.
Suppose that you suffer from dental anxiety. For you, going to the dentist is already hard enough. An uncaring dentist will only make things worse.
But if you have a calm and sympathetic dentist, you will find that your dental anxiety will be less of an issue. Instead of simply going through with the dental procedure without making you comfortable, a good dentist will take the time to calm you down and make sure that you are comfortable with the dental procedure at hand before proceeding. This, of course, will drastically improve your experience at the dental office.
This is especially true if you need to bring your child to the dentist. If a pediatric dentist is not kind or understanding with a child, that child may come to hate going to the dentist’s office. This would make it much more difficult to bring your child back to the dentist in the future, even if you go to another dentist.
Any good dentist should be willing to take a moment and communicate with his patient rather than hurrying into the dental procedure at hand. This also goes for other staff in the dental office. The receptionist at the front desk and other dental office employees should be similarly nice and accommodating.
The Details
There’s nothing that can ruin someone’s mood faster than a rude receptionist. Again, you can avoid these problems by reading some online customer reviews. They will often mention if a worker was particularly rude or uncaring.
You can also take a brief visit to your local dental office to see the environment for yourself. By going in person, you can ask the receptionist a few questions and gain some more information about the dental office that you might not be able to find on the office’s website. You can also gauge the appearance of the dental office itself.
A good dental office will be very clean and organized. If you find that the opposite is true, you might want to choose a different office. After all, if the waiting room of a dental office is dirty, the rest of the office might be dirty as well.
Make a Dental Appointment Online
Once you finally choose the right dentist for you, it will be time to make a dental appointment online. You can also choose to make an appointment over the phone, but most people find it easier to make an appointment online instead. When making an appointment, all you have to do is go to the dental office’s website.
Maneuvering the website should be pretty simple. For example, there might be a button somewhere on the website that says “make an appointment” or “contact us.” Whatever the case, explore the website until you find the page where you can make an appointment.
Once you get there, you will need to fill out some information. You will need to type in your first and last name (and possibly your middle name, if you have one). You will also need to type in your phone number and email.
This will make it easy to contact you once your appointment approaches. You will likely have to type in your date of birth as well. Then, you can choose what date and time would be best for you.
Depending on how busy the dental office is, you may have to schedule an appointment several weeks or even months ahead of time. However, this is not usually the case and you can probably schedule an appointment in a week or two. If you are dealing with a dental emergency such as a knocked-out tooth or a tooth infection, you should not wait around for treatment.
Instead, you should seek out an emergency dentist to get treatment as soon as possible. In the case of routine dental treatments, pick a date and time that’s comfortable for you. That way, you won’t feel rushed when going to the dentist.
Choosing The Date
In some cases, the dental website may allow you to choose several dates and times for your appointment. This is ideal if your first appointment date is interrupted for some reason and leaves you unable to go. Finally, you can choose the reason for your dental visit.
Most dental websites will allow you to choose from several dental options. For example, you might only be going to the dentist for a simple dental cleaning. Or, you might need to get your teeth straightened or whitened.
You can also schedule an appointment just to get a consultation. Suppose that you would like a professional opinion on some dental problem that you are currently suffering from. Going in for a consultation is ideal for this because you and your dentist will have the chance to talk one-on-one.
You can ask whatever dental questions you might have and your dentist can give you some informative advice. That way, you will be much more comfortable making dental decisions in the future and you will know what path to take. But what should you expect when it’s time for your dental appointment and how should you prepare?
How to Prepare for Your Dental Appointment
Once the date of your dental appointment arrives, you will want to be prepared. To start, you will want to make sure that you arrive early. That way, another dental patient won’t take your place.
If you think you are going to arrive late, be sure to call the office. That way, they should still be able to accommodate you even if you are a few minutes late. If you think that you can’t make your appointment that day, be sure to call and reschedule.
You will also want to make sure that your teeth are clean before you go into your dental office. Going into the office with food stuck in your teeth won’t be pleasant for you or your dentist and it will only add time to the dental procedure. So, be sure to brush your teeth and floss before leaving the house.
That way, your teeth will be as clean as possible and your breath will be fresh. Once you arrive at the dentist’s office, you might have to wait in the waiting room for some time. How long you wait will depend on how busy the office is.
If the office is very busy and packed with people, you can be sure that you’re going to be waiting for a while. On the other hand, if you’re the only one in the dental office, the dentist should be able to take you right away. Once it’s time for the dental procedure at hand, be sure to communicate with your dentist beforehand.
What You Need to Know
For example, if you suffer from dental anxiety, you should make this known to your dentist. It will make it much easier to treat you and make sure that you’re comfortable throughout the dental procedure. If necessary, the dentist may even give you some nitrous oxide as a light sedative to calm you down.
You can also ask your dentist about certain dental problems you’ve been experiencing. The more information your dentist has about your oral health, the better he can help you. Your dentist might give you some advice on how to take better care of your oral health as well.
After that, you can finally go through with the dental procedure at hand.
Booking an Appointment With Your Boise ID Dentist
Booking an appointment with your Boise ID dentist isn’t as hard as you might expect. First, you need to make sure that you choose a good dentist and also the right type of dentist for your particular oral problems. Once you make the choice, you’ll then have to input your information and choose a date for an appointment.
Then, you can finally get your teeth treated by a professional. To learn more, contact us here.
