Choosing a dentist for your family can be difficult. The first question for the dentist that comes to everybody’s mind is ‘do you take my insurance?’, which is very important, but it isn’t the most critical factor to take into consideration. There are several questions you should ask your prospective dental office to find out if it is the right office for you and your family.

Below we discuss three dental office types and what their practice philosophies may be. Keep in mind these are generalizations, that every office is different, and these opinions may not accurately reflect the practice philosophy of an individual office. Please consult with your prospective office before making any decisions based on these generalizations. These descriptions provide you with some general information to ask more specific questions at your dental office.

Dental Office Type

There are generally three different types of dental practices- individual private practices, multiple-location and doctor group practices, and university dental schools. Each type of practice may have distinct characteristics that make it right for you.

Laboratory Work

This is a hot topic in the news lately. You may have seen or heard reports of dental laboratories operating outside of the United States that produce inferior dental materials for use in U.S. dental offices, like dental crowns containing lead. Any time a dental appliance needs to be fabricated, like a crown, bridge, or partial, it needs to be sent to a dental laboratory usually outside of the dental office. Many group practices choose to send a majority of their laboratory work overseas to be fabricated because the costs are much lower, providing higher revenues. However, they may receive inferior products in return that are not up to acceptable U.S. standards. These practices may even be considered insurance fraud. In a group practice, the driving factor is profit, and overseas labs give them lower costs with higher profit margins, sacrificing overall quality. Private practices and dental schools will usually support local laboratories and rarely send lab work to be completed overseas. Read more »