Thursday, October 02, 2014

Why review dentists?


Open Ah!
Searching for a new family dentist I checked the normal reviews on Yelp and Google,  searched a bit on the internet, transferred my records from the previous dentist, and finally this morning went in for my first exam. During the two-hour initial appointment, I spent less than 10 minutes with the dentist, who seems as nice and competent as all the reviews suggested.

But most of my time was spent with the hygienist, who talked with me, reviewed my history, gave me advice, and of course spent the better part of an hour chiseling away one on my mouth one tooth at a time. As long as my teeth and gums remain healthy, (which hopefully will be forever), I expect today’s experience to be typical. I will spend far, far more of my time with the hygienist than with the dentist.

So why do I care about the dentist reviews? Wouldn’t I be better off looking for the best hygienist? In fact, this person who cleaned my teeth, I know only her first name. She’s listed on their office web site, but only briefly under a section on “staff” and they don’t even list her last name. How long has she been there? Will she be there next time? Is she the best one in the office? Who knows?

Isn’t it odd that the person who is truly responsible for my experience is so invisible to the review process?