How to Check a Dentist's Credentials

Because we tend to base our first impressions on a person's hygiene, having clean teeth is important. If you want to have good teeth, you need to have a dentist with solid credentials. It's easy to make sure your dentist is legitimate.

Instructions

• 1

  Compile a list of local dentists. Ask each dentist's office for information on the dentist's credentials. Inquire about the dentist's schooling. Find out where he received his Bachelor's degree and DDS or DMD. Ask about any other certificates or awards he's received. Many offices have these posted right on wall.

• 2

  Call each of the organizations listed for the dentist and verify that the information she gave you is accurate. Since this can be time consuming, especially if your list of dentists is long, consider using the credential checking service at 4DDS. Select which state the dentist practices in and input the required data for the state to give you information about whether she's ever been disciplined by that state's board of dentistry.

• 3

  Use the ChoiceTrust credential search on your dentist. Make sure you've collected all your information from all the dentists on your list before using this service. Then you can pay the fee for a Day Pass once and not the individual use fee for multiple times. Consider choosing a dentist who is a member of the American Dental Association because they're required to abide by certain strict rules of ethical conduct.