Although many persons have little or no choice when it comes to deciding who their dentist should be, the fact remains choosing a private dentist is no small matter these days. In the first place, there are 72 registered dentists in Guyana of which the great majority is not considered prominent.

How then should you go about choosing a dentist? The convenient one at the corner? That would be the reasonable thing to do if you are a gambler. That dentist may be very good; but then he/she may not be. The only thing you know about him is that he is very convenient. Ask a neighbor? Maybe, if the neighbor has had a lot of satisfactory work done for age groups in his family comparable to those in yours over an extended period, and if you respect his or her opinion. The only problem with this approach is that the combination would appear with the same frequency as that of you winning the Guyana Lotto.

Dentistry is a profession just like medicine, engineering or law. It is not a business, although there are business practices and financial aspects to discuss and employ in the practice of these professions. They are looked upon as being different from a business.
Professional people generally get more respect and more is expected of them. What distinguishes a business from a profession, at least in the eyes of the John Public? For one thing, business is characterised by the sentiment of “Let the buyer beware”. In other words, anything the seller can get away with wherever he goes. We have consumer protection laws because the consumer needs protection. We have heard about quality control and advertising gimmicks.

A profession should be a field where people of integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity are retained by the public. That is not to say that we do not find these admirable qualities in the business or business people.
Try asking a dentist to explain his findings in your mouth, the details of treatment, clinical expectations and follow-up visits. Ask about the available options and price of each. Carefully make a mental note of his reaction of your probing questions. Prospective patients should be astute enough to recognise and stay away from dentists who use dentistry more as a business rather than a profession. If your dentist should ever say, “You’ll get the final cost when I’m finished”, beware and don’t fall for that gimmick.

The world of dentistry for the layman is an unknown world full of pain, superstition, misinformation and apprehension. It is for this very reason that this author decided to start this column nearly fourteen years ago. Since then I have always tried my best to have a weekly publication. My objective is to arm the dental patient with the basic knowledge of dentistry so that they cannot be easily fooled
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The profession becomes culpable whenever there is a general lack on the part of dental personnel to respond appropriately to the patient’s needs, while allaying fears and apprehensions. Dentists owe the public for the privileges and financial security they enjoy and must pay with an outgoing concern for their dental well-being.
Your choice of a dentist can affect your dental health for the rest of your life. It should not be a “crisis choice” when you are in pain. At such times you cannot think rationally and make any intelligent choice. If the dentist you get is not your kind of person, thank him, pay him and leave. It will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

Finally, dental care is a two-way street. Each time the machine breaks down, it gets harder and harder to fix, and it will not work quiet as well as it did before. If you want success, become a working-partner with your dentist. If you find that this is impossible with the dentist you picked, then try another one.