Are you looking for the best dental practice in Corpus Christi and feeling overwhelmed by the pages of choices when you search, “dentist near me?” You aren’t alone.
In fact, finding the best dentist is a very serious thing when dealing with something as precious as your oral health. Think about it—your oral health impacts many other systems in your body. It’s where nutrition starts, it affects communication, relationships, and cardiovascular health through breathing and more.
After you read through this brief guide on finding the best dental practice in Corpus Christi, you’ll know exactly what to look for when searching “dentist near me” on Google.
We’ll cover what you should know even before choosing a dentist in Corpus, how you can find a dentist that’s a great fit for you, the important questions you should be asking to make sure you are dealing with a reputable and competent practice.
The Key Factors You Need To Consider When Choosing A Dentist In Corpus Christi
When you’re trying to find the perfect dentist for you and your family, you need to consider some major factors that will weigh heavily on how you make your decision.
First, things first—you need to make a shortlist of dentists in Corpus Christi from a quick Google search and get ready to gather some information on them. You may be asking yourself, “How do I keep this list short with all these results?” Well, that comes down to considering some factors that will begin a process of elimination that should thin out the results a bit:
Is this provider within my dental insurance network?
If you’re not sure how to check this information, check the back of your insurance card or better yet, log in to your insurance provider’s online portal to check the dentist’s name in their list of in-network providers. The list you check is also a great launch point for creating your shortlist as well!
Is this dentist a member of the American Dental Association (ADA) or other dental professional association?
The reason this is important is that when dental professionals are accepted as members into the ADA and other similar dental professional associations, they are bound by a code of ethics in order to keep their membership status. This is a way to ensure patients experience a universal basic level of care as long as they go to an ADA accredited dentist. Even if the dentist you are considering does not list ADA accreditation, depending on their focus of treatment, they may also belong to some of these reputable associations:
- American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM)
- Academy of General Dentistry (AGD)
- Texas Dental Association (TDA)
- American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH)
KEEP IN MIND: While these associations and academies are a good sign of a reputable dentist, it is more important that the dentist you consider is board-certified in Texas and has their registration up to date.
What type of dental procedure are you seeking?
This is going to be the most important factor when making your ultimate decision on a dental practice in Corpus Christi. Determining what your greatest dental needs are in terms of treatments and procedures will determine which dentist you choose.
Do you need just routine checkups, cleanings, and other minor maintenance procedures?
Then you have tons of options, so you can just find a dental practice where both the dentist and the office staff make you feel comfortable and confident in their abilities to provide you with the best dental care.
Do you have concerns or struggle with bruxism (grinding or gnashing of the teeth) or sleep apnea?
Then you might want to find a dentist in Corpus Christi that specializes in dental sleep medicine.
Do you have missing teeth or need chipped teeth corrected?
Find a dental practice that specializes in cosmetic dentistry and/or dental implant surgery
In fact, dentistry is a field that has many different specialized fields that one should see when it is outside the routine dental cleanings and exams. Unlike medical insurance, you don’t typically need a referral to see one of these specialists:
- Orthodontists deal specifically with misaligned teeth and solutions such as braces.
- Periodontists specialize in the treatment and prevention of gum-related disease. If you suffer from advanced gum disease, this is the specialist you want to see.
- Prosthodontists deal with restoring missing teeth, broken teeth, and full mouth reconstruction/ dental implants.
- Oral/Maxillofacial Surgeons specialize in sedation oral surgery where local anesthetic and nitrous isn’t practical. Typically this is complex procedures such as abnormal tooth extractions, cleft palate corrective surgery, or jaw correction surgery. Seeking a dentist primarily for your children?
Also, something to consider:
If you are primarily seeking dental care for your children, you want to seek out a pediatric dentist. They go through the same training and certification as any dentist, but their practice caters to the needs and fears of children to make the visit much more pleasant.
Do you need a dentist that speaks Spanish?
Living in Corpus Christi there is a large Spanish speaking population so it shouldn’t be hard to find a dentist that speaks both English and Spanish as well as the front office staff. That being said, it is still important that if you need service in Spanish, that you verify the dentist is bilingual or they have a translator available. Many people can conversate in Spanish and English in an informal setting, but when dealing with medical terminology and in-depth conversations about something as important as your oral health—you want to know that they are extremely fluent in the language you understand best.
4 Top Ways to Find The Right Candidates For You
Now that you have the factors you need to consider; how do you go about finding potential candidates for a dental practice in Corpus Christi? Well, there are a few ways to go about that and here are the best ways we suggest:
Ask The People You Trust The Most Who They like
Ask your friends, family and trusted co-workers that seem to have bright healthy smiles. Not just someone who gets their cleanings here and there. We mean someone who has bright white teeth, some significant improvement to their smile (crooked teeth fixed, etc). Basically, someone who’s had extensive work done because someone is keeping that smile that looking perfect— find out who it is by simply asking them. Get the number from them and find out why they like that dentist and if you’re comfortable, ask them what procedures they’ve had done there. The more insight you can get the better.
Ask Your Physician For A Referral
Doctors of all fields talk. To other doctors, to their patients and to dentists. They are going to have a pretty solid professional opinion on who’s a good dentist and who’s not. It’s a pretty solid bet that the dentist they use for their own dental needs is going to be a solid referral. They are doctors, they know what to look for and usually are very thorough in vetting a medical professional for their own needs.
Remember Those Dental Associations?
Those dental associations we talked about are also great resources to find a good dental practice in Corpus Christi. Go to these websites below and you can search for a dentist closest to you that belongs to one of these associations:
- Find an AADSM Dentist
- Find an AGD Dentist
- Find an AAOSH Health Professional
- American Dental Association: Find a Dentist
Google Is Your Friend
This is likely pretty obvious but it should still be mentioned. Also, Google searches these days provide very rich dynamic results including patient reviews, recommendations and other answers you may be seeking. Start by searching “find a dentist near me,” and then go from there as it will typically show the top-rated results.
Top 3 Questions to Ask Before You Schedule Your First Visit
Once you’ve narrowed it down to where you’re going to go, you’ve researched the candidate’s experience, degrees, and skillsets, etc.— make sure you ask some important questions before you commit.
There really isn’t a specific set of questions that you need to adhere to, as the questions will depend on your unique needs. That being said, here are some common questions we get from potential patients here at Vela Dental Center.
How much does (the procedure you are needing) cost?
You should always ask for a price of basic standard procedures such as x-rays, teeth cleaning, fillings, etc. These are procedures that are pretty cut and dry and don’t have a lot of variables, so it will give you an idea of the price point of that dentist.
Do you take payment plans?
Many dentists in Corpus Christi, including Vela Dental Center, offer various payment plans or credit options such as CareCredit, financing partners, or a special credit card for their office. These come in handy when getting more expensive procedures such as wisdom tooth extractions or prosthodontics.
What are your office hours?
Finding a good dentist in Corpus Christi does you no good if they don’t have hours that work you’re your schedule. Not everyone can take off work for a dental appointment so if that is you, you might need an office with weekend availability or hours that work with your daily schedule.
The Best Solution: Skip Google—Call Vela Dental Center And Schedule An Appointment Today
We know you have a lot of options out there for dental treatment in Corpus Christi, and we are so confident that we lead the field of candidates that we don’t mind you taking a look at those options. When it comes down to it though, we are confident that we will end up at the top of your list each and every time. When you see our great reviews from our clients that we treat like family and our state-of-the-art facilities with a small town demeanor—we know you’ll be part of the Vela Dental Center family.
