Searching for the Best Dental Care for Your Family

When you begin looking for a new dentist, you often have a very clear goal in mind: finding the best dentist to give your family skilled and compassionate dental care. Even if you have a clear goal, though, you might not be sure how to get there. There are a lot of dentists out there, and it can be hard to know what qualities to look for and how to narrow down your field of potential dentists. 

Part of the key when you’re exploring family dentistry in Austin, TX, is to remember that finding a dentist whose personality and goals mesh well with you and your family matters just as much as their experience and skills. After all, you want a dentist that your entire family can feel comfortable with and who you can trust to give you the best dental care possible. We understand that getting started and learning what to focus on when choosing a dentist can be hard, so we’ve put together a guide that will help you choose the best family dentist for you.

Seek out a dentist with a prominent online presence.

You probably already did a quick search on Google to look for “best family dentist” or “best Austin cosmetic dentist,” or looked for dentists in your zip code using the American Dental Association’s website. These searches are a good way to find experienced dentists in your search radius. Once you’ve found a few contenders, it’s a smart idea to look at their websites. In the modern world, a website is almost like a second office space. It needs to be well-maintained, organized, and welcoming for everyone who enters.

As a result, it’s usually a good initial sign when dentists have websites that are easy to find and navigate and that make getting information and setting up appointments for care accessible without confusion. If you’ve begun your search like this, our website must have gotten your attention. We understand that an online presence is the best way to make things convenient for you while ensuring you feel connected and well-informed.

Ensure their goals match your goals for your family.

Once you’ve found a practice’s website and ensured they offer all the services you’re interested in, it’s a good idea to explore it to discover the dentist’s focus and practicing philosophy. They may offer the services you want, but do they match your goals for your family? Looking at dentists’ “About Us” page, in addition to exploring the rest of the website, can give you an idea of what their goals and practicing philosophies are. Common priorities you may be looking for include dentists who:

• Take the time to hear you and answer your questions to build open and honest communication
• Make you a part of the decision-making process
• Show an interest in your children and their comfort
• Have expert training and decades of experience
• Focus on providing high-quality dentistry
• Use modern technology to provide the best treatment experiences and outcomes

We believe that all of these factors are essential for building trust and understanding between you and your dentist, as well as ensuring that your family truly gets the best dental care possible. That’s why our team at Parmer Lane has made every one of these goals a high priority and holds ourselves to the highest standards at every step of your care! 

Check your prospective dentist’s reputation in the community.

While getting to know a dentist and their team through their website can be incredibly helpful, it’s still natural to want to ask around your community to be sure! After all, you want to make sure that the dentist you choose is trusted in the community and that they have stellar reviews online or from your friends, colleagues, or neighbors. 

It’s always a good idea to check a dentist’s online reviews, as you really can learn a lot about how a dental office operates. A few bad reviews aren’t unusual for any business, but you always want to make sure that most of the dental office’s reviews are good! Using reviews and the details you learn from them, you can probably eliminate a few dental offices from the list of those you’re considering. 

Visit the office for a consultation.

In the end, the best way to learn about a dental team’s values is to experience them in person! You don’t need to wait until you’ve chosen a dentist to schedule a consultation and meet them. After all, what better way is there to get a read on how comfortable you are with a dentist than to meet them face-to-face? This isn’t easy to do with a long list, but once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential dentists to two or three, meeting each dentist and their team, and seeing what the office is like and how it functions, can make all the difference in your decision. 

Don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions while you’re at it – this is the best time for it! It’s the perfect chance to see if each dentist fulfills your expectations in person. You’ll also be able to tell if you feel comfortable with them, what their chairside manners are like, and if their personality meshes well with what your family needs. 

Ask what financing options they offer.

One last factor you’re probably considering is financing options. Look at this before you choose a dentist to ensure that you’ll know what to expect going in. At Parmer Lane, we offer several financing options because we never want cost to be a barrier to your family getting the quality care you need. If you have dental insurance, we’re always happy to process your insurance claims for you and estimate your out-of-pocket costs after coverage. 

We also offer financing through CareCredit, which is a credit card designed to help you pay for medical care by splitting it into manageable payments. When you pay the balance within a set time, you won’t pay any interest on your treatment. This makes it a great option for fitting the cost of your treatment into your budget!

If you don’t have insurance, you can still get affordable care through our membership plans! With these plans, you pay a set amount every month in exchange for benefits like free or discounted services. We offer several plans, but each fully covers certain treatments every year, including two professional dental cleanings and checkups, routine X-rays, a fluoride treatment, and one emergency evaluation. 

You’ll also get discounts on other procedures, and our specialized Perio Plan includes an additional three periodontal maintenance procedures a year. These options ensure that you and your family will be able to afford the dental care you need – and the amazing care you deserve – regardless of your budget or insurance status.

Come meet the team at Parmer Lane Family Dentistry! 

We know that choosing a new dentist is a process that takes a lot of time and consideration, but we’d love to add you to our much-loved family circle! If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Garcia, our dental team, or how we approach different areas of dentistry such as being a dentist for kids, feel free to schedule a consultation with Dr. Garcia at any time!