Karen Vasso, a farmer from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, is no stranger to taking care of her health. An avid swimmer and triathlete with a background in nutrition, she’s long understood that dental health is an important aspect of overall wellness — and she’s made regular dentist visits a priority.
However, a couple of bad experiences made her think twice about how to find the right dental provider.
Years ago, when Vasso was a single mother with limited health insurance, she went to a dentist in a neighboring town but found the office mostly empty, dark and a little scary, she says.
Despite her hesitation, she went through with the appointment.
“He cleaned my teeth and at the end he said, ‘You have a cavity. I’m going to need you to come back for a filling,'” she recalls.
But, she suspected she didn’t actually have a cavity and asked to see the X-ray.
“He kind of backed out of it. He had nothing, so I left and never went back. Because he was the only dentist my insurance covered, I didn’t go to the dentist for several years,” she says.
Later, with better insurance, Vasso tried again, this time with a large dental chain.
“They did a cleaning and a cursory exam and told me I had six cavities. It blew my mind — there’s no way I have six cavities,” she says, feeling outraged.
Before she was even able to ask questions, she’d been herded to the front desk to settle her bill and schedule multiple follow-ups. Instead, she sought a second opinion — and was told she had no cavities at all.
“Can you imagine them drilling into my teeth for no reason? It blows my mind,” she says.
[READ: A Patient’s Guide to Oral Care]
What to Look for in a Dentist
While Vasso’s experience may be extreme, it illustrates how important it is to find a dentist you can trust.
U.S. News offers a dentist search tool to find a dentist near you, in any of seven different dental specialties. You can also filter by whether a dentist takes your insurance and sort by patient experience rating.
When looking for a dentist, there are several factors to consider including:
— Location and hours
— Competence and compassion
— Communication styles or issues
— Professional affiliations and accolades
— Preventive care emphasis
— Services to treat common dental problems
— Specialized expertise
— Reputation or disciplinary action
[SEE: 6 Tips to Overcome Fears of Going to the Dentist.]
Location and hours
You should seek a dentist who practices close to your home or work and who has convenient hours. If you aren’t available when the doctor is, you’re unlikely to be able to make the relationship work.
Telehealth options have become more widely available in recent years and can be great for establishing that initial relationship with a new dentist or to ask about specific pains or other dental issues you might be having. However, you’ll still have to visit the doctor in person for cleanings and checkups from time to time.
Competence and compassion
As soon as you walk into the dentist’s office, you should feel comfortable, says Dr. John Luther, chief dental officer for Western Dental & Orthodontics, a large Orange, California-based dental management organization serving more than 260 locations. Many people have a fear of the dentist, and a good dentist will work with you to alleviate such fears.
“Competence, communication and compassion are all key features of a good dentist,” Luther says.
He adds that “dentists should facilitate an open dialogue with their patients to fully address their needs and concerns.” That includes understanding your full medical history, “since oral health is an important component of whole-body health care.”
Communication styles or issues
Your dentist also needs to be able to communicate so that you can understand what’s happening. For example, “if English isn’t your first language, do you need a translator?” asks Dr. Ada Cooper, a dentist in private practice in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Dental Association.
When it comes to the specific or technical vocabulary of health care, having a translator to convey this information in a patient’s native language can facilitate better understanding.
Arranging with the dentist ahead of time to have an interpreter available or bringing a friend or family member who’s able to assist are both strategies you can employ to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Professional affiliations and accolades
As a spokesperson for the ADA, Cooper also encourages people to look for dentists who are members of the professional dental organization, which represents about 160,000 member dentists across the United States and Puerto Rico.
“The ADA requires that their members make certain promises,” Cooper says. “Those are promises that are critical for patients, but they’re also critical in helping to determine whether a dentist is a good dentist.”
These promises include:
— Preserving patients’ rights to be involved in making decisions about their treatment
— Doing no harm
— Staying current with dental science and developments in treatment options through continuing education, professional groups and research studies
— Offering appropriate technology and medical innovations
— Providing patients the highest quality care
— Being fair and not discriminating against individuals from any walk of life
— Being as truthful and honest as possible with every patient
The ADA offers a member-dentist search feature on its website. You can also ask friends and family for recommendations about which dentist they use and whether they’re comfortable with the care they’re getting.
Preventive care emphasis
A good dentist prioritizes and underscores the importance of preventive care, Luther says, which means emphasizing regular checkups and fluoride treatments. And, “when oral health issues do arise, they’ll ensure that their patients know the full scope of their treatment options,” he adds.
Preventive care is a key component of how dentists support overall health and wellness, as stopping tooth decay before it happens is the best way to avoid major dental issues and spillover into general health problems.
[See: 9 Habits That Are Killing Your Teeth]
Services to treat common dental problems
No matter how well you take care of your teeth, problems can still arise, and your dentist should be equipped to deal with the most common of these, including filling cavities, applying dental implants and conducting root canals.
Cavities, also called dental caries, are by far the most common condition seen by dentists. Gum disease is also common, occurring in about 40% of adults, Luther says. Thankfully, oral cancer is not as common, but it can be life-threatening and needs immediate intervention.
“The good news is that all these conditions are preventable with regular dental care both at home and at the dentist’s office,” Luther says.
Plus, taking the time to care for your teeth at home can help keep costs downs in the long run.
“This applies to children too,” Luther says.
Children should start seeing a dentist when they turn 1.
Specialized expertise
Many people think of a dentist as being the person you see twice a year for a professional cleaning, checking for cavities and perhaps taking some routine X-rays. That’s what’s typically called a general dentist or a primary care dentist, but there are a variety of other types of dentists in the field.
If you have a specific health need, you might need to seek out a specialist dentist. These specialists include:
— Pediatric dentists, who specialize in taking care of kids’ teeth and are sometimes called pedodontists
— Geriatric dentists, who care for older people’s teeth
— Orthodontists, who align and straighten teeth with braces and other devices
— Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, who perform surgery in the mouth, face and jaw, such as wisdom tooth extraction or dental implant placement
— Endodontists, who specialize in treating nerve damage, performing root canals and addressing issues with the tooth pulp
— Periodontists, who focus on caring for the gums and surrounding tissues
— Cosmetic dentists, who focus on improving the aesthetics of the patient’s teeth and mouth through procedures that restore dental function and improve appearance, such as veneers and tooth whitening
— Prosthodontists, who replace missing or damaged teeth with prosthetics, such as a bridge or dentures
Reputation or disciplinary action
Not every dentist is a great one, so in addition to looking for a dentist you can trust and afford, you should also check whether the person is appropriately licensed and credentialed and whether there have been any disciplinary actions taken against them in the past.
To check this, visit your state’s dental board website and search the disciplinary action database by the provider’s name or license number. The ADA also provides a directory of state dental boards you can search.
Word of mouth can also point you in the right direction. Ask friends and family members who live near you who they trust with their teeth.
Paying for Dental Care
It’s no secret that dental care can be expensive. While prices can vary widely depending on location and the service being provided, health insurance company Humana reports the following average costs for various services:
| Procedures and services | Average cost |
| Basic cleaning and polishing | $75 to $200 |
| X-rays | $100 to $200 |
| Fillings | $50 to $150 for basic amalgam fillings for one or two teeth |
| Crowns | $500 to $2,000 per tooth, depending on type |
| Tooth extraction | $75 to $800 per tooth, depending on type of extraction |
| Root canal | $500 to $1,500 |
| Dentures | $1,000 to $3,000 for mid-priced, medium-quality dentures |
Navigating dental insurance coverage
Unfortunately, many health insurance plans don’t include dental care as a coverage area. But you can buy dental insurance. According to research from the National Association of Dental Plans, at the end of 2024, 290 million Americans — 87% of the population of the United States — had some form of dental benefit through employer-sponsored group plans or other group or individual plans.
There are four primary types of dental insurance plans available:
| Type of dental insurance | Description |
| Dental health maintenance organizations | With DHMOs, beneficiaries pay a fixed monthly premium and can see only in-network providers. (In some cases, beneficiaries may be able to see an out-of-network provider at a cost that’s lower than the standard retail price, but DHMOs tend to be restrictive in who you can see, as this is a means of controlling costs.) |
| Dental preferred provider organizations | DPPOs are the most common type of dental plan, accounting for 89% of commercial dental policies. Beneficiaries pay a monthly premium and can see in-network dentists at low cost or out-of-network dentists at a higher but still reduced rate versus the standard retail cost. |
| Dental indemnity plans | These fee-for-service plans let you choose any provider you want to see, but you must pay up front and then submit claims for reimbursement. |
| Discount dental plans | These annual membership programs charge a fee for beneficiaries to access a network of dentists who offer discounted rates for dental services. You don’t pay claims or have deductibles, and you are responsible for paying for the care, but it’s offered at a discounted rate. |
Other dental financing options
While dental insurance can lower your out-of-pocket costs, it typically doesn’t cover all of your dental bills, particularly if you need a complex procedure, such as an implant or a root canal. To navigate those expenses, consider the following financing options and cost-reduction strategies:
— Use your health savings account or flexible spending account. Your employer may sponsor HSA and/or FSA accounts that allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck. These can be used to pay for qualified health care products and services, such a routine preventive dental care appointments or to cover deductibles and copays.
— Ask for a payment plan. Many dentists are happy to arrange an installment payment plan for patients who are struggling to afford care.
— Join a dental discount plan. These membership plans offer discounted prices on dental services.
— Visit the local dental school. As part of its efforts to train students, many dental schools offer clinics and reduced-cost dental services. These student-dentists are closely overseen by licensed dentists.
— Leverage free or reduced-cost insurance programs. Medicaid provides coverage for some aspects of dental care, as does the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
— Ask for a discount. Before undergoing any procedure, ask your dentist how much it will cost and whether your dental insurance will cover part or all of it. Some dentists might be willing to negotiate a lower price for certain services and procedures depending on the situation.
What to Know Before Your First Dental Visit
Luther recommends arriving at your first visit with a new dentist with a list of any over-the-counter or prescription medications you’re taking, even if they aren’t directly related to oral health, and your medical history.
You should also expect to spend a little longer at the office than you will during follow-up appointments.
“A good dentist will take the time to collect all dental and historic health information in order to provide the best care and may even perform a dental cleaning at the initial appointment,” Luther says.
Why dental health matters
Oral health is a key component of overall health, but it’s often overlooked; in fact, many health insurance plans don’t even include dental coverage, and the sometimes-high cost of this care can make it prohibitively expensive for some people.
Maintaining good oral hygiene is an important way for you to reduce the chances of developing oral health and overall health problems. This means brushing your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily, replacing your toothbrush every three to four months, and taking care of your overall health through a healthy diet, regular exercise and avoiding smoking and tobacco use.
Problems that originate in your mouth can have lasting repercussions for the rest of your body. Poor oral health has been connected with several conditions and diseases, including:
— Endocarditis, which is an infection of the inner lining of the heart
— Premature birth and low birth weight of the baby in pregnant people
If you have any of the following diseases, it’s especially important to take extra good care of your teeth, as these conditions can harm dental health:
— Diabetes
— HIV/AIDS
— Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia
— Certain autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis
— Cancer
— Osteoporosis
A good dentist can spot signs of cancer and other diseases before other doctors might and can help keep small problems from becoming big ones. That’s why regular checkups and cleanings with your dentist are so important.
“The most frustrating part (of being a dentist) is seeing patients who had very manageable dental problems but who let them grow into bigger problems. By the time they have treatment, the problem involves much more expense and time to treat, or it’s gotten to the point where the tooth is not restorable,” Cooper says.
The common misconception that “if it doesn’t hurt, then you can wait to address it,” isn’t the best way to approach dental health.
“If you wait until it hurts, invariably the treatment is going to be more extensive and expensive,” Cooper points out.
Finding the right dentist for you might not be the easiest thing to do, especially within the constraints of insurance, but advocating for yourself and looking for a dentist you can trust is a process that will pay health dividends down the road.
More from U.S. News
How to Find a Good Dentist originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/26/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
