I think the sweet spot is a somewhat younger dentist that has their own office with a few exam rooms, and avoid the businesses that are multiple dentists. I say somewhat younger because solo dentists seem to mostly buy their equipment once, presumably mortgaging it over decades, and then retire when it's mostly used up. So a younger one is going to have the technical advantages that the older ones don't. I much prefer the newer ones that have digital xray systems and can show you the images on a giant monitor vs the ones that are developing xrays and looking at tiny images. It's amazing how much nicer the newer drills and suction and stuff are too, it's a much nicer experience when everything is battery operated and they aren't dragging hoses and wires across you.
The logic is flimsy - having the newer equipment also means looking for reasons to use it to justify the cost so these dentists will often recommend expensive onlays instead of fillings for example.
Or your logic is flimsy. Equipment, as far as I can tell, is mostly bought once and then mortgaged over the lifetime of the practice, so they are presumably paying the same regardless. Newer dentists just have newer, and nicer, equipment. I go to a newer dentist and have never been recommended onlays. It's like any profession, some people are honest and some aren't.
You make a good point! I wish it were easier to find dentists based on machine, for one that has done the research. Now this gets to dental website quality. Also makes me want to ask this community what, if anything, can be gathered about the quality of the dentist based on his website.
Yeah, my best dentist experiences have all been with a practice where it's just the owner (or a family operation). Practices where it's a bunch of dentists in some corporate thing never have been as good.
I will say that I did have a bad experience with one where the support staff was all family of the owner, because the receptionist mom was a miserable person and the hygenist wife was rough with the cleanings.
The one I'm at now is great, it's a solo female dentist and all of the support staff are relatively young women, they don't advertise as being specifically all women, I think it's just how it works out since most hygienists are women traditionally. But the younger hygienists definitely have a softer touch doing the cleanings and are better at giving information and tips while doing so. Has made me realize the hygienist at my old office was just unnecessarily rough and terse for no reason during cleanings.
