Whether you have just moved into Chelmsford or are simply considering looking for a new dentist for your ongoing dental problems, there are a number of key factors which you should consider.

Location – when looking for a new dentist in Chelmsford or Writtle it is important to take the location of the surgery into consideration. You should consider the practice location with relation to home, work and if necessary your children’s school. You are far more likely to attend for your routine appointments if the dental surgery is somewhere you pass within your regular schedule. If you need to go out of your way for appointments this not only increases the time taken but will make attending seem more of a chore!

It is also worth considering whether there is parking onsite or if you will need to walk some distance to the surgery. Other accessibility issues to include may whether there are any stairs in the practice and is there a disabled accessible toilet on site.

Hours – Many dental surgeries now offer evening and weekend appointments to help you attend at a time that is convenient within your schedule. Many practices will also be able to offer appointments to allow the whole family to attend together reducing the need for numerous trips to the surgery. Practice’s should also have details of their out of hours emergency services to enable you to receive emergency treatment or advice should the need arise in the evenings or at weekends.

Infection Control Measures – All dental practices are governed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the same way hospitals are and are required to adhere to the rules of the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05. This provides strict rules and guidance on how all instruments are sterilised and the dental surgery cleaned in between patients to ensure that there is no risk of cross contamination. All dental practices should now have been inspected by the CQC and you will be able to see the outcome of these inspections on the CQC website. http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/dentists

Services – When looking for a new dentist it is important to consider the range of services they are able to offer. Over the past few years there has been a shift towards preventative dentistry, this means that dentists focus on finding problems early and reduces the need for complex and expensive treatments. Many dentists are also now able to offer a wide range of cosmetic dentistry services including implants, teeth straightening, teeth whitening, crowns and root canal treatment. Some practice are also able to offer facial aesthetic treatments allowing you to receive a wide range of services all in one place. You should also find out where you would be referred should you need any treatment not offered at the practice.

Fees – The fees charged at a dental practice should be the last factor to consider. Although private dental fees may seem expensive, the above factors such as appointments at a time to suit you at an easy location, with all services available under one roof may well outweigh the additional costs of treatment. Many practices will also offer dental payment plans to enable you to spread the cost of routine treatment into easily manageable monthly payments and may offer 0% finance for more expensive treatment plans.

By using these key factors you will be able to assess what is of most importance to you when you are looking for a new dentist and you can be sure to find one that is right for you and your family for the years to come.