Are you currently looking to switch to a new dentist? It could be due to insurance reasons, moving further away, or simply not feeling like your current dentist is a good fit. If this is the situation you're in, you'll definitely want to know what you should do to switch dentists the right way.

Find Your New Dentist First 

It's important that you find your new dentist first and make sure that everything will be fine to switch. This means having an appointment scheduled and on your calendar. You don't want to end up in a situation where you found your dentist, but then find out that you can't get in for an appointment until you are well overdue for a cleaning and exam. 

Verify That Your Dental Insurance Works

You'll also want to verify that the new dentist takes your insurance and they are in your network. Know that there is a difference between the two because a dentist can take your insurance and be out-of-your network. With that said, sometimes an out-of-network dentist is not as drastic as visiting an out-of-network doctor with your health insurance, and the out-of-network dentist can still be quite affordable.

Request Your Dental Records

You'll want to contact your old dentist and request that you send your dental records to the new office. This may seem awkward, but it happens all the time and is completely normal. You also have the option to have your dentist send your dental records to your home address, and then you can bring those to the new dentist. This may be a good option if you do not want your new dentist to know who you will now be going to.

The key thing that you want your old dentist to send over is your x-rays, which is because you want your new dentist to be able to see what your teeth were like in the past. If you can get the old dentist to send over your entire file then that is ideal, since your new dentist will have your entire dental history. This even includes things like periodontal charts, which record the depth of your gums and track gum recession.

Be aware that it is common to sign a release form in order for your dentist to release those records. It is just a simple form that you can likely email to the old dental office so that everything is official. 

Speak to a dentist to learn more.