How to Find a Local Qualified Oral Surgeons

Intro

Your oral health plays a vital role in your overall health.  Not taking care of your teeth, cavities, jaw and such can also impact your body’s immune system and lead to additional problems down the road.  Thus, it’s critical to make sure your oral health is routinely checked and taken care of.

Who are Oral Surgeons?

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are “specialized dentists” who are required to complete additional training and education beyond what is needed for general dentistry.  Some get a Medical Degree (MD) along with other oral surgery diplomas. 

Below are a few issues that Oral Surgeons can help with:

Impacted teeth - typically involving wisdom teeth, these are when your teeth are not able to come out normally, without causing other issues such as impacting your current teeth.

TM J- Short for Temporomandibular joint dysfunction, TMJ is typically issues with your jaw joint.  For example if you have pain in your jaw when chewing, or your jaw pops out, stiffness, or even headaches.

Implants - If you’re missing a tooth, or need a tooth replaced, oral surgeons can place implants (or synthetic teeth) to provide you with normal functionality and aesthetic.

How to Locate Qualified Oral Surgeons

Other than referrals, how do you find the most qualified oral surgeons? While your general dentist will normally make the call on whether you should go to an oral surgeon (or refer you), you may need to find one on your own (for example to get your wisdom teeth removed).

The day of the yellow pages is over.  However, Social Media has emerged.  Social Media such as Google, Yelp and Facebook allow consumers to communicate and share information on businesses, including health practitioners. 

Optimally, to find a top oral surgeon in your area, you should do a google search for “oral surgeons near me” or enter your “Oral surgeon XXX” where  XXX is  your city and state. 

Next, you will have a list of options, the first few being advertisements and the ones under being the “organic” results.  You will know the advertised offices because there will be a green “AD” text near their links. 

You can either pick from the ads or organic options.

Check their Experience and Services

Go to their webpage and read a little about who they are, how long they’ve been in practice and where they got their degrees from. It’s typically better to opt for US based surgeons rather than oral surgeons who earned their credentials overseas. 

You can also see if they have their MDs which provides a higher level of trust.  In addition, make sure the office you are reviewing offers the specific service you are in search of.  Not all offices offer the same services.  You can always call and ask their receptionist for confirmation.

Check their Reviews

Next, go to their google business page (you can also go to Google Maps and search their businesses to find their business listing) and check their reviews.  Optimally, you want to find one that has ratings of a minimum of four stars.

For example, typing in “oral surgery spotsylvania va” shows up Spotsylvania Oral Surgery’s office organically.

You then want to crosscheck their Google reviews with their Facebook and Yelp reviews.  If their reviews are at least four stars or above, they should be a solid pick.  However, it is always good to read any potential low rated reviews (anything three or under) to see whether it was spam and/or why the patient left that review.  Sometimes offices may try to tarnish their competitor’s brand, so the ability to weed these out is key.

Conclusion

By searching google to start your Oral Surgeon search, can cross-checking their online presence by reading other patient experiences, you can confidently pick the best Oral Surgeon for you.  In today’s world, it’s vital to pick highly qualified health practitioners to provide your oral health needs!