How we search, and what we check
We've searched high and low for the best dentist in town, so you don't have to. This page explains where that started, what gets verified before a practice is listed, and the one part of the process we keep to ourselves.
One of us was told they needed four crowns. The other had spent eleven years printing plans like it.
— The founders, The Best Dentist in Town
This site started as a spreadsheet. One of us had moved towns, needed a dentist, and found that the only thing separating four practices was how much each had spent on its website.
So we started asking the questions a patient cannot easily ask: who owns this practice, is anyone paid a bonus on treatment sold, what happens if I want a second opinion. The answers varied more than we expected, and the variation had almost nothing to do with price or polish.
We are not dentists. That is deliberate — we ask as patients ask, and we publish what we are told alongside what we independently verified.
Five things checked before we list anyone
Each one is confirmed by a reviewer rather than taken on trust. Most of what we check, a good practice can answer off the top of its head — the work is on our side, which is rather the point.
Licence and standing
state dental boardThe licence is confirmed current and in good standing directly with the state board, along with any radiography or sedation permits the practice relies on, and any disciplinary history in the last ten years. A practice with an open action against it is not listed while that action is open.
Educational standards
verified, not listedDental school and year of qualification are verified rather than accepted from a website. Continuing education is reviewed against the state minimum and, more importantly, against the procedures the dentist actually performs — training in practice marketing doesn't count toward it. Memberships bought and displayed as honours are removed from consideration, and claiming one as a specialty ends the review.
Regulatory and compliance standing
confirmed in writingThe practice confirms in writing that it meets its state's requirements on infection control and sterilisation, radiation safety, patient privacy, and record retention, and that no compliance action is open against it. Where those records are public, we check them. This is the quietest part of the process and the one a patient can least easily do for themselves.
Reputation, measured locally
competitive for the townA practice has to hold a five-star review count that is competitive within its own town — not against a national number, and not against a city forty miles away. A rural practice is measured against its rural town. Volume alone qualifies nobody: we read for the complaint that repeats, and discount review patterns that look purchased.
Care philosophy
weighted heaviestThe one that decides it. Whether the reflex is to treat or to watch, whether the patient sees the whole plan in writing before work begins, whether records are released for a second opinion without friction, and whether anyone on staff is paid a bonus tied to treatment accepted. We test this by calling the practice unannounced and by reading a real treatment plan with the patient's details removed.
Why the scoring stays ours
The inputs above are published in full. The weighting between them, the thresholds a practice has to clear, and the reviewer's scoring sheet are proprietary, and they stay that way.
The reason is practical rather than precious. A published formula becomes a target: practices optimise for the test instead of the patient, and anyone willing to buy their way in learns exactly how much of each ingredient to buy. The review-count threshold in particular is worth nothing the moment it's a number on a page.
What we publish instead is everything that goes in — every input listed above — written up as the listing itself, in plain language. A dentist can correct a fact on their page. Nobody can buy their way onto it, and nobody can soften how it reads.
Listings are re-checked every six months, and practices do come off.
Plainly
What this award is not
Not a directory
We list the practices we've checked and can stand behind, which in most towns is a short number. Nobody is here for having a website.
Not a clinical judgement
This is an assessment of credentials, standing, reputation and philosophy. It is not an opinion on any individual case, and nothing here is medical advice.
Not permanent
Every listing is re-checked after six months. Hours, access, services and compliance standing all get confirmed again, and practices do come off.
Not exhaustive
A town with no listing means we haven't finished looking there, not that there's nobody worth seeing. We say which is which on the register.
Asked often enough to answer here
How many dentists do you list in a town?
As many as clear the checks, which is usually a small number and sometimes only one. A town showing no listing means we're still looking there, not that nobody good practises in it.
Why isn't my town on the list?
Because we haven't got to it yet, or haven't finished. Searching a town properly takes weeks, and we'd rather say so than pad the register. Tell us where to look next and we'll put it in the queue.
Is the review count judged against a national number?
No. It has to be competitive within the practice's own town. A rural practice is measured against its town, not against a metro market.
Who makes the decision?
A person. Every application is read by a reviewer who verifies the credentials, calls the practice unannounced as a prospective patient, and signs the note explaining the outcome.
How often is a listing re-checked?
Every six months, including compliance standing and anything patients have written to us in the meantime. Practices do come off.
Can a patient nominate a dentist?
Yes, and most reviews begin that way. Nominations from patients are read first.
Is the award a judgement of clinical outcome?
No. It is an assessment of credentials, standing, reputation and care philosophy. It is not a clinical opinion, not a guarantee of any result, and not medical advice.
Someone has to put the name forward
Practices can put themselves forward for the town they work in — about ten minutes, and we write the listing from it. Patients can nominate the dentist they already trust, which is how most of our searches start.