Why you can't trust online ratings when choosing a dental professional
A surprising fact is dentists are
now using private companies to beef up their online profiles to fight
the problem of online slander. Patients who are upset often go online to
vent their frustrations. This can sometimes be the dentist's fault but
often the patient simply has a disagreeable personality and they may
even have been asked to leave the office.
In other cases negative comments come from jealous competitors,
disgruntled employees and patients who were sent to collections for not
paying their bills. These days many people are vindictive and use this
passive-aggressive outlet to get even. In one case these sites have even been used to blackmail a dental profession.
As an example, related to orthodontics, patients blame the dental professional when treatment takes longer than expected without considering their responsibilities. When they do not brush and the teeth develop spots, they are upset at the dental office and when teeth shift when they stop wearing their retainers patients can become upset and take it out on the dentist/orthodontist with a negative review.
Positive comments are equally unreliable because the can be
coached, altered and as mentioned at the start, even fabricated by an
outside company. While they may base the comments on actual patient
testimonials they likely use professional staff writers trained in
sales. Even actual raving fans may be foolish to rely on because they
may simply love the dentist's personality and not know the treatment is
suspect.
A patient may LOVE their new smile and brag endlessly about their
extreme veneer makeover. What they may not know is they could have saved
$24,000 if they had read the book before agreeing to the treatment.
Dental boards can be consulted but the best way to choose a dental
professional is to ask a trusted family member or friend, do your
homework on the type of treatment options you may need and consider a
second opinion as discussed in the book. Awards, accreditation degrees,
fellowships, board certification and celebrity are all unreliable ways
to choose a dentist and online ratings are generally even less reliable
due to the numerous factors mentioned.
Article courtesy of Michael Zuk DDS -copyright 2010- from the website Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist.com 