How do I get background information on a dentist, such as his education, patients complaints against him, references, years in practice etc.?
The non-confrontational questions are perfectly OK to ask of the dentist personally. A copy of the dentist’s diploma, usually on display in the office, will indicate where he was trained as well as the year of graduation. If a dentist posts his license to practice dentistry, it will indicate the year it was issued. In New York, dentists are only required to post their current registration certificate, which only lists the dates of the current registration period. Some state licensing bodies post information regarding current license status and complaint history on the Web; in New York it’s at http://www.op.nysed.gov/ There are efforts underway to fully implement the National Practitioner Data Bank, to make available the complaint history of most practicing health care providers. You can imagine how popular that is among the professions! Keep in mind that a history of a complaint is not necessarily a blot on the record of a health care practitioner. In a world where personal injury lawy
