Continuing Education For Dentists, Continuing Education

If you live in one of the four main cities within the immense Las Vegas Valley - Boulder City, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas itself – there are undoubtedly a dozen or more dental practices nearby your home or work.

*** Hidden Dental Practices ***

Depending on where you live and how much you drive, it’s quite likely there are quite a few dental practices near you that you don’t know about.

That’s because despite there being 1,200 plus dental practices in the Vegas Valley, their offices may be off the main streets or blended-into modern look-alike strip-mall architecture.

*** The Phone Book ***

Of course, there’s always the yellow pages.

Just keep in mind that there are 66 pages of dental practice listings in the Las Vegas Metro Yellow Pages.

So, good luck using the phone book to find a nearby clinic.

In a way it’s a shame, but the internet is quickly making the phonebook obsolete.

Also, only those dentists who pay a lot of money (thousands a year) get the large, full or half-page four-color yellow page ads that get the best response rate.

The normal listings are all but worthless.

Just remember that the ad has NO bearing on the quality of care provided.

Don’t be duped…

*** The Big Valley ***

Another thing to take into consideration is that the Las Vegas Valley encompasses a vast amount of real estate.

In fact, it’s right at 600 square miles incorporating around 65 zip codes.

And while people tend to “shop” for a prospective dentist almost as diligently as they do their church, convenience must not be overlooked.

In other words, people will usually travel quite a distance to get what they desperately need or want.

*** Driving And Stress ***

However, most people would prefer not to travel the entire valley to go to a dental appointment (or church, for that matter), if they don’t have to.

Considering that most people don’t like going to the dentist in the first place, having a long, hot and stressful drive before a dental appointment is the equivalent of rubbing salt into a wound.

Ok then, we’ve established that less driving is better.

So, once more, what’s the easist way to find a local dentist?

*** Use The Internet ***

These days, with the possible exception of word-of-mouth, your best bet is the internet.

So, you have four cities in a 600 square mile area with 65 zip codes and in excess of 1,200 dentists.

Where to begin?

Open your favorite search engine’s home page. Ours is Google.

*** Use The Right Search Terms ***

Type something like this into the search box: find a dentist, or find North Las Vegas Cosmetic Dentist.

If you are interested in finding a specialist, you can use terms like these: Boulder City Endodontist or Boulder City sedation dentist.

The major search engines are so advanced these days that they can tell where you are searching from and present only relevant local listings.

You can test it by just typing something like: nearby dental offices, local implant dentist or even just the root term itself, like: root canal specialist or holistic dentist.

You can also enter a general term like dentist and your zip code into most search engines to get focused, local listings.

Once you find a suitable listing, you can use the maps link to get a visual display of where the office is.

While in maps view, you can get driving directions and distances, as well.

So, input search terms like these to get super specific: Orthodontist 89118 , general dentist 89102 or you might even try something like: braces 89129.

Type search terms like bullets, excluding filler words like “a”, “an” or “the”.

The majority of searchers enter complete sentences.  But really, Google (and other search engines) perform more efficiently without the use of such non-relevant, filler words such as adverbs.

*** The Search Listings ***

There’s something you should know as you go internet searching for a local dentist, though.

There are a lot of junky dental sites out there.

It’s sad, but the majority of dental sites seem to be mini-directories where only a few applicable dentists are represented.

In other words, only those dentists who have paid the site owner for a listing will be found on these directory types of sites.

All others will NOT be among the available choices, so you are only exposed to a tiny sample of existing dental practices.

Things are getting better online, however, as the search engines refine their listings and a growing number of dentists have their own sites.

Unfortunately, the average dentist can only be found several pages deep in search engine listings for common terms like those given earlier.

*** It’s All About Marketing ***

So, despite their marketing efforts, they are all but invisible online.

However, we can’t necessarily expect dentists to also be professional marketers.

So, it’s no wonder finding a suitable local dentist can end up being more of a challenge than one might initially think.

These days, the advantage goes to the dental practice that taps into outside expertise in advertising and marketing.

It’s those well-marketed practices who also enjoy the increased benefits of free referrals via word-of-mouth from satisfied existing patients.

*** Persistence Pays ***

Ok, you’ve been warned about the challenges of finding a good dental practice. But we’re confident that with a little persistence and by using the tips we’ve provided, you’ll be successful.

We hope the information presented will be of value to you.

*** Free Dental Guide For Las Vegas Valley Residents ***

Our Free industry-insider Dental Guide for Las Vegas Valley residents contains a lot more information on what to look for and ask when at a potential new dentist’s office.

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