5 tips on choosing a dentist

1. How do I find a good dentist?

• Check whether the dentist is listed in a medical directory or official register and has the necessary qualifications, including a cantonal licence to practise.

• Make sure that the facilities are well maintained, with up-to-date equipment.

• If your case is a complex one, look for a specialist dentist with an additional qualification in orthodontics, implantology or other relevant area.

• Check that the rooms in the practice, the equipment and the practice team's clothing, including disposable gloves and masks, are hygienic and sterile. Equipment and instruments must be sterilized, and gloves changed, between each patient.

• Before any procedure, ask for it to be explained to you, in a separate consultation if necessary.

• Avoid dentists who use bold ads and low prices to attract patients.

• Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations instead.

2. Can low-cost dentists be trusted?

There is no single answer here. You can use tariff point values as a way of comparing costs. If the figures differ by more than 10% in either direction, do more research. Check out the dentist's credentials, licence to practise, and publicly available reports. Very low rates may indicate that the dentist provides a poorer-quality service. Please see also How do untrustworthy dentists rip patients off?. If you count corrections and improvements after the fact, cheap dental work can be more expensive overall than treatment from a dentist who applies a higher tariff point value.

3. Can I go to a foreign dentist?

Foreign dentists can see patients commercially, either independently or within a medical practice in Switzerland, for 90 days in any given year without needing a licence. To work in this way, dentists must register with the canton concerned (Art 35, Medical Professions Act (MedBG/LPMéd) (in German, French and Italian only).

Please note that dentists from the EU do not require liability insurance. This means that there is no cover for damage caused by malpractice. It makes it much more difficult for patients to seek legal redress and compensation in the event of such malpractice or damages cases.

4. How do untrustworthy dentists rip patients off?

• High up-front charges: patients are asked to make an up-front payment before major treatment. This is usually up to a third of the projected costs. If you are asked to pay an advance you should seriously consider an alternative dentist.

• Malpractice: low prices could well be a sign of poor quality or safety. The work may be poor, practice hygiene lacking, and the practice team poorly paid, or the dentist themselves may not be properly qualified.

• Unnecessary treatments: in many cases holes may be drilled where there were no holes to start with. If you are suspicious, ask to be shown x-rays or get a second opinion.

• Incomplete cost estimate: an amount in Swiss francs alone says little about the nature of the treatment and the time and work involved. You need to know what the treatment consists of and how it will be done. It may be necessary to take x-rays, or do an examination and diagnosis, followed by an initial round of treatment. If you are in any doubt you should get a second opinion or another estimate for comparison.

• Imported products: in some cases, dental prostheses such as bridges, crowns, etc. are imported from countries where they are produced cheaply. The origins of these products may not be disclosed or declared, but the dentist will still charge Swiss prices. One clue to this sort of practice is a nice, neat figure. Rounded prices are not possible because of VAT, so they may indicate that the dentist is charging more than they should.

5. What do I need to find out before treatment?

• If you are having major work done, get a second cost estimate.

• Check that the estimate is complete.

• Even in an emergency, do not allow yourself to be talked into treatment that you are not sure of, and insist on time to think about it.