What's the best way to pick the right dentist for you? On "San Diego Living" Fred discusses what you should look for when it comes to choosing a dentist. Find out what he says.

Can't See the Video? Here's the Transcription:

Joe Bauer: Ruben, procrastination can be painful and expensive. That's why Fred Joyal is here with us to help you pick the perfect dentist. Right now. Fred good to have you.

Fred Joyal: Great to be here, Joe.

Joe Bauer: We've talked before, and I think there's a lot of things people don't realize that a dentist can do. You know, we've discussed that, but also, if you don't have a dentist, and unfortunately a lot of people, and I know some of them, not me, mind you -

Fred Joyal: No, that's good.

Joe Bauer: I go for my regular - I get cleaned you know, every four to five months, I guess. Two, three times a year anyway. But they put it off and put it off and put it off and put it off until all of a sudden there's pain. You know, wait for the pain, bad thing.

Fred Joyal: Which is the worst indicator really, it means it's too late.

Joe Bauer: Right.

Fred Joyal: It's the, it's one of the biggest misconceptions about taking care of your teeth is that procrastination has no consequences. But it's more like not paying your credit card and now you're starting to pay interest on interest. It's really the same thing going on, you really need to see a dentist every three to eight months depending on your own particular mouth, but maintenance is much better for you, because the more you procrastinate, the more stuff is going on that you can't really see is hurting you. Enamel is very strong, gums are very resilient, but gradually the damage that's being done has to be repaired and sometimes you can't get all the way back.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, even if you floss.

Fred Joyal: Yeah, flossing is great.

Joe Bauer: It's good.

Fred Joyal: It's critical.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, very critical yeah.

Fred Joyal: But seeing that dentist regularly is critical. Now a lot of people have, they don't know how to find a dentist and or it's a very personal choice to find a dentist. And this is what I've learned over the years is people, they have very specific needs, and they have a lot of apprehension about finding someone. It's kind of why I have my business is because they want to talk to somebody about the dentist before they go see him. They wanna ask what he does.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, and especially in Southern California, we have so many people that move here every year. I mean, the turnover is tremendous and the growth is tremendous so there's a lot of people that don't have a reference point when they get here, they don't know somebody to ask, they don't know where to go so 1-800-DENTIST is the place to be.

Fred Joyal: Well, and you know, they may have had a great dentist and he's back in Ohio, and they just can't get back there anymore. And they miss that relationship; they don't know how to establish it. So what they're really looking for is a dentist who cares about them. You want somebody who has great technology cause there's a lot of new stuff too, but -

Joe Bauer: Yeah okay, so if I go to the website or make a phone call, what happens next?

Fred Joyal: You tell me where you're looking for a dentist cause geographically you want it to be convenient for you. You want to go, you want to go start a relationship with this practice that's ongoing, that you feel comfortable going there and you really start to learn and take care of your teeth. And so then you can say I want somebody with Saturday hours, I want somebody who does veneers, things like that.  I maybe I want somebody who's, maybe I want a woman, maybe I want somebody who's been to USC, even. You can ask me all those things.  But what I've done is I've sent hundreds and hundreds of patients to my dentists, I know how great they are, how happy people are with them, and those are the dentists that I refer to people.

Joe Bauer: Ya see, so there's the answer. They get a personal relationship almost with you. I mean, and through you, you find a dentist for them.  Is that right?

Fred Joyal: I'm like the really smart neighbor or guy in a cubicle next to them who's been to hundreds of dentists and say no, these is the guys to go to or this is the woman to go to.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, you know Fred, I knew that the minute I saw you. I said, this is a smart neighbor. I say I want to live, where you are, I want to live next door.  So there's sure number one source for finding a dentist right there. All right because they take every smile, personally, right 1-800-DENTIST. Thanks Fred.

Fred Joyal: Thank you Joe.

Joe Bauer: All right, San Diego Living is coming right back.