The Top Dentists in Charlotte

From root canals to whitening solutions, your ultimate guide to healthy teeth
Blake Miller,

 

  • Behind the Drill: You have your horror stories of drilling and Novocaine. And your dentists has his or hers.
  • Brighten Those Whites: After indulging in the simple things in life (coffee, wine, even blueberries), our pearly whites become, well, not so pearly. Lucky for us, dentists have concocted an array of whitening treatments. But which one should you use?
  • Open Up and Say, "Ahhh …": Here’s our guide to tried and true tooth issues, their old, uncomfortable fixes, and the new solutions that might put a smile on your face–even before going to the dentist
  • OTC Products that Make You Say OMG: Not sure what mouthwash, toothbrush, or floss keeps your pearly whites healthy? Our experts weigh in
  • What Lies Beneath: Potential problems lurk in every cranny of your mouth. Here’s a look behind the basics, what can happen, and how to fix it.

 

Click Here to See the List of Top Dentists 2010

The List Selection Process

"If you had a patient in need of a dentist, which dentist would you refer them to?"

This is the question we’ve asked thousands of dentists to help us determine who the topDentists should be. Dentists and specialists are asked to take into consideration years of experience, continuing education, manner with patients, use of new techniques and technologies and, of course, physical results.

The nomination pool of dentists consists of all dentists listed online with the American Dental Association (ada.org), as well as all dentists listed online with their local dental societies, thus allowing virtually every dentist the opportunity to participate. Dentists are also given the opportunity to nominate other dentists who we have missed that they feel should be included in our list. Respondents are asked to put aside any personal bias or political motivations and to use only their knowledge of their peer’s work when evaluating the other nominees.

Voters are asked to individually evaluate the practitioners on their ballot whose work they are familiar with. Once the balloting is completed, the scores are compiled and then averaged. The numerical average required for inclusion varies depending on the average for all the nominees within the specialty and the geographic area. Borderline cases are given careful consideration by the editors. Voting characteristics and comments are taken into consideration while making decisions. Past awards a dentist has received, status in various dental academies (Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Periodontology, etc.) can play a factor in our decision.

Once the decisions have been finalized, the included dentists are checked against state dental boards for disciplinary actions to make sure they have an active license and are in good standing with the board. Then letters of congratulations are sent to all the listed dentists.

Of course there are many fine dentists who are not included in this representative list. It is intended as a sampling of the great body of talent in the field of dentistry in the United States. A dentist’s inclusion on our list is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow dentists. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, we remain confident that our polling methodology largely corrects for any biases and that these lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate, and useful list of dentists available anywhere.

This article appears in the November 2010 issue of Charlotte magazine.

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