In general, I would talk to family and friends and get a recommendation on a personable dentist that will actually take time with you. Word of mouth is really y

In general, I would talk to family and friends and get a recommendation on a personable dentist that will actually take time with you. Word of mouth is really your best bet. I would try and stay away from larger practices where a dentist owns multiple offices. Not that there is anything wrong with multiple practices, but it's a broad filter for getting rid of dentists who are overly profit focused. I would only go to a dentist that thinks amalgam is perfectly safe to use. Largely because there is no science to support otherwise and removing amalgam fillings actually releases more mercury. I like medical providers to believe strongly in science. In many states you can look a dentist up with the state dental board and see if any action has been taken against the dentist by the board. For example, North Carolina's can be found here: http://www.ncdentalboard.org/license_verification.htm http://www.ncdentalboard.org/license_verification.htm and you can also find out if they've ever had their license suspended.