By now, most people are aware of the supreme importance of having a family doctor, assuming they have a family. A family doctor, over time, becomes a part of the family, with a role that rivals mom's and dad's in importance. It used to be that the relationship of the doctor to the family was thought of as being relatively unimportant, so long as the doctor's function was in good working order. That is, how little Jane felt about Dr. X didn't matter much so long as Dr. X could effectively give little Jane her flu shots and so forth. In a sense, of course, the same holds true today. If you had to choose between a botched flu shot and grumbling doctor you'd probably go with the grumbling doctor. But once this basic point is made, the personality of the family doctor, and, most importantly, the way the personality of the family doctor mingles with the personalities of the family, looms large indeed.
    There's nothing better, when sick, than going to a doctor you actually have friendly relations with, jumping up on that bed with its paper sheet, and feeling the doctor's warm, knowing hand on your forehead. It's just one of the supremely cozy moments in life. You feel safe, you have no idea what's wrong with you but now you're in a quiet clean place simply buzzing with people who do, and, best of all, this is not a complete stranger that's poking and prodding you, it's Dr. X, you've known him from when you were a kid. Let's change it from Dr. X to Dr. Lecter, as Dr. X is too creepy.
    Also, aside from the fact that you're pals with Dr. Lecter, he's also got miles and miles of information on you-every twinge of pain, every whiff of nausea, etc., you've ever experienced, Dr. Lecter experienced with you, he knows what's going on with your body. This not only saves families stress, worry, and time, it saves them money as well, as Dr. Lecter is more likely to see right to the heart of a problem instead of having to fumble around getting to know things for the first time. When you go to see a new doctor, three-fourths of your money is wasted on getting-to-know-you garbage, whereas Dr. Lecter, tried and true, applies all of your money to whatever it is you want fixed.
    Alright, we finally come to the point. Everything, and I mean everything, that you love in a family doctor, you'll love in a family dentist as well. Your teeth, after all, are a hugely important part of you, and you want more than professionalism when it comes to their maintenance-you want history, deep history, to play a part. You want to know your family dentist as well as you know your family doctor, and you want to be known by him in the same friendly fashion. And yet, owing to the fact that we get our teeth worked on less than our bodies (there's no dental equivalent of flu season, thank goodness), we rarely think of a family dentist like we do a family doctor. For some people the very name "family dentist" rolls strangely off the tongue.
 Let me insist again that this should not be the case. We should start speaking of our family doctor and our family dentist in the same breath. What our family doctor does, our family dentist does. We couldn't go on without our family doctor? Life without our family dentist would leave a similar void. When it comes to the family doctor, we wouldn't think of settling for anything less than the best? Well, neither shall we settle for second-rate dentistry.
When considering a family dentist, therefore, you should keep in mind the following (just as you do when considering a family doctor): How family-friendly is this person? Knowing my kids, will they feel comfortable with him? How do I feel about him? Do I feel comfortable with him? And so on.
The family dentist plays a role that, if not quite so crucial as the family doctor's, is nevertheless of indescribable importance.