Specialist dental practices are built on trust over the course of an entire career. Oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists, orthodontists, and prosthodontists rarely grow their practices through direct-to-consumer advertising or walk-ins. They grow through consistent referrals from general dentists — often the same dentists, year after year, decade after decade. That makes

Referrals are a critical part of modern dental care. General dentists rely on trusted specialists in their communities to deliver excellent outcomes for patients — and then return them for ongoing care. In theory, the process should be smooth, collaborative, and predictable. In practice, it’s anything but. For many general