My dentist is truly way better than most in our area, and because of that, he doesn't have to deal with insurance, and is fully booked with patients (although he is getting pretty old, so I don't know who I'll eventually need to switch to). I had a really bad experience with a bad dentist about 20 years ago (one on a dental insurance plan). He over-drilled a tooth that eventually rotted and had to be pulled. I suspected there might be a problem with the guy when I saw that he was living in Manhattan, yet had a dental practice way up in Dutchess County (I would be willing to bet he was running away from either horrible reviews in the city, or outright loss of license there).