How to check a Costa Rican dentist's registration

The roll

Dentists in Costa Rica must be incorporated in the Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica, and the Colegio publishes its roll. The search page takes a professional code, a name, a surname or a specialty, and lets you show all dentists, only active ones, only suspended ones, or only registered specialists.^[1] Each result shows the full name, the registered specialty if any, the Colegio's code and the status.

Every dental clinic must also have a regente: an incorporated dentist responsible for the clinic before the Colegio.^[2] Asking a clinic who its regente is, and looking that person up, is a reasonable first check.

Reading a result

• Search by surname first. Clinic websites usually print a short name ("Dr. Marco Aguilar"); the roll prints given names and both surnames. Look for the entry whose given name and first surname match.
• Status. "Activo" is active. Any other status, such as "Suspendido", means the person is not currently active on the roll; the roll does not say why, so ask the clinic.
• Specialty. A dentist presented as a specialist should show that specialty on the roll (for example prostodoncia, endodoncia or implantología oral). A blank specialty column means none is registered with the Colegio.
• The code is the Colegio's own number. Asking the dentist for it and searching by code avoids any doubt about a common name.

What this site shows

For Costa Rican dental clinics, each named dentist was searched on the roll by name. A clinic page shows the roll's entry only when exactly one registered dentist matches every part of the name the clinic prints, with the first word as a given name. Common names that match several entries are left unmatched. A name match is not proof that the person on the roll is the person at the clinic; the code is the way to be sure.

Hospitals and physicians

Physicians, including surgeons, are registered with the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos, whose doctor search takes a name, a specialty or a code such as MED1234.^[3] It also publishes a register of doctors under sanction, with the case number, the sanction and its dates.^[4]

For the questions to put to the clinic in writing, see what to ask a clinic before you book.