Finding a good dentist in Peru, Illinois means working through 20 listed practices, 13 of which carry enough ratings to compare against, and a modest 3.98 average across them. Start with the highest-rated offices, weigh how many reviews back each score, and confirm the practice actually handles the specific care you need.
Peru sits in La Salle County, at the heart of the Illinois Valley where the Illinois River meets Interstate 80. It shares a doorstep with La Salle and a short drive with Oglesby, Utica, and Spring Valley, so a “local” dentist search here naturally spills across several small towns clustered together. This guide works only from what Dental.me actually records for the 20 practices listed in Peru itself, then points you outward when the in-town options run thin.
What the numbers say about dentists in Peru
Twenty dental practices are listed in Peru, but only 13 of them carry enough ratings to compare on quality. That gap matters: a third of the offices in town have too few ratings on file to place with any confidence, so the real shortlist is smaller than the raw count suggests. Among the 13 rated practices, the average rating is 3.98 — a figure pulled down by a cluster of low-scoring offices rather than a weak top tier.
The distribution is barbell-shaped. Five practices sit at 4.8 stars or higher, a genuinely strong top band for a town this size, while six practices land below 4.0. Only two offices occupy the middle. In practice that means your choice in Peru is rarely a close call between similar options; the rated field splits cleanly into a well-regarded top and a weaker tail, with little in between.
The highest-rated dental practices in Peru
Here are the six Peru practices Dental.me ranks, sorted by rating and then by the number of reviews behind each score. Two offices share the top mark of 4.9, but they are not equivalent: one is backed by hundreds of reviews and the other by a few dozen. Read the rating and the review count together — a 4.9 built on 251 reviews is a far steadier signal than a 4.3 built on four.
| Practice | Rating | Reviews | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noor Alshaikh | 4.9 | 251 | View profile |
| Henry Mark A DDS MS PC | 4.9 | 35 | View profile |
| Joseph Kunnel DDS, PhD, PC | 4.8 | 59 | View profile |
| Illinois Valley Endodontics LLC | 4.8 | 32 | View profile |
| Dina Lunken DDS, PC | 4.5 | 73 | View profile |
| Steven Ludforo | 4.3 | 4 | View profile |
One name on this list signals its focus in its title. Illinois Valley Endodontics LLC names endodontics — the discipline of root canals and interior-tooth work — and carries a 4.8 across 32 reviews, which is worth knowing if a general dentist ever refers you out for that kind of treatment. For routine cleanings and family care, Joseph Kunnel DDS, PhD, PC and Dina Lunken DDS, PC both pair strong scores with review counts in the dozens.
How reviews cluster among Peru’s practices
Peru’s 20 practices hold 509 reviews between them, and those reviews are far from evenly spread. Noor Alshaikh alone accounts for 251 of them — roughly half the town’s entire review volume attached to a single 4.9-rated office. The next most-reviewed listings, Dina Lunken and Joseph Kunnel, trail well behind at 73 and 59. The chart below shows the top six by review count.
The takeaway is not that a busy office is automatically better, but that a rating means something different at each end of this chart. A 4.9 that hundreds of people have weighed in on is unlikely to move much; a 4.3 resting on four reviews could swing a full point with a single new visit. When two practices look similar on the star line, let the review count break the tie.
Website listings and reaching an office
Nine of Peru’s 20 listed practices have a website URL on file with Dental.me — just under half. The other 11 carry no website link in our records, which is not a judgment about the office itself; it only means we do not have a site to point you to. For those, a phone call or a walk-in during business hours is the practical way to check availability, insurance, and new-patient status.
A quick call also lets you confirm the things a listing cannot: whether the practice is accepting new patients, which insurance plans it takes, and how soon it can fit you in. Keep in mind that no availability or scheduling data exists on these profiles — the profile tells you how well-regarded an office is, not when it has an open chair.
How the Dental.me Score reads a 3.98 town
Peru’s 3.98 average is genuinely below the mid-4 mark you would hope to see, and it is the six sub-4.0 offices dragging the number down rather than any weakness up top. That is exactly the situation the Dental.me Score is built for. Rather than treating every star equally, the Score weighs a practice’s rating alongside how many reviews stand behind it and whether the office’s details are confirmed, so a thinly-reviewed 4.3 does not outrank a heavily-reviewed 4.8.
The Score is earned through those signals, never bought; the only thing a practice can pay for on Dental.me is a Featured placement, which is labeled and does not change how a practice ranks on merit. For a town like Peru, where the field is split, that weighting is what keeps the strong top band from being crowded by offices with a high average but almost no reviews to support it.
Looking beyond Peru in the Illinois Valley
Because Peru’s towns sit so close together, widening your search by a few minutes’ drive meaningfully expands the field. If nothing in Peru fits your insurance or timeline, the neighboring directories are the logical next stop. Browse dentists in La Salle, its immediate neighbor to the east, or check Spring Valley and Oglesby to the south. Utica rounds out the cluster along the river.
You can also start from the Peru city hub to see every listed practice in one place, including the seven offices that are not yet rated. Comparing across these adjoining directories is often the fastest way to find a strong, well-reviewed office with room for a new patient, since the Illinois Valley functions as one small dental market spread over several town lines.
A short checklist for choosing a Peru dentist
Before you book, run the office through four quick checks drawn from the data above. First, look at the rating and the review count together — favor scores backed by dozens of reviews over ones resting on a handful. Second, match the practice to your need; if you have been referred for a root canal, a named endodontics office is more relevant than the top-rated generalist. Third, if a listing has no website URL on file, plan to call for insurance and new-patient details. Fourth, if the in-town shortlist is thin, extend to La Salle, Spring Valley, Oglesby, or Utica before settling. Work those four steps and the 3.98 average stops being a warning and becomes a map: it tells you the good offices in Peru are real and identifiable, and it tells you exactly which ones to skip.
Frequently asked questions
How many dentists are there in Peru, IL?
Dental.me lists 20 dental practices in Peru. Of those, 13 carry enough ratings to compare on quality, and the average rating across the rated practices is 3.98 out of 5.
Which dentist in Peru has the highest rating?
Two practices top the list at 4.9 stars: Noor Alshaikh, backed by 251 reviews, and Henry Mark A DDS MS PC, backed by 35. Noor Alshaikh’s score rests on far more reviews, making it the steadier signal.
How many Peru dental practices have a website?
Nine of the 20 listed practices have a website URL on file with Dental.me. The other 11 have no website link in our records, so a phone call is the practical way to reach them for details.
What is the average dentist rating in Peru, IL?
The average across Peru’s 13 rated practices is 3.98 out of 5. Five practices score 4.8 or higher, while six fall below 4.0, so the field splits into a strong top tier and a weaker tail.
Is there an endodontist or specialist in Peru?
Illinois Valley Endodontics LLC is listed in Peru with a 4.8 rating across 32 reviews. Its name points to endodontics, the field covering root canals and interior-tooth treatment, useful if a general dentist refers you out.
Where else can I look for a dentist near Peru?
Peru neighbors several Illinois Valley towns. You can browse dentist directories for La Salle, Spring Valley, Oglesby, and Utica, all a short drive away, or start from the Peru city hub to see every listed practice at once.
Dental.me organizes dental directory data so patients can compare offices with confidence. Use each practice profile and its available website, map, and phone details for current appointment, payment, and care decisions.