<p>I would file a complaint with the state board. It might not do much, but maybe the dentist would think twice about doing that to someone else.</p>
<p>I had a similar situation when we first moved here. I have some intense dental history, and so virtually the last think I did before we moved was to visit my former dentist and get everything checked out. A month later, now in our new town, I made an appointment with a dentist whose card was in the Welcome Wagon packet. No problems, but I wanted to establish a relationship before some urgent problem raised its head. She proceeded to take x-rays and then diagnose exactly as much “urgent” work as my insurance max + deductible would cover, including removing a number of amalgam fillings to replace them with composites because they were “dangerous.” I took her estimate and called my former dentist, who advised me to run, not walk, to a different dentist.</p>
<p>The dentist I have now is great, and apparently his colleagues think he is too because he serves on the dental examiners board for dental students taking the licensing practical exams. It is a relief. (And a pox on the John Birchers who equated flouridation with communism on Long Island. They’ve cost me thousands.)</p>
<p>I’ve been seeing the same dentist for about 15 years; she’s also been treating both J. and my ex for the same period of time. (My ex and I agreed to share custody of the dentist.) So she’s seen J. grow up from the age of 5 to now. And she had no issues with continuing to treat me after my transition. (Not that she should have had issues, but I"m always pleasantly surprised when people don’t bat an eye in that regard.) I like her so much that I continue to see her, even though she’s in New Jersey at least an hour’s drive from where I now live in Manhattan. And this way I’ve gotten to see photos of the adorable baby she recently adopted! Of course, it was very inconvenient when I had that horrendous toothache last week, but my theory is that as long as I generally only have to see her a couple of times a year, I can manage the distance. </p>
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<p>Maybe it’s just as well. Shortly after my parents were married way back when, my mother (who was plagued with problems with her teeth her whole life; maybe spending her first 20 years in Germany* and England had something to do with it) was expected to have her dental work done by an uncle of my father’s, whom she had never met. The first time she went, she realized that he was at least 75 years old, and that his hands shook very noticeably. As he approached her mouth with an extremely sharp instrument, she got up from the chair, excused herself, and never returned. Disapproval from my father’s family apparently ensued.</p>
<ul>
<li>Her father had no teeth of his own left at all by the time I knew him, and used to love to frighten me when I was very little by taking his false teeth out and clacking them at me. This is the same grandfather who gave me beer to drink when I was 3, taught me the First World War Prussian rifle drill when I wasn’t much older, and now rests comfortably in a New Jersey cemetery surrounded by the graves of all three of his wives.</li>
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<p>PS: If this weren’t a family channel, I could tell stories about a very elderly and shaky surgeon in Philadelphia who used to perform cheap, cash-on-the-barrel genital surgery on trans people under local anesthesia. But it is, so I won’t. Except to say that some people are so desperate they’ll try anything.</p>
<p>Couple things I wanted to throw out there… Number one, i love my dentist. I’ve had the guy since I was a kid. One of these days I’m sure he’s going to retire as he’s getting up there and I’ll be in search for a new one. I still drive 45 minutes each way to see him. I never had any cavities growing up, but about three years or so ago he told me he was “keeping an eye on a spot between my teeth” and that he would let me know if it got any worse, but in the mean time I should floss every day and take flouride at night. he took x rays once a year when I went back and kept an eye on it for me. Finally after like 3 years he told me that got worse and needed to be filled (which I kind of thought anyway, I had a tooth ache for the first time in my life!). That’s probably what they mean by a pre-cavity or a trouble spot - something that will become a cavity one day. I was glad he didnt jump right in there and start drilling in my mouth.</p>
<p>second thing, I deal with dental insurance at work. I get people all the time who go to see a new dentist and come home crying as they were just told they need 20k of dental work. I always tell them they should get a second opinion because a lot of times those dentists are just way out there. Dental schools are nice cheap places to get a second opinion for what was already “diagnosed”. Also, if you have an issue like that and you have dental insurance, you might want to notify your carrier. If they are a network dentist and are giving out false information that could cause some serious issues. I know with our Delta Dental plans they will fully investigate the matter and can arrange for you to be reimbursed and/or retreated as needed on their dollar if the dental work was not done correctly. The last thing they want is for their dentists to be causing them extra charges and extra hassle down the road.</p>
<p>If you don’t have dental ins, I might suggest looking into it (not a discount plan, an actual ins). If you can find a good price, it may be worth it in the long run. I’ve seen dentists charge 900 bucks for a root canal and the insurance knocked it down to 450 as its negotiated rate… plus then the plan payed on top of that.</p>
The smarmy dentist that took over from my old dentist was very pushy. He was trying to pressure me into having implants done. I told him I could not afford them and he just kept on pressuring me, telling me that it was my health and did I want him to call and make an appointment with the oral surgeon. Uh, no. </p>
<p>Unfortunately I may have to eventually resort falsies for my front 2 teeth (all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth - was that song out in the US or is it a british thing?). They have been capped for decades and the roots are finally giving up on me. If I could swing it financially I would like to have implants this guy was just so obnoxiously pushy and acting like there is no possible viable alternative to implants. Hello, not everyone can afford $10,000 plus. Needles to say i don;t go to him any more. He made me cringe anyway (funnily enough my hairdresser, who never says bad things about anyone, goes to the same church and the dentist came up in conversation one day and she almost physically shuddered and said how smarmy he is - I was relieved as I felt a bit guilty disliking him so much)</p>
<p>We have had almost the exact same experience. Our D had fantastic teeth for her whole life, we had to switch dentists as original dentist went on leave and office got chaotic. One dentist we tried found all kinds of work she needed done. We didn’t trust him, and found another, and that dentist saw just perfect teeth again. Then we went back to our original dentist, who also found nothing.</p>
<p>I think I had the reverse problem. My parents, thinking we had a ‘boat’ dentist (and perhaps he was) switched us to another dentist, a nice elderly man. With whom I never had a cavity, and who dismissed the occasional tooth pain I had. He did not have a hygienist.</p>
<p>When I moved away and got a new dentist, the results of the previous under treatments took years to correct. The teeth that had bothered me were abscessed and horribly decayed.</p>
<p>I like my dentist now, but I have one gripe. I needed a tooth extracted and she recommended a bridge, saying I wasn’t a good candidate for an implant. But the bone in the affected area came back nicely, and the bridge involved two good teeth on either side that had to be ground down and capped as part of the bridge. I would have preferred leaving those two alone and chancing the implant.</p>
<p>My daughter just went to her dentist (pediatric dentist still, she’ll switch when she moves in January). He told us about a similar story but it was about his sister. Her dentist in Scarsdale told her she had several cavities starting. She asked her brother, our pediatric dentist, to take a look. He said many dentists misread the xrays as cavities, when they actually aren’t. He said to be careful when several cavities suddenly seem to appear. It may just be that the dentist misread the xrays. I wonder how often this happens.</p>
<p>A cavity is nothing mysterious, it is a hole in your tooth. If the dentist can’t show it to you plain and clear in the mirror and on the x-ray, then they are scamming you.</p>
<p>Perhaps unfortunately, my father was a dentist, so I was used to absolutely honest treatment. Then I went to graduate school in Canada and the university dentist ‘discovered’ several cavities that he wanted to fill right there and then. I was shocked but managed to refuse and went home and poked around my mouth myself - nothing wrong at all, then or now, 30 years later.</p>
<p>I also have a dentist horror story. I have no dental insurance, so price is always important. The dentist I had been seeing had all the latest, up to date equipment. I don’t mind paying for service, and when I first started with him, it was good. Then he moved to a larger office and got more equipment. Suddenly, I was having tooth grinding issues at night, needed the surfaces of my teeth filled, and a mouth guard to the tune of $1100+. It is beyond me how anyone who sleeps with their mouth open and wakes up with drool on the pillow (embarassing, I know) can grind their teeth, I can’t figure out. I got a new dentist, who uses older equipment and has a smaller office. Price and service wise, very satisfied. New dentist rolled eyes when I mentioned the grinding. Old dentist must have had the class in dental school about how to make a buck.</p>
<p>D still goes to the above dentist with fancy equipment and big office. Each time she goes for a cleaning, same drill, grinding teeth, need surfances filled and mouth guard, last estimate was over $1300. (d is also a night drooler) Needless to say, we just get the cleaning.</p>
<p>Husband went to a dentist after not being to one in 8 years. The dentist told him he had 14 cavities; but he only had time to fill the top 6. His face was so swollen he said he would never go back. He has been to three different dentists since (including a family member) over 15 years… and none have ever found the “8” remaining cavities.</p>
<p>Although most dentists are honest, it is a field where dishonesty pays.</p>
<p>The dentist still did not call back. I tried to call them again this afternoon, but no one picked up. I just got off the phone with the complaint department for the state dental board, and D will be filing a complaint. We just don’t want this dentist to do this to someone else. It is very frustrating that unless this dentist is disciplined, we will not know the outcome of the complaint (they don’t show us what the dentist provides for information to them, so if she mounts a successful defense, we will not know what it is). But I would still rather file the complaint and get it on the record that an issue occurred, even if it does not result in any disciplinary action.</p>
<p>Is there a Ratemydentist website or something like that? Yelp? I know that there was a specific site for patient reviews of medical doctors, and that was where I looked for information (I do not care about complaints about rude receptionists or doctors not being overly friendly - I’m there to be taken care of by specialists in their fields who know what they are doing and who can explain it to me). I would write a pretty negative review of this dentist for others to read!</p>
<p>Dental X-ray films *should not *be blurry! There are very specific guidelines for dental X-ray imaging as well as the maintenance requirements for this equipment - they can be found on the web. For example, here is the one for WA: [Chapter</a> 246-225A WAC: Radiation safety and diagnostic image quality standards for dental facilities](<a href=“Chapter 246-225A WAC:”>Chapter 246-225A WAC:)</p>
<p>To be fair, the person at the dental board said it is possible that while the copies were blurry, the original xray still in the dentist’s possession is not as blurry. The board will allow the dentist to present that original. I don’t see how that is going to make much difference, honestly, but it is possible.</p>
<p>The board does post a list of disciplinary actions on their website, and also keeps a database of corrective actions that you can ask them to search (corrective is less than disciplinary). So it is sort of like ratemydentist.com :)</p>
<p>I think it’s great you are following up on this. Rogue dentists probably assume that most patients won’t bother if for some reason they figure out that there is an issue. </p>
<p>Our family has always had good experiences with our dentists, with one exception. Younger S was told he was on the borderline as to whether or not there would be room for his wisdom teeth. His pediatric dentist looked at some xrays, and suggested we consult with an oral surgeon to see what he recommended. So we met with the oral surgeon that seems to pull every teenager’s wisdom teeth in our area. Great outgoing guy, super friendly, explains he’ll give S some valium to take early on the day of the procedure, has ipods for the kids to listen to during the procedure, etc. </p>
<p>Then he starts pressuring - you should really get all 4 teeth taken out right away. Like this week. It’s urgent. Huh? I ask why, and don’t really get an answer that I understand. And, if I pay in cash, I get a discount. (Um, great, I have dental insurance that will cover this). In any event, S is going back to college in days and the extraction isn’t happening before. We make an appointment for spring vacation three months away. Before S goes to oral surgeon for extraction, he goes to get his teeth cleaned, and the pediatric dentist announces, hey, great, all your wisdom teeth are now coming in fine, they look great, and he does another xray to confirm. The wisdom teeth do not need to be taken out.</p>
<p>I cancelled the oral surgeon. But I still wonder - he pressured us really hard, and he does take out a LOT of wisdom teeth.</p>
<p>Does any of you guys fall for the fluoride trick? Our dental insurance does not cover this for adults, and it is close to $50 :eek: for keeping your teeth in a disposable tray filled with yucky foam for a few minutes. I always politely decline - there is plenty of fluoride in our water and in my toothpaste.</p>
<p>Well, the wisdom teeth can cause problems when you get older, as it is harder to keep them clean because they are so far back in your mouth. It is also harder to heal from the surgery if you wait until you are older and problems occur. I personally DO recommend getting all four out at once, too – no point in going thru surgery and recovery more than once (I had mine out in two sittings, and one would have been easier… D had all done at once, and is VERY glad she does not have to repeat any part of the experience).</p>
<p>Intparent, I agree, 4 at once is the way to go (I did 2 and 2 many years ago and wouldn’t recommend that). It was more the intense pressure to get the procedure done ASAP that struck me (and S) as odd. S’s regular dentist continues to monitor the wisdom teeth but at this point it’s not in any way urgent to address.</p>
<p>I do have young adult D get sealants still on her molars though insurance does not pay after certain age.
Not a large payment out of pocket ($30?). Her learning issues cause her to be quite uninterested in careful brushing/flossing. So for her specific case, the sealants might be preventing some cavities. For most adults not necessary.</p>
<p>One of my friend who graduated from Dental school a couple years ago was seeking emplyment. She interviewed with a dental office and they asked her to come and worked for a week substituting for another dentist who is on vacation. She checked a yound patient the first day. According to the record this young patient had a couple cavities that need to be filled. She checked but cannot find any cavity. She reported that to the office manager. The office manager hinted strongly that there are cavities that need to be filled. She refused to do so. Needless to say, she did not get the job.</p>