How much do you trust what your dentist says?

[gbear]

I note that I had no tooth pains at age 29 when I got dental insurance and starting seeing a dentist regularly. Since then, I have had 2 cavities, 3 crowns, 1 root canal and I now have a denture.

I've always wondered if my teeth would be worse if I never went.

This story shows how we all spend more the longer we are with a dentist, and show 2 different dentists the same x-ray, and the most likely outcome is they will see different cavities with both spotting cavities.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130356647

[Burgold]

I like my current dentist. The dentist I had as a child was a nightmare. He literally found a new cavity every six months and exhorted me to be a man and not take novocaine because I was tough. I think I was 6-10 with this guy. When my parents swithched dentists miraculously I never had another cavity. I sometimes wonder how many false cavities and unnecessary drilling he did. Money grubbing sadist.

[Duckus]

You just have to find a good dentist. My dentist does not believe in doing anything unless it is actually necessary.

I still have all four of my wisdom teeth.

[Special K]

My uncle is my dentist. He better not be screwing me over!

[Predicto]

I had a butcher for a dentist when I was young, who drilled out the entire inside of every tooth with a tiny spot on it "just to be sure" he got all the decay. So of course, as an adult all of those teeth are cracking and need crowns.

I doubt your dentist is ripping you off on the big things, because they have to send documentation to your insurance company for every expensive procedure they perform. :whoknows:

[Mickalino]

I trust them about as much as I trust auto mechanics, after going to one and having him tell me that I had multiple cavities and needed thousands of dollars worth of work, and then going to another dentist, who worked out of a college, so he had no conflict of interests, and he told me that I had ZERO cavities, and actually did a much more thorough examination so there's no way he would have missed it. Somehow the other dentist came up with "phantom cavities" that I apparently had.

[Botched]

I don't trust anything a dentist says, it's all lies. One of them even told me I should start brushing my teeth!

Yeah, and while I'm at it maybe I'll start combing my fingernails.

Quacks, all of them.

[ECU-ALUM]

Without question or doubt. Because my dentist is my Father-in-Law.

[Sticksboi05]

You just have to find a good dentist. My dentist does not believe in doing anything unless it is actually necessary.

I still have all four of my wisdom teeth.

Hope you don't get an infection that spreads to your lungs and nearly kills you.

[GhostofSparta]

Without question or doubt. Because my dentist is my Father-in-Law.

I think you have more reason than any of us to not trust your dentist.

[ECU-ALUM]

I think you have more reason than any of us to not trust your dentist.

As long as I don't do anything stupid concerning my wife...I should be okay...I hope.:paranoid:

[I_Bleed_B&G]

I think I got screwed over by my dentist when I was really young. I think he said I had 11 cavities when I was like 13 or younger. Sucks because now my teeth are jacked from him drilling them. Another thing is Dental insurance is the worse. They only cover like $1,500 a year and one root canal or crown maxes it out and you have to start paying like crazy money out of pocket. I'm seriously thinking of going to Costa Rica and getting dental work done while I vacation.

[GhostofSparta]

As long as I don't do anything stupid concerning my wife...I should be okay...I hope.:paranoid:

You'd better stay on her good side and hope she's not the passive-agressive type. Otherwise she could have a few stories to tell her dad next time you're up for an appointment. Thank God my father-in-law isn't my dentist, he's a Cowboys fan.... :paranoid:

[Mooka]

Don't really care about my dentist. He comes in, looks at the sheet, takes a quick glance at my teeth, and then says ok, bye bye. (basically)

Now, I treat what the hygienist says like gospel because she threatens to do deep gum cleanings if I don't floss enough. :yikes:

[mcsluggo]

Don't really care about my dentist. He comes in, looks at the sheet, takes a quick glance at my teeth, and then says ok, bye bye. (basically)

Now, I treat what the hygienist says like gospel because she threatens to do deep gum cleanings if I don't floss enough. :yikes:

how deep?

do you have to grab your ankles to the musical sound of a latex glove snapping onto her wrist?

[Mickalino]

how deep?

do you have to grab your ankles to the musical sound of a latex glove snapping onto her wrist?

would that musical sound be the song "Moon River" ?

tBsIcRZBh3A

[Mooka]

how deep?

do you have to grab your ankles to the musical sound of a latex glove snapping onto her wrist?

I thought it was odd that a dentist would ask me to strip and cough for her. Is that normal?

[Sebowski]

I trust them about as much as I trust auto mechanics

Bingo. Give this man the $10,000.

[DeanCollins]

My dentist is a old close friend and motorcycle riding buddy. He's a great dentist and Georgetown grad and Skins fan (Dr. Alan Helig I street NW). Twenty years ago I built him a large wood deck on his

house in Fall Church in exchange for lifetime dental work. Then, like an idiot, I moved to FL lol. He feels that dental work should be avoided unless absolutely necessary, and not just because he owe's me dental work. His opinion is that any work done to a tooth places that tooth in jeopardy. He's lost a lot of income by persuading his patients not to do cosmetic dentistry.

[Kilmer17]

What do you call a doctor who couldnt hack it in medical school? A dentist!!!

Seriously, I dont trust them at all. I think every tooth has a little bit of decay, but Dentists will do everything they can to pad their bill. More xrays, more fillings etc etc etc.

I told my sons dentist he was ****ing nuts if he thought I'd allow him to put braces on my 7 year olds baby teeth because they were crooked. Or pull the ones that werent out yet but should be.

[sacase]

I like my dentist. He doesn't believe in doing work unless it is absolutely needed. The work he has done has been the best work I have ever had done. One time I came in for an emergency and he apologiezed for not seeing me right away because he had to fit me in his schedule I think I waited 5 minutes. His staff is excellent and knowledgeable. The hygenist knows her stuff and is fun to talk to. I would recommend my dentist to anyone who wanted excellent work. He has taken xrays and seen me for free.

My previous dentist, really jacked up my teeth. He put crowns on two teeth and when I went back and told him I was having serious pain in them he said it was normal. Needless to say, my new dentist referred me for root canals right away. The bad crowns caused me to get an abcess under each tooth.

Prior to that, the military jacked up my teeth. LOL Instead of putting crowns on my teeth, they used that amalgum stuff to "make"" a crown. One time I had a really bad tooth pain and had to go to the emergency dental sick call. The guy said we need to do a root canal. Shoots me up with lidocane and starts to work on it. When he gets down to the root I start to feel a lot of pain, he keeps shooting me up with lidocane. Finally, after he couldn't get the tooth numb he said look, I am just going to have to pull the root out and you are just going to have to bare the pain. Worst pain I ever felt in my life and if I wasn't in the military we would have been fighting. Come to find out many years later, he should have given me an anti biotic and some pain meds and sent me back home until the infection died down. You can't numb a tooth that is infected.

My EX is scared of dentists with good reason. As a kid, her dentist was pulling teeth and drilling when it wasn't needed. Additionally, she wouldn't use lidocane or laughing gas, but would charge for them. She eventually got sued and put in jail I felt back for my EX, but she has perfect teeth now because she is so scared to go to the dentist.

[MassSkinsFan]

I like my dentist, finally. He is a human sedative. In fact I've dozed off while he was drilling my teeth.

I went 10 years without going to a dentist. During that time 2 teeth fell out completely and 2 others were cracked/split.

It cost a lot to set things right (implants and crowns), and it was at times painful, but now I just go every 6 months for cleaning, and so far no cavities. This guy has offered me lots of options, and doesn't blink when I don't want more work.

Bottom line is some people are decent and others are scum - good luck finding a decent dentist. When you do, you'll be in good shape.

[Elessar78]

My most recent dentist, when I lived in Arlington, his practice is by the Courthouse metro a few steps down from the movie theaters. BTW, this guy has the hottest hygienists. I was embarrased to have this girl looking in my mouth scraping my plaque.Smoking. Far cry from my current hygienist, she has hairy arms and huge hands.

My dentist growing up in Fairfax was a scam artist. He was ALWAYS finding cavities. In retrospect I think it was 'cause my parents had excellent dental insurance. I think it was to pay for his nice new digs.

My current dentist is awesome. Go to a small town dentist, I'm sure they're just as qualified and have lower overhead.

BTW, do dentists in a big Metro area get to bill insurance companies more than a dentist in a small rural town?

[Elessar78]

Do you guys brush and floss right before you go to the dentist? It's a "bad" habit of mine. Like he won't know my general dental hygiene habits. It's like washing your car before taking it to the car wash.

[Special K]

So...here's just a shameless plug for a dentist in Silver Spring if any of you live back there. He's a great guy, HUGE Redskins fan (took me to the last game in RFK stadium ) and isn't one to bullcrap patients. Even if he wasn't my uncle, I would recommend him because he's down to earth, funny, and doesn't dick around: AKA, he doesn't act like a used car salesman.

Harold E. Landis D.D.S

9801 Georgia Ave. Ste 228