Dental work

Let me preface I do have a lot of respect for the medical field as I have multiple family members that work in the industry. My question comes from the dental world. Are they just more aggressive these days in fixing problems or is it a profit driving activity ?

Story : I was at a family dentist for 15 years. Had some work done here and there , no complaints. Went RELIGIOUSLY every 6 months. Doc retired- went to a different outfit in town and admittedly they had quite a bit more equipment and creature comforts. They did all sorts of cleanings and scans ect, my estimate came back with 4 dental crowns and 2 fillings. 6800 dollar estimate. When explaining my situation they said that they were more aggressive in fixing problems and had newer tech and that my old guy was old school…. I did 2 crowns over the course of the year or two and then moved to another dentist.

On to the new guy. He did one crown, and a filling but somehow things aren’t adding up from the first one ?

I floss every night, brush twice a day with an electric. No chewing or smoking. Drink one soda. I hate to double guess the pros but it sure makes me wonder. Anyone in the industry here ?

And yes this is very off season topic

I would say the first outfit needed to pay for all of that equipment. What they can do and what they should do is always up to you. The biggest thing is who is paying ? If your insurance is really good they might be trying to milk them but if there are out of pocket cost I would really question the dentist.

Like anything else, I’d get a second opinion. When I moved back to MSP years ago my first dentist seemed like he was always trying to upsell me. I switched and have been with the same guy for 20 years and he’s very good. Tells what I need to do and also lets me know what issues I could have in the future.

I will say it’s worth getting the issues fixed early if you need them. My brother ignored his dentist and ended up needing about $25k of work and now has bridges on the top and bottom. That’s a miserable process, too.

If it was a dental chain they are known to push for work that doesn’t need to be done.

Sorry but I tend to agree. The problem for dentists is that dental problems have been slowly eliminated because of better hygiene, practices, and awareness, therefore I believe the need create business. At 70 my teeth are in pretty good shape. At the same time my mother had dentures in her 30’s and dad passed away 14 years ago with probably 10 teeth remaining, including one gold one. In the meantime at the age of 12 my uncle started a dental office out west and I am sure told my dad to bring myself and brother out west and he would fix our teeth for cost. I still have most of the 12 fillings he put in. As you, my original dentist retired and the new guys quickly declared I had 3 cracked teeth and needed new crowns. Called my uncle and he told me that most people have cracked teeth and will not cause any issues, suggested I would probably die with those cracked teeth. His suggestion was to leave them and if they eventually give you an issue then deal with it. Since then I’ve switched dentists and did have 2 teeth crack off, ones with previous fillings. My cousin worked for 3M medical and they have an ultraviolet cured enamel replacement. He said to ask your dentist if he could use that instead of a full crown which runs about $1400/each. I’ve had 2 molars repaired that way and was told it probably will outlast me. Cost, $75 each and was done in less than an hour. I have 3 crowns and they are a pain, need to be made, tooth ground down, attached and fit/adjusted to your previous bite. My last one took like 4 visits after installed to get right and expensive. In the meantime the 3M fix is perfect, no discomfort and impressed by it’s durability. Of course my hygienist wants me in every 4 months for a full cleaning. I participate in an in office insurance, $350/year which includes 2 cleanings a year, one full examination, and x-rays. After 2 years of this, I have been told my gums have healed very well, but still wants to schedule every 4 months. I have requested to schedule based on the program, every 6 months. We’ll continue that discussion at the next 4 month visit. It makes me feel like the 4 month keeps them busier. Good luck.

Crowning is a brutal process. Cant help but remind me of the smells of sawzalling a rack or skull plate off a deer.

isu22andy wrote:

Crowning is a brutal process. Cant help but remind me of the smells of sawzalling a rack or skull plate off a deer.

The smell and sound of that high speed drill makes my toes curl.

The key is to find an honest dentist less driven by profit. I had one who told me I needed a crown because I had a cracked tooth. I declined. 6 months later I see the same dentist and after my examination I asked about the cracked tooth. He said I didn’t have one. He clearly “forgot” what he was trying to sell me earlier. 6 months later I went to a new dentist. I asked him if I had a cracked tooth. He said no. That’s who I’m still with.

I’ve had dental issues and a severe phobia of dentists since I was a young kid. I’ve tried lots of different dentists over the years. I’ve found some that are great and some that obviously prioritize profit over everything else. I’ve seen prices double from one place to the next for the same procedure.
Always get a second opinion and stay away from the big nationwide chain places.

Speaking of drills… once you go laser, you won’t go back.

My dentist is a college buddy, he tells me what teeth to watch and when they might need attention. When there is work, he gives option and not just the high buck fix. For the record, I rarely see a bill no matter what direction I go for treatment.

The only downside is his dental hygenist used to be his girlfriend, so I know where those hands have been (and insist that she wears TWO pairs of gloves).

I’ve been going to the same dental office since I was a kid. Luckily, my dental insurance is pretty good and they are in-network. Mine covers 3 routine cleanings/year so I take advantage of that. Since I started doing that about 10 years ago, the amount of problems I’ve had with my teeth has gone down drastically.

isu22andy wrote:

My question comes from the dental world. Are they just more aggressive these days in fixing problems or is it a profit driving activity ?

If comparing medical to dental, one thing that jumps out at me is that many dental offices are family-run, or at least much more of a small business, compared to bigger medical centers like Allina, Mayo, Regions, etc. In those bigger medical care facilities they obviously want to succeed, but the receptionists, nurses, PA’s, etc. are doing their hourly job and don’t necessarily ever see the profits, revenues, debts, etc.

Compare that to a dental office, where in most of my experiences have been run by a family. Almost everyone you come into contact with there is either part of that family or they work directly for them, meaning the overall dentist him- or herself is the family member running the outfit. Much easier for them to set the culture and over-recommend things, like the $10-a-tube toothpaste I was recommended one time just because it was apparently “better.”

I’ve said many times that healthcare and medical insurance in this country is depressingly messed up. Slightly unrelated to the OP topic but I was wondering recently-wouldn’t it be nice to just have insurance that just took care of overall health? Like, if you have something physically wrong with your anatomy, your ONE insurance company dealt with it…instead of having medical insurance, but if it’s an eye problem you need to deal with your VSP, and you also need separate dental insurance. I’ve known plenty of people in their younger years with jobs that maybe weren’t the greatest who dental insurance was a luxury. Many of them went years without a dentist visit because they couldn’t afford that on top of medical insurance.

Had a great local dentist for 20 or so years then moved out to the country. Decided to go to one of the dental franchise/chains in town. Big mistake. It was like an assembly line, had their own separate ‘finance office’ which should tell you something right there.

Same story as others here. Franchise said I had 2 cavities. Ended up back at my old dentist a few months later and lo and behold no cavities..

Don`t know how I got there but ended up on a student dental forum. Being just out of school they were all talking that they basically got paid piece rate working for company dental stores, the more you do the more you got paid

Tom P. wrote:

Don`t know how I got there but ended up on a student dental forum. Being just out of school they were all talking that they basically got paid piece rate working for company dental stores, the more you do the more you got paid

This isn’t uncommon in medical and dental. Out friend is a GI doc and she gets paid per colonoscopy.

I have a few cracked teeth. My dentist said it was from the old fillings I have from the mid to late 60s. I’ve had two crowns and need a couple more. If you don’t get the cracked teeth fixed it could lead to a bacterial infection which I think means a root canal. The 3M bonding method is an option. This link describes the ways to fix a cracked tooth.

https://www.acfdga.com/blog/5-dental-procedures-to-repair-your-cracked-or-broken-tooth/

if you think the dental system is bad, just wait until you figure out how corrupt the healthcare system is.