Author Topic: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off  (Read 18242 times)

MrsCoolCat

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Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« on: January 27, 2016, 07:02:31 PM »
Hi all. I need a dentist or hygienist's advice please. So I've had periodontal/gum issues for as long as I can remember. I only recently, within the past yr or so, started flossing daily. Surprisingly, I am still quite keen to dental hygiene as I've been around to many dentists. My cleanings have always taken 40min or longer whether I had insurance or paid out-of-pocket. Actually it's usually a miracle if I don't get suggested for a borderline deep cleaning/periodontal scaling because I have pockets usually greater than 3, and I'm not just talking about my back molars either.

For the first time last year my then new hygienist didn't say anything about a deep cleaning & just told me to floss more. I never accurately mention to a new hygienist that I am a former or ongoing "periodontal sufferer" or that I know these things; I play dumb. I want a non-biased opinion. Anyways, he didn't tell me my anticipated, "U have high pockets. If they don't improve u will either need a deep cleaning or 4 regular cleanings every 3 months instead of 2 every 6 months." That's a first. Yet despite all of this my teeth cleanings have always lasted 40min or longer.

Today I went out of pocket with a new hygienist bc my current dental insurance sucks and is more of a discount dental plan than insurance. Once again, I'm seasoned and those are the worst. I once got a 15min cleaning with no scraping bc the hygienist didn't want to bother bc she wasn't gonna get paid enough through the discount dental program despite it stating 2 cleanings are included. I hadn't seen a hygienist or flossed in over 6 months, so I knew. True story. My cleaning today lasted like some 25min.

I honestly believe she either did a lazy half ass job or my pockets & gum health has literally improved so drastically, within 6 months since my last meticulous good cleaning that ok, maybe like the small percentage of the population that flosses 2x a day with zero gum issues, that I too, have become one of these urban legends within the past year! I seriously doubt it. She told me she got everything and that I didn't have a lot and asked if my teeth felt clean. Honey, if I would have brushed my own teeth instead of paying u $80 they would still feel clean. For $80 I expect 40min minimum. I just don't believe her based on my experiences... Would you?

I only bring all of this up bc honestly if she does a shitty half ass job plaque will build up, harden & when I actually do go to a legit hygienist in the future, he or she will tell me I need a deep cleaning at that point. Like I said I've been around. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance MMMers.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2016, 08:57:06 PM by MrsCoolCat »

CU Tiger

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2016, 08:42:57 PM »
My cleaning (2 times per year) takes 20-25 minutes. It is about 15 minutes of scraping followed by 10 minutes of cleaning with the machine. Then the dentist comes in and checks general gum and tooth health, measures depth of gum, does a visual of tongue, teeth, feels my neck, has me bite a couple of times while he presses on my jaw joints. Then he gives me a new toothbrush, tells me to call him if anything comes up, and says See Ya in 6 Months. 45 minutes and I am back in my car driving away.

ltt

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2016, 05:24:45 AM »
The hygienists in my dentist's office spend one hour with adults and children over 12.  Children under 12, it takes one-half hour.  They are really thorough with the cleaning of the teeth, then going along the gum line and "scraping" off any plaque and then polishing of the teeth.  All of that takes time.  Then the dentist comes in and does his exam.  If dental health is a priority (and it really should be for people), maybe consider checking around and find a new dental office.

Bucksandreds

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2016, 05:42:37 AM »
 Was 25 minutes spent with the hygienist actually cleaning your mouth or did that include X rays and dental exam?  25 or so minutes of actual cleaning seems pretty standard.

mbl

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2016, 05:55:21 AM »
If you have had periodontal issues, I would suggest that you have your cleanings(or every other one) done at the periodontist's office.
They can identify not only dental issues but periodontal issues.
The cleaning they do will be very thorough.

lakemom

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2016, 06:18:41 AM »
25 minutes sounds about average to me.  Really, you should find a dentist/hygienist that you like and trust and STICK WITH THEM.  Like any other health care provider, if you are always a 1 off patient they will never get to know you/your teeth 'personally.'  In 30 years of marriage/raising children we have had 3 dentists.  The first was dh's childhood dentist (who then retired), the second moved out of town after we'd been seeing him about 5 years, and the 3rd we've been with for over a decade.  Unless you are moving regions every few months, you really should build a relationship with your health care providers.  Really the only way to know if you've been ripped off is to go to another practitioner and ask how your teeth look.  They will either say super someone did a good job on them or wow, we'd better get in there and clean them up....but if its the latter which is ripping you off?  The previous who did a bad job, or the current who just sees and easy $80.  That's why building trust in a caregiver is essential.  You know who you can trust.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2016, 07:16:40 AM »
Floss EVERY DAY!  No excuses!

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2016, 02:13:29 PM »
Why the fuck don't you floss? That's disgusting.

[MOD NOTE:  Rule #1, Manners.  Also, try to contribute some useful comment]
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 05:49:07 AM by FrugalToque »

jeromedawg

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2016, 03:08:54 PM »
Flossing is super-important. I usually floss at night before I brush my teeth and go to bed just to get all the food particles and crap out. But if you have it bad, you may need to floss twice - once in the middle of the day or after lunch (along with brushing) and then at night before sleeping. My brother wouldn't floss and had really poor hygiene and was scolded by his dentist. I think there were times where I wouldn't floss for a long time (just out of pure laziness) and also got scolded by my dentist. Or even if I were flossing, I wasn't doing it very effectively - you need to get it deep beneath the gumline. If you've never done this before or it has been a long time, it'll bleed. But as you keep doing it your gums will get healthier and will stop bleeding. I had issues with deep periodontal pockets as well and had to go through deep cleanings and treatments where they injected stuff to kill the bacteria, etc. It was painful... and at the time, I was foolish and lazy about my dental choices so I ended up paying a ton of money (you all would *facepunch* me hard if I told you how much, so I'll leave it at that). Moral of the story, if you want to avoid pain (whether physical or monetary), keep on top of your dental hygiene!

Tami1982

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2016, 06:59:48 PM »
Why the fuck don't you floss? That's disgusting.

That's super rude.  You have no idea what is going on in a person's life.  I have problems with my hands and quite often can't physically do it.  Reserve your judgement.

Sibley

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2016, 07:37:43 PM »
Considered a water pik? I've heard good things about them.

And yes, find a dentist you like and stick with them. Only switch if you absolutely have to for some reason.

Tom Bri

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2016, 08:10:08 PM »
Can't comment on whether 40 minutes is the correct time, but I maybe can help with your periodontal problems, since I had them for years but now do not.
Couple of things that help, first, cut way back on carbs, especially sugar. That by itself will pretty much cure periodontal problems. Just stop feeding the bacteria. Bread products seem to be the worst.
Second, when you brush, add a bit of peroxide and brush with it plus the toothpaste. Helps the cleaning action, and reduces the bad bacteria.
Since doing these, my gums are good, and the dentist comments on it. Prior, they ached, bled, got swollen.

MrsCoolCat

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2016, 08:12:10 PM »
Thanks for the advice everyone! About the questions. Yes, it was 25min from when she actually went in my mouth. Lol that sounds funny. Yea, it is rude BUT this is social media though I always thought that the majority of ppl actually don't have great oral hygiene much less floss. Then again this is MMM so we're not the norm! Lastly, I've never had issues with dentists & hygienists despite how many times I've changed. This one is like a rare case. I just usually pick a dentist near my job to save time, but maybe I should just find one near my home. Sadly, this one though near may not be the winner winner chicken dinner... 😆

MrsCoolCat

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2016, 08:16:09 PM »
Can't comment on whether 40 minutes is the correct time, but I maybe can help with your periodontal problems, since I had them for years but now do not.
Couple of things that help, first, cut way back on carbs, especially sugar. That by itself will pretty much cure periodontal problems. Just stop feeding the bacteria. Bread products seem to be the worst.
Second, when you brush, add a bit of peroxide and brush with it plus the toothpaste. Helps the cleaning action, and reduces the bad bacteria.
Since doing these, my gums are good, and the dentist comments on it. Prior, they ached, bled, got swollen.

Thank you. Well, according to my hygienist it appears whatever I am doing is helping which is mainly flossing once a day, cleanings every 6 months & brushing twice a day... I really don't do much more than that. Hoping she didn't just thwart my efforts back with a crappy teeth cleaning yesterday. God knows decent oral hygiene takes effort!

tj

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2016, 09:00:46 PM »
I'm terrible at flossing and I get mine cleaned every 3 months. It's well worth it to avoid hefty dental procedures.

jeromedawg

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2016, 11:03:57 PM »
Can't comment on whether 40 minutes is the correct time, but I maybe can help with your periodontal problems, since I had them for years but now do not.
Couple of things that help, first, cut way back on carbs, especially sugar. That by itself will pretty much cure periodontal problems. Just stop feeding the bacteria. Bread products seem to be the worst.
Second, when you brush, add a bit of peroxide and brush with it plus the toothpaste. Helps the cleaning action, and reduces the bad bacteria.
Since doing these, my gums are good, and the dentist comments on it. Prior, they ached, bled, got swollen.

Thank you. Well, according to my hygienist it appears whatever I am doing is helping which is mainly flossing once a day, cleanings every 6 months & brushing twice a day... I really don't do much more than that. Hoping she didn't just thwart my efforts back with a crappy teeth cleaning yesterday. God knows decent oral hygiene takes effort!

Yep, floss at least once a day (night is best), and brush at least twice a day. You can increase to 2 flossings/3 brushings a day if you really want to keep fresh. Listerine and also a Waterpik will help even more so. When I had it bad, I was in every 3 months for scaling/cleaning and checkups.

Gevans17

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #16 on: February 21, 2016, 07:17:07 AM »
most periodontal patients should be on a 3 month recall interval for maintenance visits. Suggest you have your maintenance done in a periodontal practice, or alternate every 3-4 months between the periodontist office and your general dentist.

BlueHouse

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #17 on: February 21, 2016, 05:58:41 PM »
These few things helped me to floss religiously.

Did you know the plaque on your teeth is THE SAME plaque that lines your arteries and causes heart attacks?
Did you know that plaque starts to harden into tartar at about 20 hours?  That's why everyone says to brush AT LEAST 2x per day.

I regularly get comments about how healthy my teeth and gums are.  Part of it is lucky genes, part of it might be because my mom added fluoride to our drinking water when we were children, but brushing and flossing is key.  Please, it helps all parts of your health!

Now for the practical advice:  go online to dentist.net and order the red disclosing pills that dye tartar.  Every time you go for a cleaning, chew a disclosing tablet after the cleaning to determine if you're satisfied with the cleaning.  If not, then go somewhere else.  Also, here's my number one product pitch from  Dentist.Net:  Dr. Collins' Tongue Squigi.  It's like a scraper, but doesn't make you gag.   I can't imagine not using it. 

BTDretire

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #18 on: February 22, 2016, 11:18:56 AM »
Buyer beware!
 While my son was off at college he picked a dentist. After exrays, he was told he needed three fillings.
He has had very few fillings in his life and I questioned it. I told him I'd make an appointment for him to see the dentist
we have used since he was born, during his school break. So he came home with the exray's at break and saw our dentist.
He was given a clean bill of health, it is now three years later and still no problem.
  When I talked to our dentist about it, his comment was, "ya, a lot of the young dentists come out of school and have high student loan debt, they need to bill a lot of work to pay their debt."
 Great, they're drilling a hole in an 18 year olds tooth* that will need to be dealt with for 60+ years.
If it wasn't a 250 mile drive to see that dentist, I would have let her know what I think about it.

* actually 3 teeth with unneeded holes.

monstermonster

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #19 on: February 22, 2016, 01:24:45 PM »
I have problems with my hands and quite often can't physically do it.  Reserve your judgement.

This isn't what this thread is about, but I thought I would offer this unsolicited advice as someone with RA with really crappy hands. The thing that helped me be able to floss was this weird floss handle thing:

http://www.amazon.com/Flossaid-Dental-Floss-Holder-Single-Handle/dp/B000LC22R6

I have someone with non-crappy hands wind it every so often (once a week or so), but it really was lifechanging for flossing with hands that rebel against holding things. :-)

When my hands are really bad, I add on one of these grips (bonus, you can use them with a toothbrush, too): http://www.amazon.com/Maxi-Aids-Gripeez-Ergonomic-Built-Up-Grip/

MrsCoolCat

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #20 on: April 21, 2016, 09:34:16 PM »
Thanks to everyone for the posts! Yeah, that one about your son being ripped off sucks. I know not to trust dentists BUT teeth are the first thing to rot when you're alive and the last to rot when you're dead, and those teeth are HIGH MAINTENANCE... I don't think I'll go back to that hygienist, yet ironically the last hygienist I went to that was good their dentist tried to say I needed 2 fillings. The dentist recently with the crappy hygienist said I did not need the fillings... man they are always making money some where with their friggin varying opinions on teeth and what work needs to be done... darn fraud sometimes for real!

Jardeny

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #21 on: April 22, 2016, 12:49:09 PM »
This isn't what this thread is about, but I thought I would offer this unsolicited advice as someone with RA with really crappy hands. The thing that helped me be able to floss was this weird floss handle thing:

http://www.amazon.com/Flossaid-Dental-Floss-Holder-Single-Handle/dp/B000LC22R6


OMG! Wanted to thank you for this rec. I ran and bought two. Hubby is having wrist surgery so it'll be super practical for him. I hate the little, flimsy flossers.

Bucksandreds

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #22 on: April 22, 2016, 01:45:43 PM »
Buyer beware!
 While my son was off at college he picked a dentist. After exrays, he was told he needed three fillings.
He has had very few fillings in his life and I questioned it. I told him I'd make an appointment for him to see the dentist
we have used since he was born, during his school break. So he came home with the exray's at break and saw our dentist.
He was given a clean bill of health, it is now three years later and still no problem.
  When I talked to our dentist about it, his comment was, "ya, a lot of the young dentists come out of school and have high student loan debt, they need to bill a lot of work to pay their debt."
 Great, they're drilling a hole in an 18 year olds tooth* that will need to be dealt with for 60+ years.
If it wasn't a 250 mile drive to see that dentist, I would have let her know what I think about it.

* actually 3 teeth with unneeded holes.

If you are ever told by a dentist that you need a lot of work but have seen other dentists in the previous 1-2 years and weren't told that, the first thing to do is go to another dentist for a second opinion.   Kids today are leaving dental school with $300,000 or more in debt. They are repaid with after tax money and no loan interest tax deductions available due to income levels. (homes are tax advantaged) They are charged interest between and 4-8% on these loans.  It's equivalent to a $400,000 (because the student loans are not tax advantaged) house payment while also needing a real house payment.  College tuition costs are the driver of this.  Putting people in a position where the only way out of a career of virtual indentured servitude is 'aggressive diagnosing' is not a wise condition.  College should also not be free because people need some skin in the game.  College tuitions will need to come down or we'll see more of this in more career fields. (i.e. see this type of stuff in law already as well) Lax morals may play a part but cavities are not black and white.  Not all cavities are visible on xrays and what one dentist wants to check again in 6 months, another may fear will be a large hole in your tooth by then.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2016, 01:48:09 PM by Bucksandreds »

esq

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Re: Dental Cleaning - I think I was ripped off
« Reply #23 on: April 22, 2016, 05:08:40 PM »
Growing up I remember my Mom always using those soft wooden sticks and also red pills to show where plaque is.  (Don't remember the name of either.)  She also had a Waterpik.  She had extensive perio work done (I remember Dad bitching about the cost) but eventually lost all her teeth anyway.

It was very clear I inherited her horrible teeth and gums. Bleeding, loose gums, etc.

In the 90's, I discovered Sonicare toothbrushes.  The sonic waves kill bacteria that cling to the teeth and gums.  I spend at least 6 extra minutes per day, over and above my regular Sonicare brushing, working on my teeth and especially my gums, with the Sonicare.   My gums never bleed, and they are knit tightly to my teeth now, and in the chair I'm told I have no plaque.

I haven't flossed in 20 years. 

If you do a search here on Sonicare, you'll find numerous other threads/comments about it; the vast majority of Mustachians singing its praises, despite the fact it costs quite a bit more than a regular toothbrush.

Best of luck to you.