Dental Scams

[jnw]

Check out the following youtube video.

Seems like it is very common here in the USA.  I didn't realize this.  From now on, if a dentist suggest a multi thousand dollar repair to teeth, I will get the opinion of a couple more dentists, and if either of them say I don't need it, that's all it will take for me.  Exam appointments are often free or like $50 or less -- because they want the business -- so it won't cost you much of anything to get second opinions. (They look into your mouth like they are on a treasure hunt lol.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixo0V6rNqi0

[Dave1442397]

I quit my previous dentist's office because the dentist kept pushing cosmetic surgery to 'fix' my teeth. My teeth are doing what teeth do, and I'm not a Hollywood movie star, so no, leave 'em alone.

[Dreamer40]

Didn’t watch the video, but I had a very sketchy dentist blow up huge photos of my teeth to show me how “damaged” they were so I would pay him thousands for full porcelain veneers. This was 20 years ago. I declined. Every dentist since then says my teeth are gorgeous. The same sketchy guy kept billing me for the visit after I’d already paid. Gross.

[Tempname23]

I may have told this story here before if so sorry.
 My son went off to college and picked a dentist in the area. He had very few if any fillings at this point. On his first visit the dentist said he had 3 cavities that needed filling. He called me and I said wait and when you come home you can go see our regular dentist. He did and got the x-rays and brought then to our dentist, he said, "there is no problem", and added, often these young dentists have large student debt and are trying to get them paid off, so are very aggressive.
 It is now 10 years later and he still has no fillings in those teeth.  I think it is pretty dirty to be drilling unneeded holes in an 18 yr olds teeth, that need to last another 60 years. I wanted to confront her personally, but it wasn't worth a 400 mile drive.

[jnw]

I had a filling done in one of my molars when I was a teen.  Twenty years later that filling fell out and then decayed quickly into my root.  I required a root canal and crown but couldn't afford it and ended up having to have my tooth pulled.  A couple years later I got a bridge for that missing tooth which cost me $2200.  And now I am at risk of having ot have that bridge replaced years down the road.

So what a shame, perhaps an unnecessary filling caused me to lose my tooth and then later cost me handsomely.

EDIT: the tooth missing for 2 years also caused my upper molar to move downwards .. because teeth like to touch against other teeth or they get misaligned.   So when they made the bridge .. let's say it's a convex bridge to accomodate the upper tooth growing down.   So yeah all that damage from perhaps an unnecessary filling.   EDIT #2: also that upper molar since it moved down leaves less margin for any gum recession before falling out.

[geekette]

I'm having somewhat of an opposite problem.  I've had a molar that my dentist said we'd "watch" for at least a decade.  Well, it started hurting, and it's now deeply cracked, so instead of a $1500 crown years ago, I have to have an extraction and an implant, which will take months and upwards of $5k. 

BTW, the dentist charged me $140 for an exam and x-ray, and the endodontist he sent me to for a root canal (who said it was too damaged for that) charged me $130 and sent me to an oral surgeon.  So no, not free or cheap. 

[jnw]

Dental exams are often free if you look around, for new customers.  Or you can get for $25 or $39.  Sometimes a cleaning for $49 with free exam for new customers etc.  They do all sorts of deals for new customers.  They desperately want to examine you so they can make $$$ on procedures.

[jnw]

I just did a quick google search "free dental exam new customers".. scrolled down to the first one I saw:

Free exam:

https://www.coastdental.com/coupons/new-patient-exam-x-rays-and-25-off-cleaning-off

I didn't have to search to confirm this because I have already in the past taken advantage of free exams.  But I did so to give you the first link I saw on the first page of search results.

So in the future I'll go to other clinics as a new patient, if a very expensvie procedure is proposed, to see if other dentists say the same thing and also to get other quotes and see how much they will haggle. Btw, dentists DO haggle all the time.

[geekette]

And you would trust them because.....?

[jnw]

And you would trust them because.....?

Just to see if they find the same results.. they are afterall educated and licensed dentists.  I didnt' say I'd trust them.

[mtnrider]

I'm having somewhat of an opposite problem.  I've had a molar that my dentist said we'd "watch" for at least a decade.  Well, it started hurting, and it's now deeply cracked, so instead of a $1500 crown years ago, I have to have an extraction and an implant, which will take months and upwards of $5k. 

BTW, the dentist charged me $140 for an exam and x-ray, and the endodontist he sent me to for a root canal (who said it was too damaged for that) charged me $130 and sent me to an oral surgeon.  So no, not free or cheap.

I've had similar problems.  One dentist said I needed to put crowns on two damaged teeth.  I went for a second opinion to a dentist that said everything was fine.  Everything about this second guy's office screamed cut rate, including his demeanor.  But I reveled in my frugality.  I went to that guy for the next couple appointments.

A year later I needed some expensive dental work when both teeth hurt.  Happened to go to a third dentist and by luck, I only narrowly missed the extraction and implant that @geekette had.

My takeaway is that it's not an exact science, but I'll err slightly to the side of caution, with someone I trust through years of experience.

[jnw]

I have no idea how to find a trustworthy dentist. I go to these clinics which seem to change dentists often.

[Abe Froman]

Has anyone singed up for a dental plan when on the national or a state exchange?
We just FIRED and I am completing the transition to the new health exchange insurance - and know that we have periodic preventative dental for kids - but nothing for adults.

I have read though that dental insurance really does not pay - and you may be better off just paying cash.

[hdatontodo]

I have Delta Dental of PA on the MD ACA exchange. It is $31.84/month.

Negotiated pricing on dental work is valuable to me. Delta might pay 50% of a crown, but the negotiated price of the crown is likely cheaper than the regular full price charged by the dentist.

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[hdatontodo]

I asked on my local FB town page and found a great practice on Main St that was better than my prior DDS that was 30 mins away and who racked up many exyra charges, like a $90 charge for drops of medication put on a wisdom tooth during a cleaning.

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[DaMa]

Has anyone singed up for a dental plan when on the national or a state exchange?
We just FIRED and I am completing the transition to the new health exchange insurance - and know that we have periodic preventative dental for kids - but nothing for adults.

I have read though that dental insurance really does not pay - and you may be better off just paying cash.

I have a Dencap plan for $17 a month.  It cost about what I'd pay out of pocket for routine care. I consider the extra coverage a bonus (max $1000 per year).

[SavinMaven]

About 15 years ago I went to Sears Dental and they told me I needed $3k worth of "scaling and planing", and I'd better hurry, or my teeth would rot.

I went to a different dentist, they said just get a good cleaning. Then they scheduled me for it.

So far no regrets on ignoring Sears. I have been much better about going every 6 months since then however.

[stoaX]

 I've had dentists try to sell me on procedures that I didn't need, so I am glad to see this subject come up.

[KarefulKactus15]

This is unfortunately common for all retail institutions. It's a downside of for profit medicine.  It just happens.
I got an incredibly wild suggestion once, 2 other dentist confirmed it was outlandish to suggest.

My current dentist is great! But he's been doing it 55 years so I will most likely out live him.  Fastest filling in my life, like a nascar pitstop. Drill, fill, dry, shape in like 5 minutes.  The downside is his  fingers are as thick as my big toe.  Who has a hand like that and thinks they should be a dentist!?

[stoaX]

 Fastest filling in my life, like a nascar pitstop. Drill, fill, dry, shape in like 5 minutes.  The downside is his  fingers are as thick as my big toe.  Who has a hand like that and thinks they should be a dentist!?

Too funny!

[LearnTo]

Back when I had dental insurance, seems I always “needed” a crown, or old amalgam fillings replaced.
It was always an amount that at least used up or went beyond the coverage amount, however I like my dentist and didn’t question it.
Now after several years without the insurance, it’s been almost nothing needed beyond routine cleanings.  Hmm.

[DaMa]

I must have been very lucky with the dentists I've had.  Most of my fillings and a front tooth bond (fixed a big chip) were put in 41 years ago (12 yrs old), and I've never had any replaced.   I had a few fillings in my  teens and 20's, but none in over 20 years.  I asked my new dentist about it, because I'm afraid they'll all start failing at once.  She said there is one tooth where the structure is pretty thin, but the rest of them look good.

I wouldn't have any work done without a 2nd opinion unless it was obvious (i.e. broken filling, toothache).

I also use an electric toothbrush which was an absolute game changer, and I highly recommend.  My twice a year cleanings are a walk in the park now compared to before.

[YttriumNitrate]

Most of the dentists I've had have been pretty good and reasonable in the aggressiveness of their treatment. The two outliers were the dentist I visited after receiving a $49 first cleaning/exam advertisement in the mail. While he wasn't making money off the first exam, he certainly would have if I had gone with the $3000+ worth of work he wanted to do. The second problematic dentist I went to as a kid. He started out well, but every year or two he would get a new toy in the office, and suddenly everyone started to be treated with this new toy. By year four or five, office visits were getting outrageous with all the add-ons he was doing.

[kina]

After reading this thread, I am even more grateful for my dentist and I hope she never, ever retires.

[partgypsy]

I quit my previous dentist's office because the dentist kept pushing cosmetic surgery to 'fix' my teeth. My teeth are doing what teeth do, and I'm not a Hollywood movie star, so no, leave 'em alone.

and that's why I've stayed with my current dentist, though she is out of network. she never pushes stuff on me, and if something is out of her expertise (wisdom teeth removal, a dental implant) she has referred me to people who were top notch, so no complications. So, a little more money but other than a cap and an implant all my teeth are in decent shape (no bridges etc).

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

After reading this thread, I am even more grateful for my dentist and I hope she never, ever retires.

I agree. I've never been pressured for anything and even got basically a free visit when I had chipped a tooth and needed it ground but it only took about 5 minutes total. I never own on leaving,  but this is nice to know if I ever have to what all scams are out there.

[Michael in ABQ]

We'll be leaving our current family dentist shortly. We've been going to this practice for several years with our kids. I normally was seen by the junior dentist that would take the early morning appointments. He left at some point during the pandemic so now I'm being seen by the owner of the practice. In addition to him barely recognizing our family has been a client for years he's been pretty aggressive about treatment. Pointing out multiple fillings that probably need to be replaced, even some silver fillings that should last for many decades. Recently they wanted to put a filing in a baby tooth on our 10-yeard old. Sorry, I'm not paying for a filing in a tooth that will fall out in the next couple of years.

At my last visit in December he said one of my front teeth that had a couple filings needed a crown and probably 2-3 other crowns. I'm in the National Guard and we get an annual health exam which includes a dental check. I told that dentist about all the supposed issues my regular dentist had brought up and he said that my teeth were fine. When he asked me the name of the dentist he was familiar and said that guy was pretty aggressive in recommending treatment. Since this dentist in the National Guard has zero profit motive I felt a lot more confident in his assessment - which confirmed my suspicions.

I now have a referral to a couple other dentists in the National Guard he recommended. Once we transfer over I'll be leaving a pretty detailed review on Google (this dentist I'm leaving really pushes hard to get reviews).



Unfortunately, this is not unusual for dentists. A crown makes them a helluva lot more money than cleanings or a filing so of course many are going to recommend the more expensive treatment even if it's not totally necessary. Unless you have pain or obvious damage to a tooth nobody can tell if the little spot on the X-Ray is actually a cavity or just nothing. You're at their mercy because you can't see what they see and you can't tell if something is really a problem or not.

[Tempname23]

My daughter has less than 90 days left of dental clinic before she graduates.
 She's looking for a volunteer that needs a deep cleaning and a filing or two for her final. That's all she needs, she doesn't want someone that need extensive work, she got all that done already. What could go wrong! :-)
  She has too wait two months after graduation to practice, seems the need to do the background check for the license, not sure why the couldn't start that before graduation. Seems to me they should have done that the first year of dental school.

[happychineseboy]

why are all the Candian dentists in the video middle eastern/indian

[JoePublic3.14]

After reading this thread, I am even more grateful for my dentist and I hope she never, ever retires.

We’ve moved due to corporate relocations about six times in the last twenty years, so lots of new dentists. I envy someone getting to stick with a good one. Hopefully she sticks around for you!

I told my partner after getting some work done last year, to fix a problem I didn’t know I had, to remind me next time to think twice. I like the idea of seeking a second opinion.

[Drink Coffee And Stack Money]

My previous dentist said I had advanced periodontal disease and wanted me to continuously purchase this $48 mouthwash that I was supposed to use three times a day, and they were scheduling follow up visits every 10 weeks. Covid hit, I didn't go to the dentist for 20 months, we moved, and my new dentist said I had no sign of periodontal disease. The previous dentist was just scamming me.

[Lyngi]

my 10 year old son chipped a back molar. Those back teeth looked funny so we made an appointment with a dentist. He told us all 4 molars had hypoplastic enamel and  needed crowns put on or else!! I took the kids to a different, pediatric dentist.  He said crowns were not needed at this time, filled the chipped tooth, put sealants on all the other molars.  Welp, son is 25 now with only the one filling. 

[shunkman]

I went to the same dentist from age 12 to age 59. I was friends with this dentists' sons when I was growing up. Even when I moved 90 miles away, I kept coming to him. He has now retired. The dentist that took over the practice is a newly minted dentist, and he now says I need all kinds of dental work (obviously to fund his huge debt load). So how do you find a dentist that you can trust to not upsell you on work that you don't really need?

[use2betrix]

I’ve moved all over the country for work the last decade and this has seemed fairly obvious. I’ll have a dentist tell me I have a couple cavities, not get them fixed, switched dentists, nothing for years. Repeat, repeat.. The last dentist I finally gave in to get two filled, and they ‘fixed cavities’ in two teeth that were different than the ones they pointed out in the prior visit!

I’m 33 and have been seeing dentists pretty regularly most my life and have generally very healthy teeth..

Either many dentists are incompetent and/or crooked, or cavities or just really subjective..

[jnw]

In my experience, my teeth problems have been from tooth decay due to failed fillings and pockets in gum line.   Gum recession is all I worry about these days.. I take care of that by water picking.. the jet stream of water blows out the bacteria between gums and tooth.. whereas floss can just pack in the bacteria further.  If the area between gum line and tooth is kept clear the gum stays adhered and doesn't recede.