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- Mar 11, 2018
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I apologize if you are an ethical dentist reading this but it seems my lot in life is to encounter shyster dentists. This post will be provocative if you are a dental worker, but I have to get this off my chest. A Reader’s Digest condensed version, TLDR, is at the bottom of this post.
There have been several diagnoses over the years that I’ve been skeptical about and turns out the dentist(s) has been wrong or lying.
When I was in my teens my dentist told me I had a strange set of wisdom teeth, with two growing towards each other in the same jaw, lower left. X-rays confirmed this. I was told I must get these removed because “they will only cause you trouble later on in life.” And then something we’ve all probably heard, “might as well get them all taken out at the same time.”
During my lifetime I’ve had four or five dentists and they’ve all given me the same diagnosis and course of action. Guess what, I still have those wisdom teeth and they haven’t caused me any trouble.
Fast forward 35 years. Despite my regular flossing as well as cleanings and exams every 6 months, boom, I’m told I have unhealthy gum pocket depths and I’m past the gingivitis stage and into gum disease. I’ve got pockets that are 6, 7, and 8 mm deep around my molars (normal pocket depths are 1,2, and 3 mm.) Also, many of my gums are bleeding because of the use of the pocket depth probe. Ominously I’m told if I don’t get this treated I could lose these teeth. The treatment is root planar scaling. The cost would be $1,800 (not covered by my insurance) and it will take 6 to 12 months to know if it was helpful. Meanwhile, cleanings every 3 months are recommended. (My dental plan includes 2 cleanings and 1 exam per year.) A year goes by, my pockets are remeasured and I’m told the treatment didn’t work as planned and if the pockets don’t reduce in depth I should consider pocket reduction surgery with bone grafts. This surgery is about $3,500, not covered by insurance. They could probably hold the pocket depths from increasing if I maintain a 3 month cleaning schedule. This goes on for a year or two until I’m told I really need the surgery.
Time for a second opinion. This is where I made a mistake. No, not in getting a second opinion, but in telling them I was seeing them because gum flap surgery had been recommended and I was looking for another opinion. Once again I was told I had deep pockets and pocket reduction surgery was recommended, however, I could try root planar scaling first as it’s less expensive. Their ultrasonic and laser tool was touted as being better at planar scaling than the mechanical cleaning I’d had done previously. I went for it again. Another $2,000 out of my pocket. Again, a couple years go by with cleanings every 3 months and this dentist also tells me I need pocket reduction surgery. In fact, he told me I would eventually lose my teeth and he was not going to perform cleanings anymore unless I get the surgery. That was in July 2021.
Months go by with me intending to see a different dentist. I’m kind of paralyzed with indecision. Finally, I select a new dentist and go there this last Wednesday. I make sure I don’t say anything about why I’m coming, just that I’m a new patient. I get a dental hygienist who’s probably in her 50’s. I get a full set of X-rays taken. I get my exam done and all my gum pockets are measured at either 1 or 2 mm deep, with a couple 3's which is fabulous, except for tooth #2 (upper right molar) which is a 5 mm. None of my teeth bled during the probing. None of my gums looked tender.
The dentist examined me and said I had a very healthy mouth and my double set of wisdom teeth did not need to be removed. “They’re buried and if they aren’t bothering you, leave them be.” They want to see me again in 6 months. I’m elated that I’ve got a healthy mouth. Then I get angry thinking about how these other dentists were trying to fleece me.
FYI, all these years I did not notice any symptoms of gum disease. My teeth didn’t hurt, my gums didn’t bleed when I brushed, my gums weren’t tender, etc. The dentists that wanted to do the surgery showed me X-rays purporting to show bone loss under the gum line, but I’m no expert so what did I know about it?
TLDR Version: Over the past 10 years two different dentists have told me I needed gum surgery, at $3,500 and $4,000 respectively, even though I personally did not exhibit any symptoms of gum disease (that I knew of.) They performed planar scalings at $1,800 and $2,000 respectively. I was on a schedule of cleanings every 3 months. They wanted to remove my wisdom teeth. I recently went to a new dentist, got a full exam, and he said I had a very healthy mouth.
There have been several diagnoses over the years that I’ve been skeptical about and turns out the dentist(s) has been wrong or lying.
When I was in my teens my dentist told me I had a strange set of wisdom teeth, with two growing towards each other in the same jaw, lower left. X-rays confirmed this. I was told I must get these removed because “they will only cause you trouble later on in life.” And then something we’ve all probably heard, “might as well get them all taken out at the same time.”
During my lifetime I’ve had four or five dentists and they’ve all given me the same diagnosis and course of action. Guess what, I still have those wisdom teeth and they haven’t caused me any trouble.
Fast forward 35 years. Despite my regular flossing as well as cleanings and exams every 6 months, boom, I’m told I have unhealthy gum pocket depths and I’m past the gingivitis stage and into gum disease. I’ve got pockets that are 6, 7, and 8 mm deep around my molars (normal pocket depths are 1,2, and 3 mm.) Also, many of my gums are bleeding because of the use of the pocket depth probe. Ominously I’m told if I don’t get this treated I could lose these teeth. The treatment is root planar scaling. The cost would be $1,800 (not covered by my insurance) and it will take 6 to 12 months to know if it was helpful. Meanwhile, cleanings every 3 months are recommended. (My dental plan includes 2 cleanings and 1 exam per year.) A year goes by, my pockets are remeasured and I’m told the treatment didn’t work as planned and if the pockets don’t reduce in depth I should consider pocket reduction surgery with bone grafts. This surgery is about $3,500, not covered by insurance. They could probably hold the pocket depths from increasing if I maintain a 3 month cleaning schedule. This goes on for a year or two until I’m told I really need the surgery.
Time for a second opinion. This is where I made a mistake. No, not in getting a second opinion, but in telling them I was seeing them because gum flap surgery had been recommended and I was looking for another opinion. Once again I was told I had deep pockets and pocket reduction surgery was recommended, however, I could try root planar scaling first as it’s less expensive. Their ultrasonic and laser tool was touted as being better at planar scaling than the mechanical cleaning I’d had done previously. I went for it again. Another $2,000 out of my pocket. Again, a couple years go by with cleanings every 3 months and this dentist also tells me I need pocket reduction surgery. In fact, he told me I would eventually lose my teeth and he was not going to perform cleanings anymore unless I get the surgery. That was in July 2021.
Months go by with me intending to see a different dentist. I’m kind of paralyzed with indecision. Finally, I select a new dentist and go there this last Wednesday. I make sure I don’t say anything about why I’m coming, just that I’m a new patient. I get a dental hygienist who’s probably in her 50’s. I get a full set of X-rays taken. I get my exam done and all my gum pockets are measured at either 1 or 2 mm deep, with a couple 3's which is fabulous, except for tooth #2 (upper right molar) which is a 5 mm. None of my teeth bled during the probing. None of my gums looked tender.
The dentist examined me and said I had a very healthy mouth and my double set of wisdom teeth did not need to be removed. “They’re buried and if they aren’t bothering you, leave them be.” They want to see me again in 6 months. I’m elated that I’ve got a healthy mouth. Then I get angry thinking about how these other dentists were trying to fleece me.
FYI, all these years I did not notice any symptoms of gum disease. My teeth didn’t hurt, my gums didn’t bleed when I brushed, my gums weren’t tender, etc. The dentists that wanted to do the surgery showed me X-rays purporting to show bone loss under the gum line, but I’m no expert so what did I know about it?
TLDR Version: Over the past 10 years two different dentists have told me I needed gum surgery, at $3,500 and $4,000 respectively, even though I personally did not exhibit any symptoms of gum disease (that I knew of.) They performed planar scalings at $1,800 and $2,000 respectively. I was on a schedule of cleanings every 3 months. They wanted to remove my wisdom teeth. I recently went to a new dentist, got a full exam, and he said I had a very healthy mouth.
