Those greens fees and new cars are expensive! Gotta pay for them somehow, not to mention keeping little Junior happy at Brown!

20 years ago my dentist told me that if I didn't have a whole bunch of extensive work done that all my teeth would fall out within 5 years.

I walked out of his office and never went back.

20 years later and without any of this work he wanted I still have all my teeth and they work just fine.

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I keep saying it: this is a field that hasn't advanced in 50 years. A new application in technology doesn't actually count as a technological advance. When you can cure a bacterial infection in the tooth to avoid a root canal, let me know, and only then will you have done something worthwhile.

I left my last dentist when I caught them doing this. One visit I was told to brush well in a couple spots to get out some coffee stains. At my next cleaning the dentist asked why I had hadn't had these 'cavities' filled. When I told him told him what I was told at the last appt he mumbled to the hygenist to "mark those for future follow-up". Clearly not even looking all that close. Gives good dentists a bad name.

Does this report surprise anyone? The same thing goes on in virtually all professions. There are overblown unneeded termite reports, lawyers telling everyone to sue, doctors inventing new diseases to treat, builders wanting to earthquake proof your home, for profit schools that educate a person to collect unemployment benefits and unlimited phony insurance "needs." The essence of American's original success is evaporating.

Funny how every time I go to the dentist, they find the same amount of problems. It doesn't matter if it's been 6 months or 6 years, it's not any worse or better. So now I only go when I notice a problem. The last time I went, I had to have a tooth pulled less than a year after it was filled by a different dentist. I've had 'spot cavities' filled, only to have to have them redone a few years later. I've had 'spot cavities' not filled, and those teeth are still just fine. Yes, dentistry as a whole needs some new innovations. And no, not that stupid sandblasting instead of using a drill- that just scratches up the surface of the next tooth.

When all you have is a drill, everything looks like a cavity. Thanks Dr. Szell !

Doctors and dentists perform unnecessary procedures more than most people realize. The level of trust the average person affords a medical professional is ridiculously high. Medical professionals are in the business of making money. For more than 30 years I have assisted medical professionals with their finances and I would estimate that 80-90% of them are solely focused on how to put more dollars in the pocket. If a dentist makes money by drilling on your teeth, what do you think he is going to do with the teeth in your mouth. One method suggested to minimize the chances that your dentist is going to drill unnecessarily is to let him know you intend to get a second opinion on any diagnosis he makes.

My daughter's hygenist thinks my daughter's baby teeth not only have cavities but should be filled. Even if true they're going to fall out so why fill them?

I've had a couple of dentists tell me I need an expensive intensive cleaning because my gums were swollen which is crap because any moron can tell I have a lot of bone growth. How can a dentist not tell the difference between bone and inflammation? Greedy idiots. I actually use that as a test now when going to a new dentist.

I changed dentists once because I suspected overdiagnosis.

Drill baby, drill!

Happened to me! Not a cavity in my life. Went to a new dentist who finds two! I told him no I do not want them fixed (no insurance). Went to a new dentist after that and guess what? He finds none. Dentists are pulling a total scam. To this day (now 20 years later), I still have no cavities! So neither of those ever turned into anything. The medical analogy given of treating a heart patient before the problem is incorrect, the analogy should be one of "you have a scrape that could turn into a massive infection, so we should amputate the arm"

They are learning to upcharge. Next time you are suddenly offered a cup of fluoride for $$$ to add to the bill and x-rays at every 6 month visit. I simply refuse. It is overkill unless you have a history that warrants that. I have been cavity free for 25 years.

Having practiced over 27 years I have seen a lot. Patient "supergluing a restoration" to using "bondo" to recement a crown. All in all the best thing I have found is a dental intraoral camera. It shows the patient exactly what their mouth is as I see it, and it also is my legal record if a patient questions my procedures. Many thing dont need a dental degree to see that they are broken. But having read the comments, especially about dentistry not advancing makes me sick to my stomach. For all the things I can benefit my patients to a level of health that their grandparents would envy borders on miracles. Are there bad apples, of course there are- it exists all areas of life, and treatments do fail. Standards of care do not imply that dentistry last for a 100 years, but I know that 95% of anything I do will only be successful with regular care(ie Brush and FLOSS). As to the other 5%, well my extractions hold up without the patient doing anything

Our family dentist moved out of town and the dentist that bought his practice was just out of school. On my first visit he told me I needed over $4000 in dental work. He should have been a used car salesman. His practice failed most likely because he was trying the hard sell. We left him and followed our dentist and never regretted it.

be honest, I don't trust dentists in general. Most of them treat their practices too commercial. When they see your teeth, just like seeing the gold mine. The health insurance company impose way too much restrictions on medical doctors because they have to make the pay out. Unfortunately, we are all lack of dental insurance, no over-sight on the dental practices- less ethical! The dentists can charge as much as they want.

Oh yeah not surprised to hear this crap, unfortunately there are a lot of medical providers out there who treat their practice as a business first and a medical facility second. That is what leads to things like this.

I was trained to be a dental hygienist in the Air Force, so have some understanding of dentistry. When I go for treatment I can read the x-rays, and I understand the language. However, the experience always feels like I've just dealt with a used car salesperson. My insurance never covers the recommended treatment, which invariably costs me between $350-$1,400. Dealing with dental offices in this way just feels wrong and very uncomfortable. I have friends who use other dental clinics, have the same experiences, and feel the same way.

I recently had a very bad dental experience with a dentist 2 miles from my home. I went in for a routine exam and I left with 2 expensive dental implants and a temporary crown. The dentist kept raising the price all along while he was working on me for the 6 hours I was in his office. He made me sign paperwork while I was too medicated to read my rights. The total bill started out at $4700 and then he raised it in a matter of 3 visits to $12,600. He was so money hungry that he was dinging me for more money every time I saw him. I had to pull the plug on his expensive treatment and I decided to go to Costa Rica and finish up his partially completed work. American dentists are too greedy and they all want to live in mansions and drive expensive cars. There is no honor in the dental profession.

My wife needed posts installed to replace 4 teeth. It cost around $25,000. After the dentist took us for that, he tried to get another $1300 out of us claiming my wife needed a new cap and filling. We went back to our regular dentist and she said that dentists see money in this area, so they locate here and then find out there are a ton of dentists competing here, so do unneeded work to make more dollars. You can't even trust someone who's supposed to be a doctor these days. I think what the country really needs is to get rid of the private sector in all healthcare and turn them all into government employees. That would surely bring the cost of health care down. The government with the money saved could put worthy students through med. school and pay the loans of the doctors who are still paying them off.

Well this article confirms my suspicions. Unnecessary,excessive or even harmful drilling/filling. Perhaps eventually leading to needing crowns or worse.

The problem is that a drill and fill does not make the tooth good as new. Perhaps the drill and fill when the enamel has not been penetrated (before the drill penetrates it) leaves the tooth more rather than less prone to further decay.

It seems that demineralized spots should prompt the dentist to warn the patient about perhaps being more careful about dental hygiene,watching those daily soft drinks and perhaps some fluoride treatments or use of fluoride mouthwashes. And if the enamel spot does eventually go through then it would be time to fill.

My biggest mistake in America was, having a great dental insurance, to feel somehow "protected". I wish someone told me earlier to stay away from American dentists.

Dentists are mostly cons...I hold them in lower regard than corrupt businessmen. Whereas a businessman will lie and cheat to get your money, a dentist or doctor will use a supposed threat to your health to scare you into forking over your cash. Moreover, the dentists all live off of insurance...they inflate their fees, include multiple separate fees from different sources to maximize their insurance payments. Next time you go to a dentist....just try to find out what the total cost of their services will be and pay them cash...you'll probably have a hard time doing this.

I remember when I was in foster care they took all the kids to the dentist. The dentists wanted to remove every kid's wisdom teeth for no cause. When the dentist tried to get me to have mine removed, they showed me someone else's x-ray and asked me if I was not impressed by all their technology. I still refused. All they wanted to do was soak the State for excessive dental fees to unnecessarily extract a bunch of wisdom teeth.

Another bad thing they are doing these days is claiming that tooth decay leads to heart disease. This is nonsense...and I would like to see their hard evidence for this. Dentistry is all just a business to scare you into paying thousands of dollars for fairly simple procedures.

Same sad story here. I went to my father-in-law's dentist thinking I would be treated well because of the relation. Wrong. The quack told me I needed twelve fillings. I never returned. I did not mention that episode to the next dentist; he said I was fine and laughed when I told the story. However, he offered to remove my silver fillings one by one and replace them with 'white' ones. Apparently the insurance company will pay for replacements. Darn con artists!

Helpful hint. The community colleges in NC have great dental clinics. I go for the superior cleaning. I take the kids. Doesn't cost much and they take x-rays. Now, the students take their time (it is a classroom!) but their experienced instructors monitor every step. Call early and keep your appointment. Win-win for both parties!!