Teeth cleaning in the past always included “Deep Cleaning” no extra charge no big deal!
Now the Dental industry has devised a way to make Big Bucks by separating your mouth into quadrants and cleaning into regular and deep cleaning…Clearly there is no regulation in the Dental industry when it comes to gouging and price fixing.
I responded to a teeth cleaning “Special Offer $59” last year, When I arrived they explained they would need to do a deep cleaning in order to honor their offer and that would cost $1150.00???
I had to look around to be sure I was still on the same planet. Be sure to ask some questions before you respond to one of these ads.
Less than 12 years ago I had a wisdom tooth removed by a great old dentist…$60 and it was quick and painless.
Today the same tooth will cost you $300-$500…What the…?%@%#$$$ is going on …?
Awake Up America!
If you find your medical professionals via advertisements on the bus, maybe you should awake up.
It’s not even really deep cleaning. They only clean the surface!
I don’t take a the bus pardner…(I own one)…but I do look for deals…and don’t just get in line like sheep!
Have a nice day!
Maybe you should have a regular dentist.
Wake up, OP!
And sheep don’t get in line, they flock to things.
Can I place an ad on it?
I have an idea for a dental scam.
He sounds like an anti-dentite!
Welcome to the boards DGR2015, I’ve been a dentists for 25 years. There is regulation in the dental industry. Every state has a regulatory board. I’m sure that in the other 49 you can find them online I know you can in Texas. Just search Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. They regulate unfair pricing, (but not pricing). Also every office in Texas has to post a number and address to the board for complaints.
As for the cleaning v. deep cleaning. It is abused by some but it is also legitimate. In Texas if you are diagnosed with periodontal disease than you would not be eligible for a regular cleaning. To do so would be malpractice.
The OP says this was last year, too. I wonder when his/her last “any kind” of cleaning was?
I needed a deep cleaning once, when I had neglected getting regular cleanings for close to 5 years. Lots of deep pockets (4-5mm) and gingivitis/inflammation. Needed a second visit because it would take a while and she used the ultrasonic scaler instead of scraping by hand. Since then (another 5 years), I’ve gotten the regular 6 month cleanings and that sure does make a difference in how the appointments go! (pockets are 1-3mm, no inflammation) Oh, and switching to an electronic Oral-B toothbrush - really made my gums healthier.
It’s not “deep cleaning”, it’s “planing and scaling.” That price in the OP sounds twice what it should be unless you’re in Beverly Hills or Manhattan. Get a second opinion - seriously.
I got a diagnosis of periodontal disease once, and a deep cleaning and Arestin (minocycline) treatment. (I had some kind of dental plan that partially paid for it.) Six months later, when I went for a regular cleaning, they told me that periodontal disease was forever and I would always need the “deep cleaning” forever and ever, and could never go back to just getting a regular cleaning. They told me this was the LAW so I didn’t have an option.
I declined to get any kind of cleaning at all, and just went to a different dentist after that. Since then (it’s been about 10 years), I’ve lived in several cities and gone to several dentists and none of them has diagnosed periodontal disease and none has insisted on doing a deep cleaning.
What kind of a LAW is it, that tells me I MUST get a deep cleaning every time I want my teeth cleaned? (This is California.)
Dentists charge an arm and a leg, but they have high suicide rates. Maybe their conscious catches up with them, or they go crazy looking at all of the poor dental hygiene every day.
Once had a dentist, having noted the signs of prior periodontal disease, insist my teeth were loose (they weren’t) and I’d need all sorts of expensive and invasive procedures to save them.
I got a second opinion.
Best damn thing I ever did. I didn’t need all that expensive crap.
Seriously, folks, there ARE some scamming dentists out there more interested in your wallet than your health - but there are just as many good, honest, ethical dentists. Don’t hesitate to get a second opinion on anything short of an actual emergency,
so - even if pockets get to 1mm (or less) and overall no signs - you still “have” periodontal disease?
If you went to a second dentist that did nto diagnose it as such, then what?
When I go to a dentist, even if I have minimal pockets and no overt problems I still have a receded gum line which indicates past periodontal problems. Thus, it’s pretty obvious I’ve had active periodontal disease even if it’s currently in remission, and thus I need to be on guard against it in the future.
Also, not everyone is able to drive periodontal disease into remission - my mother wound up losing all her teeth to it. So while some of us manage to overcome it, quite a few don’t.
Thats exactly what I am trying to understand/find out -
I think we need **rsat3acr **to weigh in on that.
I will say, though, that absent active disease and deep pockets if someone said I could no longer have normal cleanings and would henceforth ONLY have deep scaling as an option I’d tell them to take a long walk off a short pier. Once I got my problem under control I went back to normal cleanings and have had no problems since…
… except that, due to financial problems and lack of insurance I’m about 14 months since my last cleaning and starting to have a bit of gum bleeding again, so I may be having a recurrence of gingivitis at the least. I hope to get back to the dentist this month and get on it.
I always get a second opinion before getting any dental work (beyond cleaning). If someone finds a cavity, I want that independently verified before risking permanent damage.
I do refrain from getting extra x-rays, of course.
I can’t find the link, but not too long ago, I read an article about dental scams. The writer had his teeth checked by a couple of dentists and (I think) a dental school professor to establish that all he needed was one small filling. Then he went to 25 different randomly-chosen dentists around the country saying he was new in town and needed a dentist.
The results went from “Everything’s fine, but you might want to get that tooth filled” to “You need 25 crowns and some other work to the tune of $21K!” The number of ripoff artists was disheartening. My takeaway was - always get a second opinion if in doubt. Some years back, I had a dentist trying to sell me sealants, but the 3 dentists I’ve had since then never said a word about it. So they’re out there - you need to do due diligence.
And I had so many dentists because we moved 3 times within 10 years - I don’t just change on a whim.
My Manhattan dentist recommended this once and I had it done. It cost $400, he did it by hand at my request as my teeth are really sensitive to heat.
The funny thing is that this is the one dental procedure I actually like - I think it feels really good…not $400 good so I’m not doing it again in less he says I need it again…but if it were $50 I might have it done just for the way it feels.