The Dentist.

The BBQ Pit
1

I don’t care who says they don’t mind going to the dentist, there is no way to stick a pointy metal object between the tooth and gum and scrape off calcified bits without it causing a lot of pain.

I bring it on myself. I hadn’t been in 5 years. This is mainly because I used to go to another dentist (in Maine) who I lost trust in.

Why? First of all, I’m convinced the dental hygenist intentionally sliced my gum once. She cut the skin over an incoming wisdom tooth, and it swelled up over the next tooth. For a couple days, I would bite down on inflamed, infected gum tissue. When I went back, the infection was so bad that I needed penicillin. And, they wanted to charge me for it.

That’s not all. So, I didn’t go back for a few years. When I finally went back for a cleaning, they said, “you have a filling and we need to fill it.” I said, “well, I’ll have to get it filled in Baltimore because I’m leaving town.” I go to a dentist in Baltimore and he says, “how long have you been going to this dentist? Not only do you not have a cavity, you have nothing that could possibly be mistaken for a cavity.”

Thanks original dentist.

Flash-forward 5 years to last week. I go in for a cleaning at the guy in Baltimore and I need such a cleaning that I had to go back today for them to finish it.

However, they did say that they were surprised at how good my teeth looked for not having been in 5 years. I attribute this to good genes, and the set of dental tools I bought off Ebay a couple years ago (you really can scrape off your own tartar).

So, now they want to put me on the “6 month” plan. What a load of dentist-perpetrated horseshit that is. Every 6 months? With $200 X-rays every couple of years? Bull shit. I’d like to see a dental consumer organization stand up for that. That’s at least twice as often as anyone needs to go.

Besides, who is looking out for the crooks? What if that medical school drop out wants a new microwave, so he decides he’s going to work in an extra cavity filling this week, maybe make you take an extra X-ray? What if that dental hygenist decides to give you a little extra poke with those implements because her boyfriend dumped her? Where are the checks on this industry? Why can’t she sit on your lap while she’s cleaning your teeth? I want to know!

And, I question the dentist’s utility anyway. So, the space between my tooth and gum fills up with calcified stuff? After cleaning, I have space there and I think little bits of food and mush are getting in. I liked the fortress I had built up.

And, I think that we’re totally over X-rayed at the dentist. My teeeth have looked the exact same for the last 15 years. They don’t need to do X-rays. I’ll let you know if I have a tooth growing out my head.

Maybe the worse part was after the picking and the polishing, she flossed me. She rammed that thread in between my teeth, way up into my gums, like she was trying to saw the tooth out. I could taste the blood.

“Is it safe?”

“No. It’s not safe, it’s… very dangerous, be careful.”

2

This is why I avoid the dentist. I saw that movie, and realized my dentist looked just like Sir Lawrence.

3

I just got back from the dentist. It wasn’t so bad. I got the strawberry flavored toothpaste. Kind of like brushing your teeth with Mentos.

My husband kind of likes going, he always needs something done and he enjoys the gas. I’ve never had a cavity or needed orthodontia so that might be why I don’t actively dislike the dentist. For me it’s a chance to lay down for a while.

4

The upside: I did get a free toothbrush and some minty floss.

5

Ugh, and then the worst part is they always say condescendingly, “Tsk tsk. You should floss more, and then your gums won’t bleed.” Yeah, lady, I actually do floss, but I’m no masochist. You’re freaking rubbing my gums raw, that’s why they’re bleeding!

6

There was a piece in Reader’s Digest a few years ago about a guy who went to dentists all over the country to see what they would try to get him to go for. First, he went to a dentist he had been seeing since he was a kid so he could get an honest evaluation of his teeth. According to this guy, he had maybe two cavities to fill, but was in otherwise fine shape.

One guy wanted to fill something like 22 cavities, charging him well over $10,000 for all the work.

Another guy said he didn’t need any work at all.

He went to something like 40-60 different dentists and every one of them told him something different. It’s a crapshoot. If you find a dentist you trust, you’re one of the luckiest people alive.

7

I went in for a toothache in #14. (Go into the office enough, and you’ll learn the numbers too!)

Back in late May, I was chewing some gum and I bit down on something hard. It was a little white thing, which I figured was a filling - it came from the only tooth I’d ever had filled.

Well, whatever. A lost filling can wait until summer, when I’m free. Then I forget about it, till early August, when I’m awoken in the middle of the night with a pounding soreness.

I go to the dentist in the morning and he pokes around, takes some x-rays, asks what’s up with the teeth. Once the x-rays are back, he starts the spiel.

“Well, your teeth appear fine, but it’s actually a 180 degree difference.” He starts pointing at dark spots - the look like film grain, to me - and telling me how they are decay and need to be filled - particularly the massive hole in #14.

So - a week before I’m off to college - I get 13 fillings in 3 days. That was fun! I was particularly excited in that the last day, I’d be getting that #14 fixed up, no more problems. I mean, the other fillings were cool and I have no problem getting them out of the way, but that tooth was killing me.

He finishes up - sits me up and all that - then tells me: “So, you’ll need to talk to an orthodontist about that last tooth - you’ll need a root canal, then you should come back for a crown. It’ll be about $1000 for each, maybe more.”

Well that’s kind to mention. Oh yeah, I’d gone $300 over insurance by then.

I have a toothpick wherever I go, now.

Oh, the funny thing about my story: it occured to me about a week after the fillings when even more little, white chunks came out of my mouth. It finally donned on me - that was my tooth fracturing and little pieces of tooth and enamel falling off. I guess the fact that pieces of my tooth - and not a filling - were coming out was missed during the checkup.

Let me tell you about my sister. She has the same dentist; she dreaded her appointment last September, because she was familiar at how he liked to milk clients. Unfortunately she forgot about it until a day or two before, and he’ll charge you for breaking an appointment without 24 hours notice.

He does a check-up and… uh oh! That filling there, it’s loose! It was put in totally improperly, so he’d better fix it.

Funny, Mr. Dentist - you’re the one who did the filling.

Oh, well, I’ll fix that up for free then… just schedule an appointment and we’ll fix it up…

She comes back so he can fix his work. Uh oh - I see some decay right next to the filling. No “Should I fill that in while I’m working on you?” - he says he’ll just fill that one while he’s at it.

She heads toward the office when: That’ll be $500.

8

It was Lord Laurence if you don’t mind :slight_smile:

Well Friday I go to Dentist so he can do some embroidery on my gums :frowning:

9

When I was fourteen my wisdom teeth were starting to come in. The dentist told me that they shouldn’t be a problem since they’re coming in straight and there was plenty of room for them. This was followed quickly by a “You need to have them removed”. No way you’re getting in there and cutting out perfectly fine teeth.

I’ve also lost two fillings. One a white one which as I’ve been told by several dentists they aren’t as long lasting. The other was a silver filling that I had done two months ago. I was flossing and it popped right out. Now there’s a possibility that the insurance won’t cover the second filling because work was done on it so recently. It’s not my fault. I was doing what you’re suppose to do.

I’ve had fillings done so that I can’t floss between my teeth, which leads to more decay.

I’ve had my appointment lost before. They told me one day but put me in their computer for the day before. Not sure if they tried to charge for a missed appointment since it was when I was under my mother’s insurance. The receptionist had the nerve to tell me that I was wrong and making it up.

I hate the dentist plenty, but I love my teeth enough to get over it.

10

Man, do I feel lucky! I love my dentist; I’ve been going to him since I was 5 (I’m 22 now). He’s a very cool guy, friendly and talkative and (most importantly, obviously) knows what he’s doing. He also did my braces, and didn’t try to get my mom to put me in braces when I still had baby teeth (I knew people in 2nd grade with braces; what’s the point in that??).

I’ve had a few cavities, and tooth removals (two wisdom teeth and baby teeth early on that just didn’t fall out). I can honestly say I have never had a bad experience, an attempt at ripping me off, or anything else. Hell, he even gave me professional dental whitening for my upper teeth free! :slight_smile:
[sub]Couldn’t do my bottom teeth, because I have two fake teeth and wouldn’t want teeth bleach to get near them and make them very oddly mottled.[/sub]

11

I wouldn’t say I enjoyed going to the dentist, but I didn’t mind either, which is suprising cause I’ve had over 10 cavities filled, most of them before I was 10. And I never got the gas. Oh no, not for bouv. I always had the several shots of novacain in the roof of my mouth and cheeck. And that stupid rain ponch and metal vice grip on my teeth. Ugh. Yet I still never minded going to the dentist (maybe cause it was 45 minute away so I always got out of school for a few hours when I had to go.) Plus, I always got a new toothbrush and a small little toy when I went! I haven’t been since my freshman year of college, and now that I graduated and am off my parents dental coverage, I would have a hard time to go again. I have dental coverage at my job, but I work for the University of Vermont, but live in NY, and the plan doesn’t cover any dentists out here. I’d have to travel two hours each way to find one I can go to, and that’s pretty much me lising an entire day of work, and I like to save my sick days and vacation days for when I’m actually sick or on vacation.

Oh, and the fact that all the hygenists at my dentists practice were 21-24 year old hot chicks didn’t hurt none too much either. :wink:

Which brings up a point: In the 19 years I went to the dentist, I never, not ONCE, remember a male dental hygenist. Why is this? I’m sure they are out there, but the seem even more rare than male nurses. Was my dentist and his partners just sexist?

12

For the first 14 years of my life, I never had any dental problems whatsoever. I was horrible about brushing my teeth and ate all kinds of junk. No cavities. Then we moved to Illinois and the new dentist found four cavities. And then six months later he found two more. And then six months later another one. And so on. And all throughout this time, my oral hygiene habits improved immensely. Yet I still kept getting cavities. My first cavity-free visit since then was last summer, and I’m 20. I always figured the change was due to fluoride in the drinking water where I used to live, but now I wonder if it wasn’t the dentist just drilling teeth for the sake of drilling teeth. My dad says the guy is pretty unethical with regards to billing practices, so it’s not out of the question. At least we’re not going to go to him anymore.

13

Yup, not 2 minutes after he’d finished telling me I had freakishly good teeth and whatever I was doing to keep 'em perfect (yes, perfect, you cannot have better teeth than mine) was obviously working my dentist wanted to sell me a 500 dollar mouthgard to stop wear and tear.

I figure, by the time my teeth’ll be worn down enough to bother me I’ll be 90 and they’ll be the least of my concerns.

So fuck 'em all, I’m not going back to the dentist unless something starts hurting.

14

That’s my philosophy. The most likely scenerio is that my body will tell me when something’s wrong. I trust my body more than some guy who just wants money.

I’m an Anti-Dentite!

Jerry Seinfeld: What do you call a guy who flunked out of medical school?
Girlfiend: I don’t know.
Jerry: A dentist.

15

see, I’d like to never go back again.

but they kind of hook you.

if you don’t go for 5 years, the cleaning is a son of a bitch.

and, they tell you scare stories about how the calculus deposits will expand and push your gums away from your teeth and then you’ve got full blown periodontal disease and there’s nothing you can do about it.

I just wish there was some straight dope on the dental industry because the ONLY people giving us the information and the recommendations are the people who benefit from it.

there is no doubt in my mind that “every 6 months” is a load of crap.

16

My dentists rocks! He is a fine old British chap who is the only dentist I’ve ever gone to, and has been my family’s dentist for at least 15 years. Great demeanor, competent hygienists, and he’s never ever averse to explaining exactly what he’s doing and why he’s going to do it, to the extent of handing you a mirror and letting you watch while he pokes your tooth and demonstrates that there is in fact a cavity there. He’s filled many a cavity on me (most of which were my fault; I hate to floss), repaired chipped teeth, and fixed my brother up when he had several teeth knocked out. The guy knows his stuff.

17

The every 6 months is a very good idea. I intend to never, never, ever have a toothache again. The ones I had as a child when cavities went unfilled because the teeth involved were supposedly going to fall out in a few months anyway were such agony that I’d do anything to avoid a repetition. If you go every 6 months, the cleaning is no big deal. If there’s a cavity, it’s an itty bitty one that you don’t even need novacaine for. Our dental hygienist also checks our blood pressure, and does an exam for oral cancer.

I am fortunate that we have a marvelous dentist, just like his father, who was our dentist before he retired.

18

I go every six months. I never really minded going, though the last three years were utter hell since I had braces and they clean braces with this high power baking soda gun. The lady that worked on my teeth would ALWAYS miss my teeth and get my tounge with a high powered gun. It made it bleed. Orthodontists is what I hate. I think mine meant to slice my cheek. mutter mutter

19

Bla bla bla. I faithfully brushed and flossed and rinsed, all that happy horse shit. Then recently I suddenly get a horrible pain, out of the blue. I go to the dentist, and find out the teeth are great but the gums and bone are “gone”. It doesn’t matter what you do, it just goes bad sooner or later.

I only had one obviously bad dentist, years ago. He kept gouging my gums with the pointy proby thing and then telling me it didn’t hurt. Next time he gouged me, instead of flinching away, I crunched down HARD on his finger. Then I smiled and told him that didn’t hurt either. Revenge was sweet, in a carnivorous sort of way. He was very careful for the rest of the session, and I never went back to him.

20

Negatory. If you had been going regularly to a competent dentist, he/she would have detected the beginnings of the gum disease and helped you take the necessary steps to prevent it from going further.