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Default Dec 07, 2018 at 10:39 AM
  #1
I just can't accept dentists any longer. I just feel they lie.

In 2016 I had it with the dentist I was going to. After getting a filling he told me I need another on a front tooth. I didn't believe him. So I didn't go back. Things went longer than expected and today I went for cleaning and exam to a new dentist.

This dentist didn't seem to think ANYTHING was wrong with this front tooth.

But she suggested "I should" have a root canal on my back tooth. I questioned what that meant but she just left me more confused. I believe she sees some decay and there isn't a lot of tooth left so she thinks I should do what I can now. But it isn't "necessary". This is the second time I had this happen and last time the root canal specialist said a RC wasn't necessary.

She also did some vague allegations about decay on teeth but it wasn't until I got to the front where I found out I was getting cavities filled.

I mostly don't feel like I can trust them. Everyone wants to do work on my teeth that don't ever hurt. How can I justify that?
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Smile Dec 09, 2018 at 01:57 PM
  #2
I had a wonderful dentist for many years. But I really disliked the hygienist! A while back I finally decided to change dentists as a result of what was actually a fairly minor incident that became, for me, just the straw that broke the camel's back as the saying goes. Now I've begun seeing a different dentist whose office is within walking distance of my home, which is a plus. However, since I've only been to this new dental office a couple of times now, there's no level of trust there. So I'll be leery of anything the new dentist suggests. Actually, at my advanced age, I've begun to wonder if it even makes sense to continue seeing the dentist every 6 months, having the x-rays, & all that stuff. I take as good care of my teeth as I can. So I figure it's likely the rest of me will give out before my teeth do. I won't have any work done, at this point, that isn't absolutely necessary.
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Default Dec 09, 2018 at 03:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Skeezyks View Post
So I figure it's likely the rest of me will give out before my teeth do. I won't have any work done, at this point, that isn't absolutely necessary.
I had a dentist that I trusted but he retired. But even then he did a root canal I now think wasn't necessary. It is just that every time I go they seem to find problems but that, to me, seems insane. I actually think a lot of work that has been done on my teeth wasn't necessary and now they are like.. well there is nothing left so we have to do something super invasive. I am also at midlife and I kind of wonder if it is worth it anymore.
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Smile Dec 09, 2018 at 04:03 PM
  #4
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Originally Posted by Emily Fox Seaton View Post
I had a dentist that I trusted but he retired. But even then he did a root canal I now think wasn't necessary. It is just that every time I go they seem to find problems but that, to me, seems insane. I actually think a lot of work that has been done on my teeth wasn't necessary and now they are like.. well there is nothing left so we have to do something super invasive. I am also at midlife and I kind of wonder if it is worth it anymore.
Both my previous denitst (whom I really liked & trusted... except for the hygenist) & now this new dentist have noticed white spots on my gums that they said I should have looked at by an orthdontist. So they each referred me to different orthodontists neither of which were approved for payment by my health insurer. So I would have ended up paying the whole cost out-of-pocket. I guess I could try to find someone I could see whom my health insurer would pay for. But I don't really have the motivation to do so. I have my 6 month check-up coming toward the end of January. And I suppose the dentist will give me a hard time for not having this checked out. If she does... I may well just not go back.
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Default Dec 09, 2018 at 04:05 PM
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And I suppose the dentist will give me a hard time for not having this checked out. If she does... I may well just not go back.
I know the feeling. Every time I go they are all over me about problems. So lately I have started NOT telling them anything about me. Just going to new people and pretending I don't remember. When I get done with a dentist I ask them for my x-rays and just produce them for the new dentist.
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Default Dec 18, 2018 at 09:01 PM
  #6
My dentist is weird. I had a specific set of xrays done by an oral surgeon for my wisdom teeth and then I brought the xrays to my regular dentist and she said I had cavities all over. A couple years later I had another set of those types of xrays taken by my orthodontist. Again I brought the xrays to my regular dentist. This time she said that those specific xrays don’t show cavities. Then why did she say I had all those cavities the first time?

I don’t have much of a choice though. It’s a mobile dentist and based on my income and insurance I have no other place to go. They are only $30 a visit. They do an amazing job on my teeth. It’s just they are just always finding stuff wrong. I never even have pain except from clenching. Often it feels like they just pull this stuff out of their butt. It only started when the new dentist started. Before the old dentists never found much of anything. Now suddenly I’m having tons of issues.

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Default Dec 19, 2018 at 05:41 AM
  #7
[QUOTE=Mountaindewed;6371291It’s just they are just always finding stuff wrong. I never even have pain except from clenching. Often it feels like they just pull this stuff out of their butt. It only started when the new dentist started. Before the old dentists never found much of anything. Now suddenly I’m having tons of issues.[/QUOTE]

Yup. I know that sometimes these issues are judgment calls and they feel they must tell me, but it is my suspicion that these "areas of decay" are simply areas that will take years to form a cavity. That everyone at anytime has "areas of decay".

I have tons of insurance (regular insurance that covers dental and dental insurance) and every flipping time I go... I get a 100 bill for something they say wasn't covered. It is insane.

Not only has my last dentist NOT sent the treatment plan, they haven't sent the x-rays I asked for. That is suspicious right there. One dentist told me I needed a root canal so I asked of the x-ray and you don't need to be a dentist to see when there is NO infection. But I sent that to another dentist and they confirmed I didn't have an infection.
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Default Feb 26, 2019 at 05:30 PM
  #8
I was severely screwed by the family dentist when I was 17. He scheduled a filling on a tooth with no problems of any kind, in fact I had no complaints about any of my teeth. On the day of the filling, he had extreme trouble drilling because the tooth was so solid and hard. Strangely he was trying to drill really deep, when I would have thought he would be just putting a little surface filling on.

And then suddenly he did something that gave me the horrifying realization that I was being completely screwed. He very flamboyantly turned the drill about 45 degrees and drilled right through the front of the tooth!!! No comments, no explanations. Again he had extreme difficulty because the tooth was so hard and solid. I knew the jerk was dirty because I had had one or two minor fillings early in my life and knew that's not what you do in a minor filling on a very healthy tooth. When he was done he packed the filling down the center of the tooth and put a little extra over the hole he had drilled through the front of the tooth.

I never went back and saw other dentists for 30 years. Then in the 30th year, this tooth started hurting because of the damage that he did, and I had to have a root canal and soon after that an implant after the root canal failed because the tooth developed a hairline crack where he had drilled through the front. I have never had or needed any other dental work (except cleanings) since that dirty dentist wrecked that tooth, and having to have that tooth out 30 years later was a complete anomaly because all my teeth are well cared for and in nearly perfect condition. In fact I have habits and genes and diet similar to my mother, who only has a couple of fillings all the way through old age.

I suffered greatly through the year-long process of the root canal and the implant. I had to go back repeatedly to my current dentist and the specialists so that each step of the process could be completed. It was a grueling experience that never should have happened.

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Default Feb 27, 2019 at 12:56 AM
  #9
I've suffered with horrible teeth my whole life. Very soft and sensitive. Rot no matter how much I brush, floss, and rinse. Going to the dentist has always been traumatic because I have memories of multiple strangers holding me down while someone worked in my mouth and or pulled a tooth. Even today the very act of sitting in a dentists chair makes me cry. I care for my teeth daily but continue to visit the dentist for extractions. I'm down to about 14 teeth. Very sad. My mother told me when I was young she had her top dentures when she was 25 so she instilled good oral hygiene habits in me.. but it doesn't seem to matter what I do cause they keep rotting. Ugh. I even use the sensitive toothpaste by Tom's of Maine. It works great I must say!! To bad I wasn't blessed with good teeth tho..

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Default Mar 01, 2019 at 06:55 AM
  #10
Unfortunately maybe I should have trusted them. It seems a filling fell out and now I have to go to them. Drat.
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Default Mar 05, 2019 at 07:14 PM
  #11
So I went today and she says a filling didn't fall out.. she says I have a hole. She says it is a hole due to decay. She says I must have a root canal and I am scheduled for one next Tuesday. At this point since about 2015 every dentist I have seen wants me to do a root canal there but the thing is... the tooth doesn't hurt. How can I justify doing that? It bothers me that she did NOTHING to fill up the hole, basically IMHO making me have to seek dental help asap from someone else.

At this point I am 99% mind made up just to get the root canal as they keep bugging me about it.
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Default Mar 07, 2019 at 06:59 AM
  #12
Ok ok ok. This is my plan.

I just didn't trust the last dentist I saw. She was almost sneering and way too fast on things. If she couldn't explain to me what the problem was, then why am I going to her. I also just can't trust her. She told me that I didn't lose a filling that it was my tooth. But when the x-rays came in you can see the filling there in the spot where the hole is. So, to me, it seems like the hole is above the filling (surface of the tooth) and all I need to do is fill in the hole. Not to mention that you would assume that a tooth would come off in one chunk. But I mentioned to her that I was alerted to the problem because of crunch in my peanut butter and also white specks in my stool (specks imho, lead to the conclusion of white filling not tooth).

This same dentist wanted to do a root canal on this tooth back in December when I had nothing wrong. And she just can't explain to me why a root canal is necessary other than "decay" . I finally got the x-rays and they are horrible. You can't even see the full tooth. But, what you can see looks exactly the same as x-rays from 5 years ago (I keep all my x-rays).

So I decided to do a complete do over. I found a dentist in the city with state of the art facilities. If I am going to have to go through the process of a root canal might as well do it with the most state of the art place.

I have a 40 minute consult next week and I feel like I will get my questions answered. I am disappointed to possibly have to spend an insane amount of money but I have had it.

If the answer is a root canal I am going to ask about having it pulled and getting an implant. It is a back tooth and probably most likely to have issues down the road. If I am going to spend 3K to do the root canal and the implant would be 5K maybe the implant would be the better option.
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Default Mar 14, 2019 at 06:12 PM
  #13
So I went for a second option today. I am happy with it but..

Yes I need a root canal. The dentist put up my X-ray and showed me that it isn't the hole in my tooth that is the problem. That could be filled. There is a massive cavity on the other side of the tooth. I had no idea it was so massive but, I was aware of an issue with it. I had a wisdom tooth on that side that had made the area difficult to keep clean. I had that removed.

So I have an appointment with a top doctor in a week to get a root canal.

The only issue is that I have no idea where this dentist got the X-ray and it is my suspicion that she used an old one to make her case... I had sent them to her and her assistant asked me what X-ray was the one ... I told her what one but it really doesn't seem like that is what they showed me on the screen.

However, I feel like when two dentists say the same thing I should just give up the ghost and get the root canal.

I will essentially get a third opinion when I go for the root canal as apparently that doctor will do their own specific type of X-ray to see the tooth before doing the root canal.
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