Went to a new dentist this morning for regular checkup and cleaning, and I have come away feeling like I was being scammed. I mean, sure, you have to poke around and see if there's decay, but this guy was ramming into teeth as if he was trying to make holes--not a gentle touch. Younger guy, with way too much gel in his hair. One cavity found, so that'll have to get fixed, but then:
"So, your top front teeth are slightly intruded."
"They're slowly wearing the lower front teeth."
"You should consider orthodontics."
"It would cost about $6,000 to $8,000."
"We could do it right here."
What the fuck? I'm 32 years old and not one of my previous dentists--who I trust far more than this guy--have ever mentioned anything about getting friggin' braces. Gee, isn't it convenient that Mr. Dentist would recommend a few thousand dollars' worth of work that he could do--not covered by insurance, of course, it being a cosmetic procedure?
Now, I do think of teeth as being a worthy investment; hey, here I am scheduling appointments without my mother telling me. And I've donated generously by having rotten teeth, then having mercury amalgam fillings to be replaced, which will someday degenerate into crowns and the whole deal. But I'm sorry, you cannot sit in front of me after seeing me once for a matter of minutes and get $8,000 from me.
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9 comments:
i have a good dentist if you want a new one.
she never tries to sell me anything.
she fixed my two front teeth the day before my birthday party last year(i'd knocked them out on a mtb ride the night before) without even knowing me.
and it wasn't expensive.
Yup, I should've asked around instead of just checking the insurance website for the closest one (walking distance, even).
I'm willing to drive for a dentist I can trust.
i had a dentist who screamed at me "don't swallow" after some of the filling fell into my throat.
Walk your wallet somewhere else, russellp. It's one of the few upsides to a consumer-model healthcare system.
I speak as one who will have racked up 8-10 dentist trips by the time '08 winds down.
I just had a crappy dental experience too. They didn't try to sell me any orthodontics (been there, done that) but the guy was WAY more interested in identifying people we mutually knew during our undergrads than in cleaning my teeth. I wanted to tell him to shut up and get to it, but they have those scary little tools.
The whole mouth thing, it's personal.
hey russell,
long time no blog-talk...
i could write a book about my dental fun up here in the hills...good luck finding someone you can trust. I have a teammate who is a dentist in SF, I keep threatening to go see him one day...
pab? OMG, he's back--briefly. Long time no see, maybe I should go try a road race just for a chance to say hello!
Are you in a state of (a) haven't gone to a dentist in years or (b) recently went to a dentist after not going in years?
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