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I arrived in town and went to a new dentist and was just shocked when I got the word about my teeth. She told me I needed about $6000 in dental work including crowns, root canals, and about 7 fillings. I told her I would get back to her and then went for a second opinion.
The new dentist said my teeth were fine except for one small cavity which cost about $150 to fill. The next time I showed the document the other dentist gave me telling which teeth needed the root canals and crowns. The second dentist said that the first dentist was lying to me to pad her pocket.
Could I report the first dentist to some board for telling me I needed things done to my teeth that were not necessary? Do you think this is common?
About 10 yrs ago I had a chip and part of filling come out of molar. The dentist I was seeing gave me a course of abx as I was having pain and told me I had to have major work done and then sent me to perio for his consult, which cost me $75. The abx did the trick and since then I use all alternative remedies for my mouth hygeine and don't see dentists at this time in my almost 79 yrs. I'm sure he wanted to do a lot of work and get a lot of $$$ from me.
I've lost a lot of trust in the healing professions..guess with age comes wisdom, more wisdom. Everyone is in business to make a living/money but some are just more hungry. You can't do a thing about reporting etc. Forget that dentist or do a yelp review....
I arrived in town and went to a new dentist and was just shocked when I got the word about my teeth. She told me I needed about $6000 in dental work including crowns, root canals, and about 7 fillings. I told her I would get back to her and then went for a second opinion.
The new dentist said my teeth were fine except for one small cavity which cost about $150 to fill. The next time I showed the document the other dentist gave me telling which teeth needed the root canals and crowns. The second dentist said that the first dentist was lying to me to pad her pocket.
Could I report the first dentist to some board for telling me I needed things done to my teeth that were not necessary? Do you think this is common?
I don't know exactly how common it is, but certainly more common than it ought to be. I would definitely seek out a way to report that dentist. What she did was fraud. I so glad the fraud didn't work in your case - good for you for seeking out a second opinion.
You can always ask a dentist to show you the x-rays that they use to decide what you need done.
If they say you have cavities, ask them to point out the cavities to you on your x-rays. If they say say you need a root canal, ask to see the abscess on your x-rays.
You don't have to just sit there and nod your head. Ask questions, ask why this, why that. If you're going to pay for treatment, you have the right to know the reasons for the treatment.
I arrived in town and went to a new dentist and was just shocked when I got the word about my teeth. She told me I needed about $6000 in dental work including crowns, root canals, and about 7 fillings. I told her I would get back to her and then went for a second opinion.
The new dentist said my teeth were fine except for one small cavity which cost about $150 to fill. The next time I showed the document the other dentist gave me telling which teeth needed the root canals and crowns. The second dentist said that the first dentist was lying to me to pad her pocket.
Could I report the first dentist to some board for telling me I needed things done to my teeth that were not necessary? Do you think this is common?
The American Dental Assoc. has a page to search for your state dental assoc. http://ebusiness.ada.org/mystate.aspx
I would think that you can report the dentist to the dental assoc. in your state.
Just a word of advice - we seem to always believe the cheaper dentist, plumber, electrician, etc. and assume the other guy was trying to rip us off. There is a possibility that may be true in this case, but not an absolute.
As an example, a while back I had a patient with severe gum disease. The patient was always complaining of bleeding gums to his dentist (Dr. X). Dr. X recommended a tray to wear that releases an antibiotic. He saw me for a second opinion, and I informed him how that treatment would not be effective because of the severity of his gum disease. I recommended a gum surgery procedure which was vastly more expensive than the tray the other dentist had recommended. The patient literally told me I was trying to rip him off and Dr. X said he could fix it for way less. I told him fine, no hard feelings, go where you feel the most comfortable.
About a year later I saw him again and he was very humble, stating that his gums were still bleeding despite getting the treatment from Dr. X and that he wanted to proceed with the gum surgery with me. We did the surgery, then at a 3-month follow-up he was very happy to report no more gum bleeding. His only regret was that he wasted his money on Dr. X's treatment.
There is an old saying "you don't know what you don't know". Why did Dr. X's treatment not work? Simple - because he didn't know as much as me about gum disease and how to treat it. I'm sure he meant well, but in the end the patient wasted his money on a futile treatment just because he thought "the guy who is charging thousands of dollars more is trying to scam me". He is still a patient of mine today.
Your best bet would be to get multiple opinions, see which treatment recommendations were the most consistent, and get rid of the outliers.
As for the people suggesting to report the dentist to the state board or ADA - that is laughable. Report them for what? Opinions are not fraud. The state board does not get involved in price disputes. The only time the state board would get involved is if the treatment that was actually rendered was suspected to be below standard of care.
Just a word of advice - we seem to always believe the cheaper dentist, plumber, electrician, etc. and assume the other guy was trying to rip us off. There is a possibility that may be true in this case, but not an absolute.
As an example, a while back I had a patient with severe gum disease. The patient was always complaining of bleeding gums to his dentist (Dr. X). Dr. X recommended a tray to wear that releases an antibiotic. He saw me for a second opinion, and I informed him how that treatment would not be effective because of the severity of his gum disease. I recommended a gum surgery procedure which was vastly more expensive than the tray the other dentist had recommended. The patient literally told me I was trying to rip him off and Dr. X said he could fix it for way less. I told him fine, no hard feelings, go where you feel the most comfortable.
About a year later I saw him again and he was very humble, stating that his gums were still bleeding despite getting the treatment from Dr. X and that he wanted to proceed with the gum surgery with me. We did the surgery, then at a 3-month follow-up he was very happy to report no more gum bleeding. His only regret was that he wasted his money on Dr. X's treatment.
There is an old saying "you don't know what you don't know". Why did Dr. X's treatment not work? Simple - because he didn't know as much as me about gum disease and how to treat it. I'm sure he meant well, but in the end the patient wasted his money on a futile treatment just because he thought "the guy who is charging thousands of dollars more is trying to scam me". He is still a patient of mine today.
Your best bet would be to get multiple opinions, see which treatment recommendations were the most consistent, and get rid of the outliers.
As for the people suggesting to report the dentist to the state board or ADA - that is laughable. Report them for what? Opinions are not fraud. The state board does not get involved in price disputes. The only time the state board would get involved is if the treatment that was actually rendered was suspected to be below standard of care.
Reading the reply here on bleeding gums problem I'd almost bet a holistic dentist would talk about antioxidants like Vit C, grape seed ex, Vit E and the likes to prevent this bleeding. In my mind one huge issue with conventional MD's/dentists...they don't talk PREVENTION, as a general rule of theirs.
There are many of us who come from a holistic mindset, but not ENOUGH.
Reading the reply here on bleeding gums problem I'd almost bet a holistic dentist would talk about antioxidants like Vit C, grape seed ex, Vit E and the likes to prevent this bleeding. In my mind one huge issue with conventional MD's/dentists...they don't talk PREVENTION, as a general rule of theirs.
There are many of us who come from a holistic mindset, but not ENOUGH.
Thank you for your insight, however I fail to see how that relates to my reply or the point I was trying to get across. The post was not to talk about ways to prevent disease, it was to talk about existing disease and its subsequent treatment. It would be like me asking for advice on repairing my car after an accident and you telling me how I can be a better driver instead.
Thank you for your insight, however I fail to see how that relates to my reply or the point I was trying to get across. The post was not to talk about ways to prevent disease, it was to talk about existing disease and its subsequent treatment. It would be like me asking for advice on repairing my car after an accident and you telling me how I can be a better driver instead.
I was JUST making a point about Prevention, MAYBE others will wake up too about Prevention. Why others want to compare some health issues and prevention to driving a car and accidents....why not agree about prevention re: health issues. Too simple.
A bit of digression, your comment about driving/accidents reminds me of a comment recently made by our plumber here in bldg who removed a refrig from an apt that was being renovated and when I came home from rehab saw this refrig sitting in our courtyard area and was told it's been there for a few months....I was shocked...a child could find his way to that refrig and die in it...very dangerous...so I marched to the plumber and started to kinda scream about the refrig and the danger it could present to a child...and he said "a child can be hit by a car when crossing street"....what a stupid comment...he and his workers removed the frig to the alley a short time later.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 05-15-2017 at 11:24 AM..
She told me I needed about $6000 in dental work including crowns, root canals, and about 7 fillings.
The new dentist said my teeth were fine except for one small cavity which cost about $150 to fill.
bart0323 ,
The OP was not complaining about different treatment recommendations for one problem, but was stating that the first dentist said they needed crowns, root canals & 7 fillings.
The second dentist only found one small cavity.
Assuming that the second dentist was correct, than the first dentist was giving fraudulent advice.
An impartial professional would have to view the x-rays to ascertain the truth.
Last edited by daliowa; 05-15-2017 at 02:56 PM..
Reason: edit
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