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I have seen posts where people were told by their dentist that they have so many cavities and they want them to have them filled, despite there being no pain in their teeth at the moment. A dentist must address by their code I believe if they see a potential cavity that is fillable, they must inform the client of it and advise them to get it fixed. If the client declines, the dentist has done their duty yet that dentist could later ban them as a patient if they continue to decline cavity repair work, for whatever valid concerns the client might have.
People here have gone ahead and complied with their dentist's suggestions to get various repairs doen and then they have bite and chills and more pain than they ever had before the teeth were undrilled and their dentists have no clue why they are having teeth issues when they have none before. Some may have wished to themselves, why did I comply with the dentist? He/she makes enough money on other people who have work done so if I delay it it won't causes any harm to my dentist. Then some dentists don't like being questioned and consider themselves to be gods who know it all. I have a point here in this new post title.
Just because a dentist says you have two cavities, etc, he/she is not lying. They truly believe from their viewpoint and experience that what they are seeing in a person's mouth is truly needed. Even if it is not causing any kind of pain, they still want to do the work as the client needs it and they could also use the money from the insurance that would pay for most of it. Of course, one does not know if the same suggestions would be had if that person had no insurance.
Most dentists are good ones, yet are all different in some fashion. Some check blood pressure religiously and others seldom or never check the client's blood pressure. Some will treat clients like cattle, all the same and not allow for any unique individual aspects with that person, as to pain levels, anxiety, etc.
My gum dentist who shares the cleanings, she knows it goes up when I go in their yet it goes back down after the cleaning procedure and it will go back more when I get back home away from their office. My regular dentist he is not that way. This last cleaning he did the bp check at the very end where it was normal low for me rather at the very front, which I was thankful for. Both are aware that 99% of my cavities in my mouth have been done with gas only, no shots. Except for one that my retired dentist snuck in one time by surprise and it didn't hurt.
Then when I had a crown a while back (there is a post on that) that dentist casually gave me the shot and I was nervous and I think I moved a bit and she wasn't paying attention and my jaw where the shot went in hurt for about 3 weeks. Maybe she hit a nerve. Then on the second visit to get the real crown put on I refused a shot and had her just do nitric to attach it and it went great, no pain, not nervous which really surprised them as to them nitric gas does not have any pain relieving qualities and all dentists nowadays will not do any type of repair, even a cavity, without a shot being give, no matter how much the client protests that.
I am rambling. I am sorry. Basically it is a choice--to have a cavity filled or not filled, particularly if it is not causing you any mouth pain. One can view the xray usually and tell how big it might be yet in the end the only way to know how big the shadow is on the xray is by drilling it out. When one has drill and fill more of the good tooth is removed in order to give space to put the filling in, and then as it the cavity regrows, it is redrilled, etc, with more of the good tooth taken out until there is inadequate tooth left to have a drill and fill.
My deal here -my current dentist (my 4th one) pointed out two cavities on my right top side right next to one another that to me looked small on the xray. I told him they do not cause any pain yet he still printed out a treatment plan, showing the breakdown on insurance and my copay. I felt like the unwanted paperwork was pressure on me to comply with his demands yet I put him off. I didn't make any decision at that time. Since then he has scheduled my next cleaning appointment despite my not scheduling a cavity repair so I am still his patient at this time at least until July 2021.
I note my right side has a bad TMJ issue where I bit down on a hot dog and my jaw moved and that causes talking to be hurtful at times and also hard to chew. I have no tooth paiin in my mouth at this time.
I believe if I were to have these two cavities drilled out and fixed that are not hurting me, I would be in dire pain like some of the people on this site with biting hurting issues and tooth sensitiity and a miserable life. I don't want to deal with that. I am only 64 years old and may have 20 to 30 years at most here on earth and I likely will have dentures by that time anyway.
I already deal with back pain and that is really bad for me and I can't imagine dealing with mouth pain on a daily basis as some here on this site have discussed in other topics.
I am aware that the dentist may drop me due to my delay or permanent delay in holding off cavity repair yet I hope he will not do this. I don't have the funds to pay the copay anyway if he could do the work yet he would have to outsource the cavity repair anyway so I quit fussing about it. Why?
Every time I go into the dentist office and sit in their chair surrounded by their tools my blood pressure goes up 30 points. Before they lower the guidelines in Nov 2017 I was in mid level group, yet no more--I am at the top of the chain now, just due to a paper guideline number change.
No amount of meds or hyponisis or having a dreaded shot come toward my jaw would prevent my blood pressure from rising. My dentist he thinks I need to see a doctor. Maybe I do. Mostly my bp issues are elevated job stress, which in the past few months have been major.
I still have issues with dry mouth and loss of taste with the gum allergy testing had in July 2020. I am fighting on a daily basis to keep up my 100 pounds, amidst alll the current stress in my job and home life. I am the only person to come to work to work since I am not able to work from home--I have no room. I live in my house.
My dentist already told me that if my bp was as high as it was the first time I saw him he could not do any repair work on me. I didn't tell him that that's fine with me though--I just need a dentist to clean my teeth and advise of stuff. No more. I may lose teeth down the road yet that is my choice and the dentist (whoever I may be at) will just make more money off me and the insurance.
If you do decline repair work, do it nicely and give a valid reason, financially is a good one always. One can't get blood out of a turnip.
It is up to yourself to decide---if a claimed cavity spot is not causing any kind of pain, and you have the work done and you have major issues afterwards, in hindsight you will have wished to have not gone along with your dentist's repair plan. One must stand up for yourself. Yes, you believe there is a cavity there yet it is not the right time for you to get anything done on it and hope the dentist will drop the whole idea and just clean your teeth and make money off you that way.
If I do have tooth pain, I will use clove oil and etc and emu cream on the outside of my cheek to help with the pain if it throbs. One can't avoid a dentist repair forever yet it is a repair that one can hold off indefinitely if one plays their cards right.
Just remember, no tooth pain is a sign that cavity work can wait. It just depends on the circumstances of that person on what they decide. Do I risk the cavity repair and get pain I have never before had or just let it alone and wait until the tooth starts hurting? It is a choice. For me, if there is no tooth pain, I leave it alone. Why open up Pandora's box and drill on a tooth that is not causing issues painwise.
Have a good day.
Amy
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Hardly a nagging letter. It was simply a reminder. People do lose track of time especially if there's multiple family members to manage. A provider that's in demand could fill up their practice schedule weeks to months in advance. No need to lose one's head over such things.
