Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is anyone else here bothered by the lack of evidence-based dentistry?
Over the last five years, I have seen four different dentists. Each has given me wildly different recommendations for treatment. From nothing needed to $10,000 worth of treatment.
Dentist #1. All my amalgams need to be replaced.
Dentist #2. Definitely do not replace your amalgams. In fact you are fine. Don’t see any problems needing treatment.
Dentist #3. One cavity that needs filling, and one that needs following.
Dentist #4. No cavities, but I need crowns on all of my molars. (Dentist #4 also saw my friend who was given the exact same treatment plan, BTW.)
Sigh.
I posted about this on a dentistry subreddit in Reddit. I was told that there was a lot of “gray area” in dentistry and I basically need to put my big girl pants on and stop whining. Lol But one condescendingly suggested I get treatment at a dental school since I “need a lot of hand-holding.”
Dentists are individuals. Some are more skilled, experienced, conservative or aggressive about maintenance and treatment than others. Some make use of different diagnostic tools and treatments than others. When you think about it, there are fewer choices in terms of diagnostics for teeth too. Just like other practitioners, all of them will have an opinion. Sorta like people who post on Reddit or any other SM platform BTW. Can't really say those posters are wrong. Don't know what epiphany you are expecting to get from this thread. Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first (but avoid the sugar )
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-23-2022 at 01:48 PM..
Dentists are individuals. Some are more skilled, experienced, conservative or aggressive about maintenance and treatment than others. Some make use of different diagnostic tools and treatments than others. When you think about it, there are fewer choices in terms of diagnostics for teeth too. Just like other practitioners, all of them will have an opinion. Sorta like people who post on Reddit or any other SM platform BTW. Can't really say those posters are wrong. Don't know what epiphany you are expecting to get from this thread. Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first (but avoid the sugar )
God, I hope the opinions of my medical professionals aren’t just like the opinions of random people who post on Reddit. Hopefully the bar is set a wee bit higher than that.
God, I hope the opinions of my medical professionals aren’t just like the opinions of random people who post on Reddit. Hopefully the bar is set a wee bit higher than that.
So you hope your medical professionals are something other than "human beings with opinions."
Is anyone else here bothered by the lack of evidence-based dentistry?
Over the last five years, I have seen four different dentists. Each has given me wildly different recommendations for treatment. From nothing needed to $10,000 worth of treatment.
Dentist #1. All my amalgams need to be replaced.
Dentist #2. Definitely do not replace your amalgams. In fact you are fine. Don’t see any problems needing treatment.
Dentist #3. One cavity that needs filling, and one that needs following.
Dentist #4. No cavities, but I need crowns on all of my molars. (Dentist #4 also saw my friend who was given the exact same treatment plan, BTW.)
Sigh.
I posted about this on a dentistry subreddit in Reddit. I was told that there was a lot of “gray area” in dentistry and I basically need to put my big girl pants on and stop whining. Lol But one condescendingly suggested I get treatment at a dental school since I “need a lot of hand-holding.”
You say these visits occurred over a period of 5 years. Things can change in that amount of time.
Dentist #1 and #2: Some dentists are concerned about the effects of mercury on overall health and some are not.
Dentist #3: Did you have a cavity filled or let it go and nothing happened?
Is anyone else here bothered by the lack of evidence-based dentistry?
Over the last five years, I have seen four different dentists. Each has given me wildly different recommendations for treatment. From nothing needed to $10,000 worth of treatment.
Dentist #1. All my amalgams need to be replaced.
Dentist #2. Definitely do not replace your amalgams. In fact you are fine. Don’t see any problems needing treatment.
Dentist #3. One cavity that needs filling, and one that needs following.
Dentist #4. No cavities, but I need crowns on all of my molars. (Dentist #4 also saw my friend who was given the exact same treatment plan, BTW.)
Sigh.
I posted about this on a dentistry subreddit in Reddit. I was told that there was a lot of “gray area” in dentistry and I basically need to put my big girl pants on and stop whining. Lol But one condescendingly suggested I get treatment at a dental school since I “need a lot of hand-holding.”
You clearly are more qualified to figure out what's wrong with your mouth than any dentist. They'll all tell you things you don't want to hear, and even if they tell you what you want to hear, you'll second-guess them.
So - do whatever you want. Your odds of doing the right thing for your dental health is about as good as your odds of doing the right thing for anything else you're more qualified than a professional to do.
I agree with the poster. Dentist treatment plans are all over the map.
A question came to me about crowns.
Remember in the past when we'd get fillings?
Now most of my recent dentists skip doing the fillings and go straight for the $1500 crown.
Especially those who have the fabricator for crowns right in their practice.
It's concerning--and expensive.
Haven't had this experience myself. None of my dentists started off recommending crowns unless the tooth was so damaged it would not support a filling. They usually took photos of the tooth in question as evidence. I have several crowns due to being a life long bruxer. I had literally ground the teeth down to the point there wasn't enough left to anchor a filling, or the tooth was in danger of cracking. Still, the "opinions" of my dentists were just that. Opinions. So far, I have no complaints. I have several old amalgam fillings that were replaced with composits...because they were failing. They still don't have crowns.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
