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Dishonest Dentistry
Reader’s Digest: “Four months, 50,000 miles and 50 exams later, I concluded that going to the dentist is nothing to smile about. Dentistry is a stunningly inexact science. Even expecting that different dentists would have different, yet valid, opinions did not prepare me for the astounding variation in diagnoses I received. Some wanted only $500 to bring me up to good dental health. Others wanted ten, 20, even 50 times that amount. Surely they could not all be right.”
My wife’s new dentists declared, after a lengthy exam, that she’d found ten cavities that needed immediate correction. We found this, odd, to the say the least, because as children of the late 1970s, neither of us had ever had a cavity. Is it even possible to go from zero cavities to 10? The article goes on to explain that “the number of children with cavities in their permanent teeth dropped by more than half between the early 1970s and early 1990s. Meanwhile the population of dentists has grown by 50 percent.” Needless to say, my wife has an appointment with another dentist for a second opinion.
Its sad to think increased competition for a smaller and smaller consumer base may be driving dentists to dishonesty. Is dishonest dentistry a trend? Have you noticed a decline in honesty?
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Peter T Davis on May 6th, 2004 8:14 am
Yea, I recently tried a new dentist too, they had 12 teeth they wanted to work on in my mouth!!!! The only reason I tried to switch was because of the long waiting list for an appointment at my current dentist, but I guess it’s worth waiting. The new dentist’s assistant kept trying to sell me a new electric toothbrush on the way out.
Anonymous on May 7th, 2004 9:21 pm
I have been saying this for years. When I was 14 years old, my dentists told me that I was going to need my wisdom teeth out within the year and that I should encourage my parents to schedule the appointment within the next three months. He claimed that if we did not, that the excruciating pain was inevitible. Here I am 29 years old and have yet to have my wisdom teeth removed. No pain. Dentists are becoming the new chiropractor. Next thing you know, they will be claiming to cure cancer by cleaning your teeth. Not to mention what is with all of the X-rays? Could my teeth have changed that much in 4 months?
Nicholas Corwin on May 19th, 2004 11:28 pm
Very interesting. About ten years ago, when I was 28, I went to a dentist who also happened to be my mother’s first cousin. He had just set up a posh new practice here in San Diego County and was obviously quite hungry for money. Besides extracting a wisdom tooth (which probably did need to come out), he “found” about a dozen cavities. This did strike me as odd at the time, since I had not had a cavity in over fifteen years. Well, Dr. R. quadrupled the amount of silver amalgam fillings, which, as we know, are not particularly healthy to have in the first place. Even after a “family discount,” the bill came to more than $1200–I had not spent that much on dental work in the previous ten years! Later, I went to my former dentist, who had never charged me more than fifty or sixty bucks for a visit–and that was in Manhattan! She said that my cousin’s handiwork, while competently done, had been almost entirely unnecessary. And now my current dentist, who has just moved into very posh digs with flat-screen television sets on the ceilings, Berber carpets and a sixty-gallon tank full of exotic fish, is demanding nearly a thousand bucks to do a partial inlay for a slightly cracked tooth. How the hell do I determine whether or not I’ve been defrauded?
patricia on July 7th, 2004 2:40 am
Overcoming the dental problems created in my mouth by dishonest dentists has consumed the past few years. Many nightmares and appointments later I can only hope people write letters and group together to stop dental fraud. Dentists took good teeth and intentionally destroyed and damaged them for money. The most amazing observation is how bold they are, appearing to have no fear… Finally realizing the dental board, most states, are dentists who are regulating themselves which appears to be a system that isn’t working. It is important to get a copy of your medical file at each visit so that it can’t be changed later if there is a dispute. Also, ask for a written treatment plan before having ANy work done. While many don’t mind verbal fraud they hesitate to write it down. I ask concerned citizens to write your health department, a dentist was intentionally infecting my mouth with bacteria, dirty instruments. Now I know the health dept. in my state only refers to the dental board. So, sanitation is often up to the patients to determine. Please write your congressman, attorney general, etc. The more letters and complaints the problem becomes harder to ignore. DEntal fraud is a problem. I consider dentists who exploit children’s teeth child abusers. Always report fraud or attempted fraud!! so that some documentation at least goes in the file. PLease!! REport, write, help stop dental, health care fraud. There is an infestation, difficult to find an honest dentist.
patricia on July 7th, 2004 2:40 am
Overcoming the dental problems created in my mouth by dishonest dentists has consumed the past few years. Many nightmares and appointments later I can only hope people write letters and group together to stop dental fraud. Dentists took good teeth and intentionally destroyed and damaged them for money. The most amazing observation is how bold they are, appearing to have no fear… Finally realizing the dental board, most states, are dentists who are regulating themselves which appears to be a system that isn’t working. It is important to get a copy of your medical file at each visit so that it can’t be changed later if there is a dispute. Also, ask for a written treatment plan before having ANy work done. While many don’t mind verbal fraud they hesitate to write it down. I ask concerned citizens to write your health department, a dentist was intentionally infecting my mouth with bacteria, dirty instruments. Now I know the health dept. in my state only refers to the dental board. So, sanitation is often up to the patients to determine. Please write your congressman, attorney general, etc. The more letters and complaints the problem becomes harder to ignore. DEntal fraud is a problem. I consider dentists who exploit children’s teeth child abusers. Always report fraud or attempted fraud!! so that some documentation at least goes in the file. PLease!! REport, write, help stop dental, health care fraud. There is an infestation, difficult to find an honest dentist.
Rachel on July 12th, 2004 11:30 am
Heh. I had a dentist say I had 5 cavities. That sounded kinda fishy, since I’ve never had a cavity in my life. I went to my normal dentist–I’d tried another one because they were cheaper. Surprise! No cavities. Boy, was I ticked. Now, 11 months later, they’re trying to claim I didn’t pay (which I did that day in the office, using a credit card).
Adel on October 4th, 2004 4:45 pm
I live in England U.K. and went to a new dentist as I had some toothache. Having only ever had normal amalgam fillings I was shocked that the dentist said I needed a root filling. This went on for several months and I ended up with 6 root fillings! He was about to root fill a seventh when I stopped the treatment. The seventh has never needed any treatment on it 6 years on. Subsequently all 6 teeth root filled became infected and I have developed Atypical facial Pain which no-one can link to the dental infections. I have have now lost 3 of these teeth and have had to had many re-root treatments done. I am fighting to save one of the last 3. This dentist also destroyed my x-rays once he new I was about to sue him!
I never believed it went on. But now I ask questions all the time. My life is a nightmare of pain now. I have been told I will get a pittance of compensation. To be honest I am disgusted. People get more compensation from having a whiplash injury.
In the UK it is a big problem. One denstist had 175 claims against him. I can not understand why this dentist was not struck off.
Huge problem. I will put my case to the television companies once my claim is over as I am so angry about what this dentist did to me.
Elaine Prentice on November 2nd, 2004 1:29 pm
I just launched a teaching website called http://www.dentalfraudinflorida.com stressing the need for informed consent in all dental treatments.
the site publishes my dental fraud experience.
I just received a Cease and Desist Letter and a threat to sue me for slander and defamation from 2 of the dentists.
It is in the dentist’s best interest to shut down my website, not the public’s.
Charles on December 11th, 2004 4:28 pm
I’ve had a number of bad experiences trying to preserve my dental health. In June 1997 a dentist pried on a tooth with a steel probe and cracked it. Two days later there was tremendous pain in this tooth. This very important tooth was a ‘6 year molar’, the largest tooth type in the mouth. Molars perform nearly all chewing needs. When a large molar is lost, more use to other side of the mouth causes accelerated tooth wear. The dental office refused to discuss the problem. The Washington State Dental Quality Assurance Commission gave me the run around; hanging up on me four times and wasting four hours of my time and effort. They lacked any means of even accepting a written complaint on my part. The only solution they proposed was to negotiate with the dentist who injured me.
In December 1997 this tooth became abscessed and during a root canal procedure a dentist drilled through the side of the tooth deep into the palette. I have large teeth allowing plenty of room for a dentist to maneuver. Damaging this tooth took some doing. Judging by the hostile looks this dentist gave me this ‘perforation’ was no accident.
I took every effort possible preserve this tooth. I had a ‘night guard’ build by a dentist. This dentist was a dramatic exception to the others I have encountered. He practiced in a small town 200 miles from my present address. He is the only dentist I visited who would make ‘night guards’. His waiting room was always crowded. Further tooth preservation steps included: taking three 500 mg. calcium pills daily, using enhanced fluoride pastes as needed, (note – too much fluoride can damage teeth see internet), flossing twice daily, brushing 2-3 times daily, stopping drinking soft drinks, (the acid in colas will dissolve a soaking child’s tooth overnight), (note – sour (acidic) candies quickly dissolve teeth as well), avoiding acidic foods, and trying to have my teeth cleaned regularly. But it was a tooth cleaning that eventually destroyed the tooth. A dental hygienist broke 2 of the 3 tooth roots by yanking with a piece of dental floss.
Other negative dental experiences include: having a dentist return from a break with gin on his breath, being given nitrous oxide I did not request (actually I held my breath), being hounded to get my teeth whitened, and being hounded to purchase unneeded products. The dental experience involves ‘shake down’ and ‘scare’ tactics. A recent television ad aired in our state for ‘Delta Dental’ insurance plans. It showed actors sporting hideous scary false teeth.
Recently I became aware of a very horrible disease I’ve acquired. Hepatitis C is difficult or impossible to cure. The side effects from treatment are severe, permanently scaring a person. This disease is transmitted with in the health care community, and only where blood is exchanged. I hope this is not ‘payback’ for my past attempts to report on healthcare malfeasance and my attempts to improve healthcare in this country.
Most disturbing is the extreme reluctance of any dental providers to discuss poor care. This ‘hear no evil’, ‘see no evil’, ‘speak no evil’ mentality, conduces destructive practices. Lawyers won’t touch an injury case that involves less than $20,000 in damages. And even if a dentist must occasionally pay thousands in damages, they realize an overall profit from the increased work they get repairing these teeth they damage. Because dental workers won’t testify against dentists, there is only a minute likelihood a dentist will ever have to pay for the damage they cause. Damaging teeth is simply ‘good business practice’. Washington State has eliminated ‘punitive damage laws’. Even when dentists are repeatedly forced to pay, damaging teeth is still a ‘zero loss’ enterprise. Penalties should make the practice prohibitive.
I’d like to see competition to the American Dental Association. Other nations produce excellent products such as cars, airplanes, and computers. I’d like to see them compete in the American dental marketplace. Friends I have routinely go to Mexico for dental care. I have a Bulgarian friend who goes home for medical care.
Degrading a person’s health is destruction of valuable American resources; America’s human resources. Goods don’t manufacture themselves, science and innovation never occur spontaneously. Mutilation has nothing to do with anyone protecting any kind of legitimate job, by creating more work for themselves. It is only the job of terrorists to destroy the wealth and resources of America.
See also, Readers Digest Feb. 1997, ‘how honest are dentists’, a search engine should also give you the text of this article.
See also, David Plotz, Defining Decay Down, http://www.slate.msn.com/id/33269/
Good tips for preserving teeth.
dental student on October 27th, 2005 6:47 pm
As a third year dental student I am sorry to hear about your distrust with dentistry. Technology has come a long ways, and if you have a question about your treatment feel free to ask the dentist to show it to you. First off, x-rays do not lie. If an x-ray shows a dark spot where normal enamel or dentin should be, it is a cavity. Next, with intra-oral cameras nowdays we are able to take a picture, blow it up, and show the patient what we see. From my experience, I have found that people believe what they can see. Many people do not understand how they can have a cavity if they are not in pain. Think of a tooth as a log cabin and the bacteria as termites. The cabin may look fine for many years and serve its purpose but eventually the termtites will win out and the house will collapse unless intervention is taken. If you have a cavity, the dentist is just fixing your tooth so things do not get much worse..such as needing a root canal if the decay reaches the nerves(pulp) or need for an extraction. As with any profession there are a few bad apples in the bunch, but for the most part we are an honest profession with the patients’ well being as our primary concern.
Dr.Gaurang Shah on January 11th, 2006 3:10 am
Hello All,
I am a dentist and practise in Mumbai,India for the past 25 years.
It saddens me to hear your stories but its something one cant sweep under the carpets.
I believe the ever increasing commercialisation of our moral values and also the ever growing competition leads some of us to take the wrong route to prosperity.
Having gone thru this complains before the following is what I practice in my clinics and it works well:
1)Attend primarily to the complain the patient has come with.Advice other jobs only if the patient asks.
2)Show the patient the work to be done by x-rays/pictures and other multimedia facilities.
3)Display a rate card in the waiting room.This transparency helps.
As patients,people shouls ash for x-rays,study casts,photographs,estimate etc before the job is undertaken and if the job works out big,a second opinion should be sought and eventually the work should be carried out where the patient feels more comfortable.
This approach from most people will also put the dentists on their toes and they will refrain from resorting to wrong doings.
PHLT on January 30th, 2006 12:26 am
As someone posted and I agree it is amazing how the dentists profit from the damage they cause. You also mentioned having a tooth broken at a cleaning. Let me guess! You were probably told your tooth was about to fall out in a scrambled egg although the tooth was fine when you got there? I haven’t smelled gin but I have had one or two that appeared wired as they misrepresented the need for work. Yes, I have been hounded with products too. Yes, I had a pretty good set of teeth until innocently stumbling into a crook’s office. Once that happens you go from place to place trying to get fixed and often end up with more destruction. The best thing is to stay away from dental offices if possible, keep your teeth clean, avoid fluoride and read about the dangers (children have died in dental chairs as a result of fluoride treatments, sip water while you eat to remove acids which cause decay (Dr. Gerald Judd’s research), good nutrition. In other words, try to get in charge of your own dental health as much as possible. If you do go to a dental office get a treatment plan in writing. Get a copy of your file at each visit. If possible, take a tape recorder so you can review. One dentist said women and children are at greater risk going to dentists, just as having a car repaired. Get additional opinions. Even with all of that it is almost impossible not to be one step behind when dealing with the dental profession. There are many tricks to the trade. If something doesn’t “feel” right(instincts) insist to get out of the chair and LEAVE. Protect yourself because once something happens most often there is little you can do. The dental profession is self regulating, quite an anarchy really! If you are a victim of fraud, abuse, incompetence, or suspicious of wrongdoing write letters to your attorney general, health department, dental board. Don’t expect much in return but at least you start a file on a particular bad or dishonest dentist. That is important! People need to come together to stop the abuse! Warn other people, start a website or get with people and take out a billboard warning the public about dental fraud. If every victim does something, one thing, change will come much sooner.
PHLT on February 1st, 2006 4:06 pm
Having come back and noticed something unclear in one of my earlier writing… I went to a dentist and turned to ask the assistant a question while she was standing behind me setting out instruments for a procedure. When I turned around she was ungloved, setting out instruments, between running from one room to another, while examining her long fake fingernails.I figure she is getting through the day, through the week, waiting on her pay with no real concern about spreading germs. The dentist appeared to find humor saying himself that she probably didn’t change the rising device, after my work was done, and have I had Chicken pox? All too crazy going to dentists really! The same lady said she is a surgical nurse. So, I question why a surgical nurse is working in a small dental office and doesn’t know to wear gloves when handling instruments? Bottom line, you can’t be careful enough! There is so much to worry about at dental offices, fraud galore, sanitation and so on. You are still one step ahead if you KNOW you need to be on high alert. So many people are innocent about the many problems regarding the dental profession. People are left seriously harmed as a result of unnecessary work, cavities that don’t exist are filled, many tricks to the trade. Always report circumstances in writing, people helping people by documenting brings the public together in numbers so the many problems of the profession can be evaluated.
There needs to be a public awareness campaign to warn the public about dental fraud!
HELP!!! on February 15th, 2007 4:51 pm
IF THERE IS AN HONEST DENTIST OUT THERE WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTION I WOULD REALLY LIKE SOME ADVICE ON THIS. I just recently went into the dentist to get my regular “check-up�/cleaning. I haven’t had dental insurance until recently so this in my first time back in about a year and a half. As far a my history is concerned I brush my teeth twice daily, mouth wash twice daily and floss. I am very anal about keeping my teeth clean. So when I went into the dentist for my cleaning I pretty much thought that I would be in and out without a single cavity. Instead the dentist said that I have FOUR cavities and need a root canal! Not only that but he said that I had gingivitis in the upper right corner of my mouth. It didn’t make sense because again I use mouth wash twice a day and I’ve never had gingivitis before. I’ve never had a root canal and it seems strange that I have four cavities all of a sudden. I am very concerned that this dentist just wants my money. He also has a very posh office with soft black leather dental chairs and flat screen TV’s on the ceiling. Additionally I don’t have any pain. My teeth are a little sensitive but that’s because I use whitening toothpaste and have for years. Also my husband was scheduled to come in for a cleaning the same day that I was scheduled to for but he was unable to make it. The dentist was more than happy to get me in as soon as possible for my much needed “root canal� (which would end up costing around $800 with insurance) getting me in no later than a week but when I tried to reschedule my husband for his cleaning they could only fit him in a over a month later. These procedures combined will cost a little over $1100. Now its possible that I really do need a root canal and that I have four cavities I need filled and gingivitis. I just don’t know how to tell if he’s being honest. HELP!
all dentists on May 24th, 2007 12:28 pm
My dentist charged my insurance co for 17 surfaces…..which when I looked in my mouth maybe saw 2 cavitys tops. He tapped me out then he caused a root canal by digging too far into a tooth(which by the way he initally told me I could wait 6 months to fill) and this was the second time he filled the same tooth because of pain after the cavity was done-not before. And even though the xrays he did before the “17″ surfaces he did showed no root canal. Now I have 1 messed up tooth and no insurance money left. try to find an honest dentist in nyc- I dare you, it doesnt exsist.
Second Year Dental Student on May 30th, 2007 7:59 am
Hi everyone!
I’m a 2nd year dental student from Adelaide, South Australia. I stumbled on this site and was particularly interested by the comments made by “HELP”.
I can’t give you any information regarding the prices charged by your dentist. But I can give you some information about the disease processes occuring in your mouth and how your dentist wasn’t necessarily doing you a disservice [I'm learning about these sort of things now at uni].
First of all, congratulations on your fine oral health habits. It is fantastic you are so motivated to maintain good oral hygiene. I feel the need to warn you about two things.
1) You mention using mouth rinse twice a day. What mouth rinse are you using and was it recommended to you by your dentist? Unless you have a lot of decay, using a mouth rinse this much is excessive. It is costing you money and also if you are using an alcohol based mouth rinse such as Listerine you may be drying out your mouth. Low saliva flow from excessive mouth rinsing can occur over time and saliva cannot be underestimated in its importance in good oral health – it remineralises tooth structure, is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, clears the mouth of bacteria etc.
2) You describe your removal of plaque as “anal”. Please check with your dentist your brushing technique and your toothbrush to ensure you are not causing damage to your gums (they can recede from tooth brush abrasion leading to further problems). Also, if you do have receded gums, I would be inclined to not use a whitening toothpaste unless the way it whitens your teeth is by peroxide. Look at the ingredients on the back. Many whitening toothpastes have abrasive particles like silica (large bits as oppose to small ones that remove a small amount of surface enamel).
With regards to your gingivitis, there is proabably nothing to worry about. Gingivitis (especially in a clean mouth like yours) is a normal process that occurs in everyone’s mouth. The area you are referring to is a difficult place to remove all the plaque. It is highly unlikely that you have never had gingivitis ever before in your life. If you are interested, do some research on periodontitis. This is the next progression in susceptible individuals that occurs from prolonged gingivitis and if certain factors are present (many of which are still being worked out).
I suspect the dentist’s urgency in perfoming the root canal therapy was that your dental treatment was more urgent than your husbands. The aim of root canal therapy is to remove affected pulp and any bacteria that have infected it so that your tooth can be saved. This is clearly more important than removing plaque and calculus on the surface of the tooth. Your decay had spread through a great thickness of your tooth and if left may lead to greater infection such as an abscess – an accumulation of pus at the bottom of your tooth.
It is reasonable that four cavities appeared over the coarse of a year and a half. Removing plaque is important in preventing decay but there are many other factors important in preventing decay including: diet (are you eating sugary, sticky, acidic foods?), saliva and fluoride (do you live in a fluoridated area and were you born in a fluoridated area).
Usually decay takes longer to spread but if any of these factors were out of balance decay could have been sped up a lot.
Another possibole scenario is that there was some subsurface decay that your dentist did not pick up on your last visit and did not attempt to remineralise. Because saliva has a lot of calcium and phosphate ions the surface was able to remineralise but bacteria and decay spread under surface which looks fine ( in fact it should appear as a white spot lesion). Also, with fluoride the surface would be even more remineralised. This is called a fluoride bomb – when you have decay underneath and a sound surface. Then in the past year and a half it cracked under the pressure.
I think you’ll find many dental practices are fitted in comfortable furniture and your one is not unique. This is most likely for your comfort as a patient.
I advise all patients to ask their dentist if they practice minimal intervention – this is the current practice of dentistry and how we are taught dentistry nowadays. You will be much happier by this approach. It involves trying to keep as much tooth structure as possible. Dentists should not be using their probes and explorer to feel for “sticky” fissures requing sealing – this will cavitate any decay that could be remineralised – put back to as good as new (or at least stopped).
Hope everything works out for you.
That was awesome mad fun!
Dental Assisant on June 1st, 2007 3:20 pm
It is unfortunate that people aren’t more in tune with their own mouths. It is also unfortunate that the average person doesn’t have more education when it comes to dentistry. Mouths and teeth are interesting in that what causes “severe” pain to one patient may never cause symptoms in another patient. I have seen children, twins, who the one who eats good, winds up with cavities, while his sibling who gorges on sweets has no cavities. How do you then explain to the child to eats well that he is doing the right thing? There are honest dentist in the business, there are dentist who sell dentistry. There are small cavities that left untreated that will re-mineralize, but good oral hygiene is a must for that to occur. Even with good oral hygiene, it may not. It is important to have a dentist who knows your mouth to be able to determine what needs immediate attention. A tooth in the process of dying, or abcessing may have symptoms and the abcess may not show up on radiographs right away. I have on the other hand seen people with teeth decayed to the gumline who insist the tooth has never hurt them. The point I am trying to make is that every individual is different, each circumstance is different. Educate yourselves about your mouth. I would suggest that if you need a root canal, see a specialist called an endodontist. If you have periodontal disease,see a specialist known as a periodontist. Teeth consist of 3 substances, the enamel
which is usually
hard and is the surface you can see, decay,usually (with good homecare) doesn’t develope fast in the enamel. The surface below the enamel is dentin, which is softer and once decay reaches the dentin can accelerate in growth and should be restored as soon as possible, before it reaches the pulp tissue, which is the 3rd surface, which at this point, there are only 2 options, root canal and crown to save the tooth or extraction.
Then there is gum tissue and supporting bone that holds the teeth in place. Calculus or tartar (same thing) builds up on teeth and is like a thorn in your finger, which ultimately if left on and between the teeth can lead to severe periodontal disease and cause the teeth to become loose and ultimately cause the loss of teeth, regardless of how sound the tooth structure itself may be. I could go on and on. I have been in dentistry for many years. I do not claim to have the knowledge of a
dentist, but maybe my words, a little practical knowledge has helped. As in any walk of life, there are good people, there are shady people. My heart goes out to those who have had bad experiences…if you have questions, ask your dentist, if you are not satisfied with his answer, get your x-rays and get a 2nd opinion. I know that isn’t always practical, because of cost. Even in other areas of healthcare, it is easy to say get a 2nd opinion, I know personally, that requires more time and money. If you have insurance, most plans pay for cleaning and xrays. Full mouth xrays once every 5 yrs and bitewing xrays once a year. Empower yourself with knowledge, and find someone you Trust, ask friends and relatives, coworkers with your same insurance plan make good referral sources. Ask them how long they have been seeing their dentist and how they feel about him. Good Luck and I hope you keep smiling.
Martha on April 12th, 2008 10:39 am
Yesterday I went to a dentist who kept me in the dental chair with my mouth open for over two hours. He said I had a cavity, then he proceeded to fill two. One molar he said was cracked and needed repaired. Bull pucky! I was taken for a loop and the dental assistance go right along with the doctors because they are now paid a percentage of the procedures they perform. Disgusting. I had gone to the same dentist for over 30 years and he recently retired. The doctor who bought his practice (fresh out of dental school with loads of debt I am certain) then informed me I needed several crowns and other work done. I left and went to an old friend of mine her husband is a dentist. I thought I could trust him, but now I am just disgusted entirely. They are all the same now, there are no honest dentists. I do want to tell you something important, when my husband and I went to a party recently the topic of the moment was “teeth” and my husband said he never had any pain or cavities in his mouth…everyone looked at him and then said, “Well, you had an honest dentist”. I was so taken back by that at that moment, it never dawned on me that a dentist would perform an unneccesary procedure on anyone. I was appalled, but now I see I have become a victim myself and I am mad. My mouth is killing me today and also I was numb in my mouth for over 6 hours, he gave me two shots at one time. I could not even feel my ear. Disgusting.
joe dentist on July 23rd, 2008 9:12 am
i had a fluoride bomb and they suck cavity dude!
ariel on April 17th, 2010 6:56 pm
I have three teeth that need to be fixed due to two dishonest dentists. My experience was so horrific I have not had my teeth cleaned in nine years. I never had a problem going to the dentist before that. One tooth is completely gone on the bottom and I do not know if it can be saved. The dentist did a shot job and left and overhang and then did a filling on a tooth he never told me he was doing without my authorization – that’s battery. I have been to several dentists all of whom want to cap and root canal it and pull it to put a $3,000.00 implant in. I have no insurance. Everyone here is right, it used to be easy, go to your dentist get a cleaning one kind of filling, and don’ let the dentist tell you a white filling is better, that’s what distroyed my tooth. I have good teeth that is the sad part. Dental Board is no help. One dental office I went to would not look at me unless I signed their office form that said “I could not sue them in a court of law for damages they deemed unrelated to the work they did in my mouth”, needless to say I walked out without signing. The dentist rolled her eyes at as I was leaving because just before that she was insisting if I returned to get xrays and cleaning – ummm on broken teeth and what happens if the hygentist breaks them more – her repsonse “They would have broken anyway”. Nice. To all of you Dishonest Dentists out there. How can you go home every night and put food on your table without choking on it??? How sad. Shame on you. Go out and get a real job if you cannot make enough money to support yourself and your family but don’t take it out on an innocent person who relies on your training. I will get my teeth fixed but you have to live with the fact that one of you caused it. One more thing – ask a dentist to see their white/composite fillings in their mouth and ask them how many fillings they have. Shame on your all who are not honest.
Mike on November 15th, 2011 11:00 am
I found this article http://www.smile-mag.com/?pid=artd&artid=10&magid=4 after the fact on a failed root canal. The nineth line is the most compelling. For the full story, check it out on http://www.ripoffreport.com type in Gentling Dental Group on the search. By the time this gets too you, something has probably already gone wrong. Inform you family and friends of dentists like this.
Cephas on January 24th, 2012 10:43 am
Your opinion about dishonesty in the dental profession is widely supported. Dentists are outside of public health control. They are the worst kind of oligopoly. They do not provide the necessary treatment to their patients but only what is covered by the patient’s insurance. If the patient needs a filling but his insurance would only pay for an extraction; the dentist would yak the tooth out regardless of the consequences. Their practice offers a ready prescription for greed and exploitation of vulnerable patients. At 76, I have yet to meet an honest dentist!
Cephas Keith Reyes, Burnaby, BC.
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