Dentistry is a sham

I went to the dentist today for the first time in more than eight years.  Thanks to my experiences as a child getting fourteen teeth pulled at the request of orthodontists, I am terrified of dentists.  I was literally shaking when I sat in the chair today.  No one takes this phobia seriously.  Shame on you if you don’t.

Anyway,  I finally worked up the courage to go in for a cleaning today.  The staff was reasonably nice, and tried to make me feel comfortable.  I sat through what seemed like an eternity getting my teeth scraped, sweating, and involuntarily flinching the entire time.

The last time I went to the dentist, I was living in Philadelphia, about 8 years ago.  I was moving to Boston, and was about to lose my health insurance from work, as I was going back to school.  This dentist cleaned my teeth and told me I had three cavities, and told me I should make an appointment to get them filled.  I left town instead.

But today, the Atlanta dentist said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, because we may not see you for another eight years, but you don’t have a single cavity.”  I was surprised.  I didn’t say anything about the Philly dentist, I took my free toothbrush and happily left.  By the way, he also made a ton of comments about the amount of teeth I was missing.

As I was driving home, congratulating myself on not having to get six root canals as I had imagined, I started thinking about my disappearing cavities.  Admittedly, I already have a low opinion of dentists.  Was the Philly dentist incompetent?  Is the Atlanta dentist incompetent?  If I can’t trust someone with a DDS to accurately examine my teeth, why should I listen to anything they say?

Here are the options, in my mind:

  1. The Philly dentist made up the cavities in order to make more money by getting me to have unnecessary dental work done.   This makes him a bad doctor.
  2. The Atlanta dentist didn’t see the cavities, despite the ridiculous amount of x-rays that were taken today.  This makes him an incompetent doctor.
  3. The Atlanta dentist saw the cavities but neglected to tell me about them, rightly realizing that if he told me that I had to have tons of dental work done, I would get scared and never go back.  By building my confidence by not telling me I had cavities, he could get me back in in six months for the next cleaning and then lay it on me.  This makes him untrustworthy, even if his intentions are good.
  4. Despite my lack of regular flossing, the cavities magically disappeared.

I’m going with Option #3 right now.  If that is true, can a doctor really do that?  Shouldn’t he be required to tell me everything he discovers about my body?  That’s what I’m paying him for, isn’t it?  It seems unethical to withhold information like that.

I bet Option #1 is the most likely, and it confirms what I have long suspected about the medical profession, and dentistry in particular: that doctors are more concerned about making money than they are about their patents’ health.

Am I too cynical?  Perhaps.  But where did my cavities go?

29 thoughts on “Dentistry is a sham”

  3. I am putting my money on #1. You have just scared me to death, because right now I don’t have any faith in doctors. We don’t have many to choose from in New Orleans. I think insurance claims is the biggest scam and it is where doctors make most of their money.

  4. lol, that was actually taught in schools up until the late 40s. I know someone born in ’42 who remembers being taught that exact phrase, and the map proudly being shown, with British dominions shown in pink.

    Once India was granted independence, and many other territories given back to their people, it was quietly dropped from schools.

    I learned who Cornwallis was the other day. He’s never mentioned in UK history at all. I gather he’s fairly well known to you US peeps though.

  5. The entire medical profession is a money-making scheme, controlled by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.

    I know that eye doctors routinely try and scam their patients into buying their over-priced frames. Once my eye doctor found out what insurance I was on, he went in the back and brought out a box of about twelve of the shittiest, heaviest frames I had ever seen and told me these were what my policy would cover. Of course he recommended the $300 pair he sold himself. Screw that. I bought the same style and weight that he recommended online from zennioptical.com for $80 and I love them.

    If that Philly dentist was recommending work be done that didn’t need to be done, isn’t that illegal? Isn’t unecessary surgery just for the heck of it illegal? Why should drilling into live bones be any different?

    Doctors suck. If there’s any doctors that read this site, I’m calling you out.

  6. We learn who Cornwallis is in school, yes, but I think most peeps forget, and the name just sounds vaguely familiar, like the Appomattox Courthouse.

  8. I do not remember that you had 14 teeth taken out. I think it was more like 8. Your brother on the other hand had to have every one of his baby teeth pulled to make room for his permanent ones….plus all four wisdom teeth. I have to say my dentist might be a little strange, but he is a very good dentist and an honest one. What do you mean you have NOt been to a dentist in 8 YEARS. Good Grief.

    About the missing teeth–I am missing 2 wisdom teeth….no comments please….so I understand about the missing ones. How many are you missing? You are very lucky if you are missing the wisdom teeth.

    I have always wondered about eye glasses….I do think doctors order test because the insurance companies will cover them and to cover their asses in case of a law suit. That is why all those tests are repeated when you go for a second opiniion. Why can’t they use the results of the tests already taken? Think of how much money your father has spent on kidney stones. My God, he could retire to Bermuda and not wait for Paul to fill a cuss jar like I am.

  9. That’s right. Eight years. And not a single cavity. Dentistry is a sham. You don’t need to go and submit yourself to those sadists. I’m living proof.

    He was commenting on my missing bicuspids. I have all four wisdom teeth instead of those.

  10. You have your Grandpa Tillery’s good teeth. He always bragged that he did not own a tooth brush until he was 16. He did not have his first cavity until he was in his early 70’s. Your Granny on the other hand had terrible teeth.

  11. Okay..your family’s dental stories have got me on the floor. Grandpa Tillery’s good teeth!…..Ahh! I’m in heaven!
    Thank heavens my daddy is a veterinarian. In my youth, he would just hose my mouth down and scrub the teeth with a dirty dog brush. Three cavities I tell you! Just got them this year!
    The dentist I have here in Austin let’s me purchase nitrice oxide for only 20 bucks on my visits. I see him regularly.
    Also, when I was little, I used to play a game with my big yellow lab named doc. (seriously). I would open up my mouth wide, and let him lick the inside of it all over. My friends would watch and scream. That was probably the best dentist I ever had.

  12. Well, it must have worked because you have a beautiful smile. Kent, since we are on dentists and they have sent you over the wall, I want you to look into getting your teeth whitened. I know I was a terrible mother and probably caused all your problems…and I know I caused your phobias…but look into that.

    And you boys no nothing about horrible dentists. I used to go to Rip and Yank Johnson, whose office was on the 12th floor of the Medical Arts Building in Ft. Worth. He did not have a receptionist so he had to stop and answer the phone while you sat there with your mouth open. He filled teeth without novicane and had no sympathy for a terrified child. I must have broken my mother’s hand squeezing it so tight. The only saving grace was that I could look out the window and see the park below and wondered if I could throw him out or jump to safety. I did bite his hand once, I have to admit. PS–nitrous oxide is the BEST!!!!

  13. I would have avoided any dentists with the names Rip and Yank. Your experience sounds just as bad as Shane’ s. I sure would have liked to ?????. Well I don’t want to say those words on this website. It will be a miracle if Shane does not end up with the same phobias as Kent has. Kent I feel your pain.

  14. I’m all for stopping dentist visits. Where do I sign up? I never had any tooth issues until I had my first cavity filled. Now every cold beverage is like a little adventure of raw-nerve pain.

    Furthermore, I think that different dentists see different things in x-rays. I do not have proof of this, but I will ask my dental tech friend Shannon. Her dad is a teacher at the Creighton Dental school. She will shoot me straight. In the meantime, Kent, I would just reccomend using that post-brushing rinse. I think it’s called plax.

  16. What about this?

    “Clinical studies show that rinsing with PLAX then brushing normally† removes more plaque than just brushing.

    Plax* (anti-plaque dental rinse) is the only pre-brushing dental rinse specifically formulated to help loosen and detach plaque safely and effectively. The best way to help prevent plaque from becoming a problem is to remove as much of it as you can every day. Since plaque tends to accumulate between your teeth and at the gum line, brushing alone may not be enough. Plax is clinically proven to start to help loosen and remove plaque even before you pick up your toothbrush. “

  17. we’ve already established that the medical profession is a crock, so clinical studies do nothing but further their erroneous claims.

  18. How about this?

    “Plax took a major step forward in my book. Not because he ripped Tiki but because he did so defending his QB – and boy did he defend hsi QB.”

    – Career Ender 56

  19. Now that makes more sense. Although I’m tired of all the Tiki bashing that’s going on these days. I’m not Tiki’s biggest fan, but Tom Coughlin is a jerk, and a bad coach. Everyone knows this. Why does everyone defend him now?

  20. That whole team is full of assholes. To take a side is like choosing between paying taxes and crying kids.

  23. Maybe that’s why I think he’s a nice guy, I can’t hear him over Shockey, Burress, Eli, Coughlin, Strahan, and every member of the defense who did the stupid basketball shot celebration last year.

  28. Kent –

    Here is what I found out. Just for your birthday.

    “Sometimes teeth do remineralize. maybe when they moved there was more fluoride in their drinking water. depends on how bad the cavities were to begin with. “

Leave a Reply