Dental Practices Today - Page 4

gazelle77 · ‎03-01-2013

On 9/11/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:
On 9/11/2014 gazelle77 said:
<em>I totally GET what you are saying.</em> Everytime I go to the dentist there is something that they point out needing attention. Now I have 59 year old teeth, and yes, I do have issues to be addressed... but I also need to watch my bank account and just can not afford to fix everything right NOW.

I just crowned two teeth with old mercury fillings... they had cracks in them like you were talking about and with my upcoming surgery on my hip, I wanted it taken care of before surgery. I have one more molar left with a mercury filling that needs a crown( will fix later). The two teeth I crowned cost me out of pocket WITH GOOD INSURANCE-- $1200.

I take extra good care of my teeth, but, still have recession, and my teeth are not perfect white. I would love to have a movie star smile,( I do not) but, really, at this point in my life, I just want to have healthy teeth, that do not hurt. IF I could afford to have $50,000 worth of restoration and have a movie star smile, I would do it gladly. But until that happens, I just try to keep up with my teeth, fix them as I need to and can afford to. They are not movie star beautiful... it seems that is what the dentist now strive for with their patients. Crowns are not a perfect fix either.... you get decay UNDER crowns usually which down the road leads to the nerve dying and a root canal. As they are now pushing implants at $5000 a tooth... it is just so out of touch with reality to the average consumer. So, it just basically NEVER ENDS.

What's the difference between a mercury filling and a silver filling? ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

none.

silver fillings ARE mercury fillings.

lulu2 · ‎03-09-2010

My husband and I both had a number of molars with amalgam fillings. They held up well for 40+ years. We are both in the process of a dental implant on a tooth that had been filled, then down the line needed a root canal and crown. I remember thinking (way back when) a root canal and crown meant, till death do us part. What a silly thing to think.

I do love my dentist, periodontist and oral surgeon and trust their judgments.

esmerelda · ‎03-10-2010

No doubt some dentists are more interested in their financial health than your dental health. A friend of mine had one like that. She got a different one.

If you don't trust ANYONE you're doing business with, find someone else.

*********************
Keepin' it real.

Pook · ‎03-20-2010

I have an excellent dentist who doesn't push anything but does explain things so I can make an informed decision. I needed 4 crowns and while he fixed the teeth that had broken didn't say I needed the crowns immediately and I was able to do them one each year and all was fine!!

Yahooey · ‎07-09-2010

I changed my dentist a little over 10 years ago. He told me my fillings were rotting, the existing crown was 1.5 times larger than my other molars. There were a lot of bad things in there. 6 or so months later, all my mercury fillings were removed and replaced. My whole mouth was filled with fillings with little enamel showing. Those were replaced with crowns. I had a root canal thrown in the mix because there was a leakage that went into my nose that the old dentist didn't fix either. I visited him very 2 weeks to fix something. It was the best money I ever spent. No dental insurance. Now over 10 years later, I had a cavity and a crown done. Regular 2x a year cleaning. I also had a wisdom tooth pulled by a specialist. Yes the initial consultation was disturbing. But now I can chew on all sides of my mouth. My old dentist said there was nothing wrong. I had so much more room with a corrected sized crown. I have 4 or 5 crowns total now. You have to trust your gut whether you feel he is ripping you off or not. I did not want to spend all that money but I trusted him.

nlwilliams · ‎03-10-2010

Nope my Dentist is fine, but I've never needed any work done other than cleanings.

straykatz · ‎03-09-2010

I don't mistrust my dentist or dislike her...I just think the policy of automatically doing extra xrays or other non essential dental things like flouride just because insurance covers it to be more a waste of insurance funds than actual preventative dental practices.

MikafromTopeka · ‎03-10-2010

On 9/11/2014 ILikeShade said:
I would like to know if anyone was ever told by their cardiologist that they were in danger of heart disease because of their teeth or gums. My dad wore an upper denture and was diligent about his lowers just requiring a bridge yet he was never told at any given time in his life by a cardiologist that it was his teeth putting him at risk. After you have your teeth removed for a denture you have no more toothache, gum disease and certainly no root canal in your future. In his 70's, he had a mild heart attack and received a of couple stents. Further study showed he had minimal damage to his heart and it was very strong.

No, usually it's the dentist who says that.

I have to admit though that I had my bad teeth removed at age 43 for full dentures because I was so sick and tired of being sick. I haven't had a sinus infection in 7 years since. I do still get an occasional phantom toothache during allergy season. *I inherited bad teeth.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

My wife works as a Dental Claims Analyst and you outta here some of the stories she tells me about what some of the dentists are now trying to get insurance companies to foot the bill. Luckily, the majority of them have not figured out the dental coding process yet, and so it is easier for my wife to say, "not covered by patients policy" in the EOB sent back to the dentist office.

hckynut(john)

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

On 9/11/2014 kaybee said:
On 9/11/2014 ILikeShade said:
I would like to know if anyone was ever told by their cardiologist that they were in danger of heart disease because of their teeth or gums. My dad wore an upper denture and was diligent about his lowers just requiring a bridge yet he was never told at any given time in his life by a cardiologist that it was his teeth putting him at risk. After you have your teeth removed for a denture you have no more toothache, gum disease and certainly no root canal in your future. In his 70's, he had a mild heart attack and received a of couple stents. Further study showed he had minimal damage to his heart and it was very strong.

No, usually it's the dentist who says that.

I have to admit though that I had my bad teeth removed at age 43 for full dentures because I was so sick and tired of being sick. I haven't had a sinus infection in 7 years since. I do still get an occasional phantom toothache during allergy season. *I inherited bad teeth.

When people have infected teeth or gums the bacteria can migrate to their heart valves and make the valves fail - then the person goes into heart failure and needs the valves to be replaced.Better to take very good care of ones teeth and gums to prevent getting one of those infections in the first place. Your choice would be the dentist vs major open heart surgery.