General Dental Talk

[Huntn]

Over the last 15 years, I’ve had three dentists. The first was a private practice, no issues with my gums, but I had to switch due to change of insurance. The second dentist was a corporate chain, and when my wife and I walked in there, we got “the sky is falling”, you’ve got gum disease and need deep cleanings! … Which cost extra of course, not covered by insurance

We ended up, leaving that dentist for their insistence of being paid upfront, not waiting for insurance to come through, and most of the time we ended up overpaying. The third dentist was another private practice, and the first thing I asked after an exam is do I have gingivitis? The answer was no. So I’ve been seeing this dentist for about five years who I’m happy with, but due to a change in insurance again, we’re not in their network anymore.

So I set myself up to see a new dentist. Of note, another corporate chain, I should’ve known better, but it was the same story again, “you have gingivitis and we’ve got the spiffy deep cleaning with a laser and it only cost $700 a cleaning every three months”.Am I imagining this or are these corporate dentists pushing a scam or under pressure to create an income flow?

I do have some bone loss and when they probe my gums, the depth readings are mostly 1, 2,3s with a couple 4,5s. My last exam previous to this, the dentist noted gums were pink and firm, one area with a 5 that they were gonna keep an eye on. I can’t say whose depth readings were more accurate, but the push for a laser cleaning seems suspicious to me, based on what my previous dentist has said about my gums.

So I’m soliciting feedback if you’ve had any “suspicious “pricing from dentists, and were they private practices or corporate chain?

 

[Herdfan]

So I’m soliciting feedback if you’ve had any “suspicious “pricing from dentists, and were they private practices or corporate chain?

One of the challenges of moving to a whole new place is finding doctors. And that includes dentists. I am getting to an age where all those fillings done on my 20's are starting to fail. You will be eating something and all of a sudden it gets crunchy and it is part of a filling. So this happened when we had been out here about 3 months. So I found a dentist that accepted "walk-ins" (you still had to call and make an appointment, but they would get you in same day).

While it wasn't a corporate chain, it almost behaved like one. After getting my crown, a person came in and tried to hawk just about every dental device known to man. Nightguard, this coating, that procedure (the deep cleansing, etc). Not a fan, but they got me fixed.

Fast forward a few months and the wife had a crown come loose. So she called the dentist I went tos after-hours line and got no call back. So she started looking and found a guy in Sedona. She called and he had her come right away. He was great, just a one man shop (the previous one had 3 dentists) and was actually a bit cheaper than the other one (I have never had dental insurance).

Not sure why it all seems to be happening now, but in the almost 2 years we have been out here, I have had to get 4 new crowns and she has had to get 2. Maybe we are just getting to the age where the old fillings are going to all fail. I do say, I love the way they do crowns now. In and out in one day with a ceramic crown. No more get a temp and go back for the permanent.

My dentist in WV was great, but he retired during COVID. He had hired a new dentist and she was OK, but he was great.

 

[Huntn]

I’ve identified another dentist close by I’m going to give a try. Calling today.

 

[rdrr]

I’ve identified another dentist close by I’m going to give a try. Calling today.

I too went through this and I swear that they schedule the deep cleaning every two years to get as much as they can out of the insurance. Dental Insurance isn't as good as what it was when I got my first "big boy" job, and it seems to be getting worse with every year.

My current dentist contradicts the "gingivitis" prognosis I got about 7 years back, but... They say I have very deep pockets in my gum and I have to water pic them everyday. It has started to cause bone loss and I imagine that I will eventually need to get a couple of the back teeth pulled and implants or bridges put in.