I have nearly perfect teeth.
I had 4 cavities in my baby teeth, that I’m sure were diagnosed and filled by a quack dentist. They developed simultaneously and symmetrically in 4 molars. Otherwise, I’ve never had any cavities.
I’ve also have some failed childhood orthodontics that left my teeth a bit crowded and crooked. 4 of my teeth were also pulled in the course of this treatment. This was also thanks to a very bad orthodontist. I’ll have some more to say about this later.
I still have all 4 of my wisdom teeth.
For the past 20 years I’ve had the same dentist. I’ve been mostly happy with him, but that’s because he hasn’t done very much, because there was nothing to do. Generally, I’ve been going in about every 2 years for a check up and cleaning. He gives me x-rays about every 8-10 years.
Before this dentist I was also going in about every 2 years, but each time to a different dentist. This was generally because every dentist gave me the hard sell about getting my wisdom teeth removed, frequent x-rays, the same brushing demonstrations over and over, and so on. I wasn’t interested in any of these things because my teeth weren’t bothering me and every 2 years was too often for x-rays. Besides never finding a dentist I liked, never going to the same dentist twice made it harder for them to ratchet the pressure for selling these kinds of things to me.
My current dentist hasn’t been so interested in pushing me to accept treatments I wasn’t interested in, until recently. One of the problems however is that here in the Netherlands, dental fees are fixed by law. This is generally a good thing for patients, but recently they decided dentists should be more affordable and they sharply lowered what a dentist is allowed to charge. A basic check up now costs €20 or about US$22, which doesn’t leave much profit margin for the dentist. It puts dentists in the position where they have to provide more treatments, in order to earn the same amount of money. For example, now every time I go in I get a brushing demonstration, which costs €25 and more than doubles what the dentist can charge me.
My dentist recently said I had developed some gum disease, and around the same time referred me to an orthodontist for some possible minor teeth straightening. In the course of addressing these new issues, I’ve really learned a lot about dentistry in general. I’ve been searching the Internet for alternative treatments for gum disease, and researching my old childhood orthodontic procedure. I’m astonished by what I’ve found about both of these things.
The view of my dentist concerning my gum disease was that first my teeth needed to be cleaned better. That means coming in for very frequent teeth cleaning and brushing demonstrations — until I get brushing right! In the end, when cleaning doesn’t solve the problem anymore, I may need to go to a periodontist, who will cut away some of the diseased gum, in order to give me another chance to brush well.
I told my dentist his treatment proposal was ridiculous, and fired him. I said I was going to look for someone with a broader vision of dental health. In the meantime, I found a different solution to the gum disease, that at least until now has given very good results.
Whatever problems that may or may not exist with my brushing are not going to be solved with the same brushing demonstrations over and over. Besides, I’m 52 years old, and I think I lost my patience for brushing demonstrations when I was about 16. If the problem is cleaning my teeth, unless I’m going to go to the dentist every day for a teeth cleaning, this isn’t going to be solved by teeth cleanings, no matter how frequent they are.
I’ve also never been able to make a clear association myself between teeth cleaning and oral health. Of course teeth cleaning is important, but I’m sometimes better than others, and my teeth are perfect. I also know other people who brush regularly and still have problems with tooth decay and gum disease. I have never heard a clear and credible explanation of this relationship. I’ve recently gained some insight into this as well.
I’m not impressed anymore by how a dentist can blame all a patient’s problems on their lack of good brushing skills. I don’t think anyone else should either. I’m going to make a series of posts about some of the things I’ve learned, and I’ll come back to this post and provide links to them. Of course I hope some of you will make comments about your experiences as well. In general, I think a lot of problems with dentists can be solved if patients know how to decline treatment, and when it’s time to look for another dentist.
If you want a sneak preview into some of the things I’m going to write about, have a look at some of the things Dr. Robert O. Nara, DDS has written and said:
http://www.amazon.com/Money-Mouthful-Robert-O-Nara/dp/0933420005
https://oneradionetwork.com/dental-healing/dr-robert-o-nara-d-d-s-how-to-become-dentally-self-sufficient-12-03-09/
I’ve made some follow up posts to this one:
