Posted on 10/17/2024 9:49:46 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A series of recently published opinions and letters present varying perspectives on the current state of US dental care all emphasize the need for evidence-based practices and changes in economic models.
The conversation kicked off when Paulo Nadanovsky, DDS, Ph.D. and colleagues presented "Too Much Dentistry," arguing that dental diseases and procedures are highly prevalent, costly, and often exceed spending on other major health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
They suggest that dental care in the U.S. is driven more by economic pressures and patient trust than clinical evidence, leading to excessive diagnoses and interventions.
Examples offered include the treatment of noncavitated caries lesions (white spots) and routine fillings in children, practices that lack substantial evidence of benefit in preventing pain or infection.
The collective viewpoints acknowledge themes of overdiagnosis, the influence of economics on dental practices, and the urgent need for basic evidence-based guidelines.
Another way of phrasing that is, yes, the current state of US dental practice is a somewhat of a scam with some really good outcomes. While perceptions of dentistry often come down to patient confidence and trust in the profession, I offer a few anecdotal tales from the ever-skeptical author of this article as examples.
I was once told that I had eight cavities and was handed a detailed schedule of the order in which the dentist would recommend addressing them. A visit to a new dentist for a (blinded) second opinion revealed that I had zero.
When my oldest daughter was three, a dentist took X-rays that revealed five cavities. When I looked at the X-rays, I couldn't see anything. I was told it was because I wasn't a dentist. The new dentist she visited later found none.
The implications of oversight for dental practices and health care policy are significant.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I dont think caps will fix a broken moral. If it could then i dont think so many in the inner city with free dental would be having the problems that they do.
[Who can afford it anymore?]
Certainly not me.
OTOH, there HAS to be a rich woman out there that wants an eccentric Bible Prophecy guy.....
Maybe 7-10 women?
3-5 women?
1 woman?
LOL
Oh wait.
I don’t get to be “eccentric” until I’m rich...darn it...
We had a dentist here who, if he had his way, would have you back every six months for a cleaning and something to the tune of $500 to $1,000 each time. Pretty good regular income if he could get you to come back.
My attorney once told me the highest earning professional clients he had were dentists, not doctors.
Dentists are nearly like Chiropractors if they can keep you coming back. Dentists actually do more when necessary.
I’m sorry you had to go thru such pain at such a young age. I still have the best memories of biting my dentist when I was young.
Gotta keep that cash flow going! At least the dentist did not try to sell your mom on gold crowns.
They have to make enough money to make their Chrysler LeBaron payments!
Also, though this is probably more in the orthodontic realm than dentistry, they had palatal expanders, prior to braces - as opposed to the old school approach of extracting perfectly good teeth (to make room for re-alignment).
Being married to a dental hygienist helped ;)
I have been told several times I needed root canals, 3 of the times I said just fill the tooth. Never had a problem with any of them.
And they rig local markets. In our little town you cannot even get dentures at all. All the ten or so dentists will do are expensive implants period, they got together and rigged the local market. And I mean expensive, as much or more than a new car costs.
Optometrists do the same thing. They sell glasses to kids who are too young to even tell you if something looks blurry or not. There is no such thing as “Your sight is fine, you don’t need glasses yet”. They will harm your kids vision before they lose a sale.
Doctors are the same way, they will do unneeded procedures and unethical practices just to make a buck. The whole health industry is a greedy scam.
I had a similar experience in 1986. Dental Hygenist told me she only saw one cavity, which I could clearly see on the exray. Dentist claimed 6 cavities. Second opinion said only 1.
My Dentist of nearly 40 years retired. And his replacement is big into using Dental Ablation. He’s found and repaired a lot more cavities suddenly than my old dentist.
My bill for 2024 is $3200, which includes at least 2 crowns. However, I do believe the crowns were necessary.
I think he is more expensive, but I don’t really know how to compare.
Thanks for the timely post, C.M.
A couple years ago, Seattle cut back the fluoride level in our drinking water to the lowest minimum standard.
My first thought - dentists are the quiet prime movers in this decision. Less fluoride - more cavities.
Within the last month, fluoride is under attack again for allegedly reducing the IQ of children.
Just a question of time before we will need dentist prescriptions to buy fluoride mouth wash.
Every time I go to the dentist for a cleaning these days, I walk out with a print-out of a several thousand dollar “dental plan”. I keep telling them at my age, I’m not worried about cosmetic dental work but for several years now, they have been insisting that I need crowns on teeth that are perfectly fine.
And don’t get me started on dental insurance plans. You have to fight to get them to pay for necessary dental work and no matter the cost they will only pay half. The dentist always charges twice what the insurance company will pay. It never fails that if I get insurance that pays more, the dentist’s charges increase by that same amount.
Same
They already have them. I have a child whose mouth ph caused cavities. She had to use a special swish to prevent them
I find it very difficult to find a white American male dentist ... or any kind of doctor for that matter ...
That saliva PH issue would seem to merit further inquiry as a possible marker of more serious disease. Medical professionals can be dismissive of such concerns, so it may take some polite but persistent effort.
Campaign platform recommendations from my profile page:
AFFORDABLE DENTISTRY
Two-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for:
1. basic dentistry: dental imaging, oral examination, extractions, cavity filling and crowns
2. implants
3. dentures
4. root canals
One-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for independent dental imaging, oral examination and dental hygiene for those persons with over $40000 in paid dental hygiene earned income.
AFFORDABLE LEGAL SERVICES
Final two-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for independent criminal defense law practice at some state universities.
I have thought for years that dentists are the ones who keep getting scammed by the vendors who come and tell them they absolutely have to have the very latest and most expensive equipment or they can’t compete. This increases overhead exponentially and certainly makes it tempting to overdiagnose and charge more. Not an excuse, but a reason.
My current dentures are over 20 years old and the lowers are a little loose so that some food gets under them.
So I went to a dentist to have new ones made. The new ones were way, way too loose. They actually floated around in my mouth as I attempted to eat or drink. And quite painful after a while.
So I went back to complain about three times and was told the same story, that lower’s are supposed to be loose. The VA paid thousands of dollars for these, I went to them and they said I had to work it out with the dentist. The new ones are sitting in the medicine cabinet and the 20 year old ones are still being used.
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