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 ...
There is a town across the border from Yuma, AZ that specializes in dental procedures. Apparently, many Americans that do not have dental insurance go there annually to have crowns and other expensive dental work.
They do the complete procedure in one day. All the equipment is state of the art. As are the doctors themselves.
This was related to me several years ago by an independent truck driver from WA state. He would go down there annually. Stay in a campground in Yuma with his 5th wheel and get work done for about 1/4 of what it would cost in the USA.
Last month I had to have an emergency root canal on one of my front bottom teeth. After two visits to the specialists and a before and after with my dentist it cost me right around $2K. Plus my insurance covered another $1100.
That sounds like a great deal. I need this. I have a few broken morals. :)
This is a one piece unit that snaps onto four pegs? Remove for cleaning once a day?
Several years ago I had a painful tooth. The dentist sent me to a specialist that said it was calcified and dead inside. It was going to cost $400 so I decided not to proceed.
After I went carnivore, my gum disease went away, and so did the pain from the dead tooth.
. But it’s odd they will do their best and call in specialists for every part of the body.... except for teeth.
.
I had an almost identical experience in my teens. (I’m now 60).
Barry, my dentist, had the hobby of collecting race horses. A very expensive hobby, needless to say. (He had photos and paintings of his horses
all over his office.)
He told me told me the same kind of story your dentist gave you.
Luckily my parents had pretty good dental insurance through my dad’s job,
so it was covered.
Dental and medical professionals are almost a necessary evil.
We just have to hope (and pray) that we are not taken in or injured by a shyster or an incompetent.
“...there’s evidence that gum disease and inflammation can trigger heart disease.”
.
True, that, and I learned this from my dog’s Veterinarian!
Gratefully, my dental insurer recently covered THREE cleanings each year...
So you were vegan/vegetarian before and there was pain ... and began eating meat and the pain left? That’s interesting.
(I eat an average amount of meat.)
“but we are losing trust.”
And that is the whole thing right there. Trust.
I wonder what the odds are of coming out with a clean bill of health from cancer centers after being referred to them “as just a precautionary measure” just because your white cell count is up and your hemoglobin is down?
So far from what I have seen, it doesn’t happen anymore. They are not going to wait and see if these can be brought back to levels with diet, or look for a possible different cause first to rule out cancer, They are going to immediately schedule you for a whole barrage and several months in a row of testing and office visits for any excuse they can because “they just know” you have cancer.
And if it turns out you do not, they will still try to schedule you monthly appointments as a customer for life because you “might” get it some day. A system that is purely designed to profit from illness cannot be trusted. Patient hardships and true compassionate healthcare are no longer their priority.
“There is a town across the border from Yuma, AZ that specializes in dental procedures. Apparently, many Americans that do not have dental insurance go there annually to have crowns and other expensive dental work.
They do the complete procedure in one day. All the equipment is state of the art. As are the doctors themselves.”
Los Algodones.
And from what I understand, there are even some that come to the U.S. side of the border and do the same thing.
Things are a LOT more expensive here because they can be.
I have friends who would snowbird every year in Yuma in order to get dental work done across the border in Los Algadones. They were very happy with the work.
How did our teeth get separated from the rest of our body? It has always angered me that dental insurance covers a set maximum each year and the rest can put you in the poor house!
YES YES YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES! My teeth (the ones they didn’t totally destroy and pull) would be much better, and more numerous, without so much “dentistry”.
YES YES YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES! My teeth (the ones they didn’t totally destroy and pull) would be much better, and more numerous, without so much “dentistry”.
If you want to post this on the Natural Health thread, please do so!!! I have some stories to tell, and probably others do as well.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3735908/posts?q=1&;page=2001
Sounds like a lot of people out west do this.
I also met a guy once who went to Costa Rica and had a whole mouth full of dental work done. Then stayed for a two week vacation. He said the savings on his teeth more than paid for the vaca.
No, I was eating the standard American diet. Basically everything, meat, pasta, vegetables, anything high carb.
I think the carbs were feeding the gum bacteria, constantly bathed in sugar. And my immune system got better, clearing up the infection in the bad tooth.
In 2018, I went from 235 to 205 in five months, doing zero exercise. Then I started walking and doing modified pushups, and by 2021 I was down to 180.
But, I was hit by a car while walking 18 months ago, broke both legs. I can walk and play pool, but not take walks. And I’m eating junk food, back up to 210.
I swore off carbs again last night, had a 1.5lb top sirloin steak, gonna see if I can do a three day fast. It’s been a year since I did one. :)
Thanks! So it’s the carbs then. And you attribute low carbs with healthier teeth. Hmmmm...
I have pretty much given up rice, potatoes, pasta, and bread except keep bread. When I did low carb in earnest about two years ago I stopped 25 pounds in 6 months. I NEVER cheated.
Now I cheat sometimes with a cookie, pizza, etc. Have put on a few pounds but have not gone back to where I was at the beginning.
Yes, the carbs. I didn’t notice my gums had stopped bleeding after brushing/flossing, etc, until I heard Jordan Peterson say the same thing about HIS teeth.
Once your gums are healthy, I don’t think occasional cheating will hurt, except the waistline. Mine still don’t bleed, even when probing with a toothpick.
Yeah.. that was how they started out telling people that they really did not need screening for cancers.
We have seen how THAT worked out.
My daughter used the same dentist as the rest of us all her life until she moved at 24. She never had a cavity. She went to a new dentist (different state) for a cleaning and he said she had 3 cavities that needed work!
I told her not to trust the guy. She hasn’t been back - but now she hasn’t seen a dentist in a couple of years. :( She takes good care of her teeth, but still.
Our dentist said that when she goes back someday and if they do x-rays, our dentist would take a look at them as a second opinion.
She isn’t “cavity happy”, and modifies the x-ray schedule based on our actual history so we don’t have to do them so often. So when it comes to her recommending a procedure I feel like I can trust her. I have a first time ever “deep teeth cleaning” coming up due to chronic gum inflammation and bleeding.
From the other posts it sounds like I would do well to overcome my carbs and sweets cravings.
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