Are dentists creating problems that aren’t there?

[tetleydd]

I’m referring to the cosmetic side of dentistry. At each visit I’m asked “are you happy with your smile ? “ This pisses me off every time. They question the straightness and colour.

My 15 year old daughter recently had an overbite corrected via a NHS referral. It wasn’t even that bad but as it was a functional problem ok. Now they are recommending braces to correct the straightness. They really aren’t that bad. There feels pressure to just go along with this. My daughter isn’t to bothered but is refusing train tracks. So the dentist has suggested Invisalign at a cost of £3600!! They don’t even blink when they say it. A few of her friends have this option. To me it’s a ridiculous price for a cosmetic treatment. Why do people agree to this craziness?! If she was unhappy and depressed by the appearance of her teeth obviously I’d help but surely this is unreasonable. If I go along with this am I basically saying yes daughter your teeth are crooked and im willing to pay almost £4000 to make you perfect.

When did we all need perfectly straight and whiter than white teeth? It looks odd to me when they are.

Yanbu at all. My dentist keeps asking me if I want invisalign. I had braces for 5 years as a a teen. Head brace at night. The bottom retainer never fit and they wouldn't re do it as I had turned 18 and wanted to charge. I couldn't afford it so they moved.

I have explained this ti my dentist. I don't want to go through that all again at 33 years old. I'm happy with my slightly wonky lower teeth. Its one tooth. I'm happy with it. But they still ask every time.

I don’t think perfectly straight white teeth look natural. I have spent a lot of money on implants but they’re for functionality rather than cosmetic reasons. I have not and will not consider Invisalign. I’ve read about it though and the retainers have to be worn for 18 hours a day. When teeth are finally straight, you have to keep up the maintenance otherwise they can go crooked again,

Since time immemorial dentists have tried to invent work that didn't need doing! I know a man who when he got to age 19 had all his teeth taken out by the dentist, on the basis that it would save my friend a lot of pain from aching teeth over the years! 😞 I don't know how much the dentist charged. It doesn't bear thinking about!

I only got the upsell when i saw a new dentist as mine was away on a long study break.....i replied that i get my teeth sorted when i visit friends in colombia, she asked me how much the prices were....i told her...she never tried to upsell me again when i saw her !....£5 a filling, £40 a crown etc....

Went to see an emergency private dentist because i bit down on my tooth funny and it was the worst pain of my life.. They said it needed to come out and have a crown for £1400. Went to my nhs dentist a week later for a second opinion. Said i had jarred the nerve and to give it a week to calm down, use sensitive toothpaste and wear a guard a night to stop grinding my teeth. Showed me the xray of a perfectly healthy tooth. Saved me the equivalent of a mortgage payment. Theres a lot of people trying to get rich off dentistry. Im soooo grateful for my hero nhs dentist!

Yanbu. I'm on universal credit and have an NHS dentist. Despite him knowing I get UC he has asked me if I want Invisalign. Um, no.

I agree. Mine always asks if I want teeth whitening or Invisalign. Ok they aren’t perfectly straight but since when did that become normal? My teeth are perfectly healthy, I’m mid 30s and never even had a filling.

I would be appalled if my dentist kept pushing cosmetic work like veneers or crowns on healthy teeth. My dentist is all about conservative treatment. He would never file down or remove any healthy part of a tooth.
He gave me a load of free zoom whitening treatment, I've still got it in the cupboard as it hurts my teeth! I don't need them to be bright white, just healthy.

My MIL’s dentist tried to sell her on braces at her last visit. She’s 80. Ridiculous.

dd went for her check up this week and dentist asked her about whitening - competely unnecessary! Adult teeth are not naturally a spangly white colour.

I don't go

😳

Stopped years ago. Nothing hurts, I'd neved needed any sort of treatment, i have no fillings. I brush really carefully, floss etc. My mum only ever took us every couple of years as kids and none of us ever had fillings

My father didn't go for forty years. He also had no fillings etc. When he did eventually go to an NHS one as a pensioner, he didn't need any work at all.

Good teeth are all about the prevention. Fillings in particular I'm a bit dubious about as they only ever seem to make things worse. You get the tooth filled. A few years later, the tooth has weakened and they tell you you need a crown... a few years later and its dentured.

DH went to a private dentist who recommended 3 small fillings and gave him a tube of duraphat ( high fluoride toothpaste) to use. He didn't get the fillings, and went to an NHS dentist a year later. Nothing needed filling. That was 5 years ago and he's been to the dentist since and still doesn't in fact need a filling.

My mum got told as an adult that a lot of dentists in the 60s and 70s did too many fillings that weren't really needed

Very pushy.. oh you need a gum specialist more money. Her husb (dentist) on another apt said be strict with your brushing. So its money money to some.

@0ohLarLar agree - dentistry in the 1970s was pretty shocking! Imo hygienist visits are more important that the dentist.

I think I'm very lucky, private dentist but doesn't push anything at all other than a yearly X ray to check inside the teeth! Costs me £65 for a check once a year. DH had to have cosmetic dentistry due to a bone infection/graft and he's got 4 ridiculous front upper teeth that makes him look like a horse. I haven't got the heart to tell him how bloody awful they are

They probably have school fees to pay!

My NHS dentist started trying to sell me all sorts and then went private soon after so it’s all about the money they can squeeze out of you! Quite

Totally agree.

I was lucky enough to be offered an NHS place at my surgery after my previous dentist went fully private. At my first appointment with the new NHS dentist she took X-rays and said I urgently needed 3 very old fillings to be replaced. I was very unhappy about this as they weren’t causing any problems at all and I usually leave well alone.

So I made an appointment with the previous, now private dentist ( in the same practice) and she reviewed the X-rays and looked embarrassed and said she agreed with me.

Most people would have simply thought the dentist knew best and have a lot of unnecessary and expensive work done.

Almost feeling a bit stroppy that my dentist hasn’t tried to offer Invisalign to me! I’ve got overcrowding in the bottom front ones (mildly, it’s not really noticeable to others but I notice it) and a slightly sticking out one at the top (again, not very noticeable) and I’ve always had half a mind on straightening them.
Mind you he knows I’m a bit afraid of the dentist so perhaps he’s just trying to keep my twice yearly appointments quick so I get out faster…

Yanbu.

DH and I have stopped goimg to the dentist. We both have really good teeth with no fillings and DH had several bad experiences where dentists tried to sell him work he didn't need (2nd & 3rd opinions said wholly unecessary).

At one stage i didn't go for 6 years, when i did, the dentist couldn't tell I hadn't been.

I floss, eat and drink carefully and brush thoroughly twice a day.

You keep mentioning this company. Do you work there?

My private dentists have never ever asked me about my smile or anything remotely cosmetic. They only ever talk about dental health. My DD, 18, currently has Invisalign - her teeth were very crooked but it was something we instigated. She qualified under the NHS but the wait was going to be about 5 years so we went private - easy monthly payments!

I think the current beauty standard is that people
have straight, white teeth. Wonky teeth do look unattractive and noticeable particularly to the younger generations and braces during teenage years have been commonplace for the last 3 decades. Train tracks are the norm, I suppose they are offering Invisalign as an option if train tracks aren’t wanted.
I don’t think they’re inventing problems, rather society has proved we value attractiveness (pretty privilege) and straight teeth are part of that.

They should really stress how important it is to wear the retainer after braces. Most of us who went through the train tracks stage still have imperfect teeth as we didn’t wear the retainers properly afterwards.

Mine did kind of coerce me into getting a whitening kit. By offering it heavily discounted. But it wasn't like 'would you like this', it was more 'so we should do this..' He ended up giving me another round of the stuff for free but it's just sat in the cupboard cos it hurts my teeth the next day so much to use it!

My favourite is when the dentist tells me my teeth are fine and healthy, but then the hygienist acts like I never brush and use fizzy drinks as a mouthwash, then punishes me by gouging at my gums til they bleed.

I don't like the hygienist. I have an electric toothbrush, my teepee brushes, and mouthwash (which is apparently bad). The dentist is happy with my teeth. Chill the fuck out.

Op it totally depends, maybe you don’t see what they see. Myself and my brother didn’t get braces as children but our teeth have gotten progressively worse as we’ve gotten older. Db has gotten braces and I can’t afford to. I don’t think they’d have recommended train tracks if she didn’t need them.

I do think though that sometimes when they can’t find anything wrong they step it up di people will get something done that means they really have perfect teeth.

Making people feel insecure about their appearance is endemic in society