to hink that dentists are robbing b*******

[clankypanky]

Well am I? I sometimes think they make up problems just to make more money out of you.
When i was a kid i had perfect teeth, When I was pregnant with my first child I went to the dentist basically just because it was free. I then got told I needed several root fillings which I was shocked by as I could neither see nor feel a problem. He did these roots in a traumatic way (bear in mind I was 6 months preggo at time)all the stuff they use to clean was dripping down the back of my throat burning as it went and it was so painful. After this both teeth broke down to the root within a year. The next time I went I had another filling done...3 months later my tooth broke. The next time I went to get previous problems fixed at a new dentist. He told me I need my front teeth filling despite me having no problem or visible sign of decay. Each time you go they request a new set of x-rays (costing even more money). 2 more fillings later that fell out and then broke (both of which Id had no problem with). This time Ive gone to get them fixed and am being told I need 3 root canals (175 each), 2 crowns(hate to think) and other fillings. She did one filling that was to replace the one that fell out from 1 year earlier and a clean....£100, 20 minutes work. The point is, I never feel I have a problem until I go and then the ones that are supposedly being 'fixed' then cause me mega grief and lots more expensive work. This time I only want certain things doing but she looked at me like I was wrong. I said 'Id rather not do anything to the ones that are not causing me problems' and she said well you'll just get absesses then. Not being funny but I think i might like to take my chances! When i asked 'why do you think my last filling broke in half' she said 'well it was very old and they dont last for ever you know' and I said 'no its only a year old and it broke after a few months' She muttered something, squinted at my notes as though I was fibbing and then said 'well i cant read this writing'
I nearly cried when the receptionist told me how much it was! I think it'd be cheaper in the long run to have them all pulled out and implants put in! (By the way, this makes it sound like I have dead manky teeth...I dont, they look fine when I smile and stuff and I am fanatical about brushing) AIBU to thik that dentists are dishonest and sometimes do fillings just make more money out of you. Is it inevitable actually that if you have a filling its just going to break and fall out anyway.

YABU to claim that dentists are dishonest, you've had some bad experiences, it's wrong to judge the entire dental industry on your experience.

Ive had all bad experiences!!!
Okay, change my title to 'some' dentists are robbing b*! And I didnt say the entire dental industry, did I? Lets not get pernickety, you know what I mean.

I have encountered a rogue dentist or two in my time. About 15 years ago a dentist told me that I needed a filling in a tooth that looked fine to me and wasn't giving me any bother. I'd been through something similar to what you described above with this dentist, so I said to her that I'd rather leave it for now, and I changed dentist. In the 15 years since then I've had about 3 different dentists and none of them have mentioned this tooth, it still looks perfect and has never ever given me any bother, so I think there's some truth in what you say.

The NHS dentist i have is fantastic, i always have perfect teeth no dental work required. There are some that are dishonest but thank goodness i have not encountred any yet.

My dentist is lovely, she's helped me deal with my severe dental phobia but my DH had a dentist a few years ago and he said DH needed various work (very expensive) so he got a second opinion (with my lovely dentist) and it was all lies.

I hope it's very rare.

I just cant believe how expensive it is...I think i now have dental phobia, I had nail marks in my arms when i cam out today because I was so scared, I thought I was going to be sick before I went there and was hyperventilating.
My dh has not been to a dentist for 12 years and has lovely teeth...he swears he will not go to one because of what hes seen me go through.

It is very hard to find a really good dentist (I found a wonderful one in London and could have wept with relief, but now have moved back up north and am back to square one - ho hum) but I would pay any price for a really excellent one. Dental pain is the worst thing ever (anyone who doesn't agree has never really suffered dental pain IMO) and I would pay any amount of money to avoid that and to keep the pegs in good order.

It is very odd that it's so hard to find a good one though. My brother is in fact a dentist and he agrees most of them are rubbish. He is NHS and says it is nigh impossible to make any money from NHS dentistry unless you are (a) rude and (b) do a crap job (with the tiny timeframes permitted by NHS pay scales) and he is prepared to do neither, which I suppose is why he is skint.

NB Fillings DO NOT last for ever and if you are under the impression that they should then YABU. A composite (white) filling is designed to last about 10 years so I believe - an amalgam (metal) one should last longer. Army fillings (done with all the time, care and equipment in the world) tend to last the longest, so my brother tells me... But they don't last for always - why would you think they would??

Yanbu. I think there are more than one or two like this.

im up north and i have a fab dentist but he is private. wouldnt go anywhere else and he also came out personally to me on xmas day(before he went private).which was amazing

Oh, I see your filling fell out after less than a year. That happened to me once and the dentist re-did it for no charge, although it later broke again and I ended up with (a second round of) root canal (done by a specialist endodontist) and a crown. Might have been better to just have the sodding crown in the first place after the first lot of root canal, but never mind.

yanbu
I keep on having bad experiences with dentists trying to go about things the most expensive way possible.
I think the amount they can charge for treatment is supposed to be capped. But where I could do with having about 4 teeth fixed, they were looking at one at a time - so each one being a separate treatment.
It is like rogue traders out there.

Of course I dont think fillings last forever, the one that fell out last had been in 2 weeks. The metal one that I had done broke after about 6 months. If I am spending between 65 and 100 pounds a go I would expect it to last at least 5 years. I have never really suffered great dental pain which is why I question if I needed all that work done. The only time I got pain was when a filling broke or fell out.

Yes paisley leaf...thats what they are doing to me, I keep saying can I just have more than one thing done at once, least not because when I go I have to get someone to look after my little one and get a lift there and back and I am self employed so I lose money! But they wont, they just say, dont worry about it, just book an appointment and we'll see you next time. Its driving me mad ,especially as I get so worked up every time I go Id rather just have it all doen at once and suffer the pain later!

Oh god yes, private all the way!!!!

Altho to be fair alypaly my bro pretty much always does the duty rota at Christmas and New Year and I cannot recall a single Christmas since he qualified (6 years ago) when he hasn't gone out to treat someone on Christmas day. Often there's a queue of them out the door as they've all left it and left it and then finally the pain gets too much.

my dentist was NHS and i am on family tax credit. It has been a really difficult decision to stay with him as i cannot really afford it. But he is so good.he gave me his personal mobile number over xmas and came out to give me pain killing injections because of a traumatic extraction on xmas eve. cant fault him except for the fees.

this denplan thing is a real killer...and i dont quite get the fact that i have to pay for this and treatment.....its alot of money when it was all free before

I never realised I have been so lucky with dentists. Had a family NHS dentist as a child til leaving for university; then had a local private dentist when DD wwas small (she was NHS) and last year found a new dentist nearer to home - also private (again DD taken on as NHS). I have been so lucky and never had any problems or bad experiences so far. I have never been pushed to have unnecessary work. For example I have a chip on my front tooth but it is small and casing no problems - dentist said it is fine and to leave it be for now unless I really wanted it done for appearances - but her recommended against it.

Sorry you have had so many bad experiences.