A good old fashioned dentist or a top modern, young one?

[admylin]

I've got abit of dentistophobia - so always scared when I have to go for a check up. I've just been to a new dentist, an old fashioned traditional, no fuss (and quite old herself) dentist. I was quite pleased as she didn't start doing any fancy laser, beaming or zapping on me and she fixed a broken filling in no time with no injection or pain. Now my dentist where we used to live always scared me with his fancy gadgets and would have - I'm fairly sure - have scraped the whole old filling out and put a contraption on my tooth to refill the gap.
I know in UK you have to pay quite a lot for dentistry so what would you prefer the old fashioned old lady or the young dr gadget dentist?

Years ago a Dr Gadget Dentist cost me hundreds of pounds for weeks of root canal treatment involving huge amounts of pain.

I got fed up and went to Old Fashioned Old Man Dentist who told me I had an absess under my tooth, said it couldn't be saved and took it out there and then for a paltry amount (under £20)

I was left with the feeling that said Dr Gadget had been milking it for all it was worth

Have nothing against any other Dr Gadget type Dentists just that one

Yes, I sometimes think if the dentist has the technology he is damn well going to use it! (Even if there is an easier less fussy way)

Every single bit of work I have had done by a zippy spiffy new-style dentist (two of them actually) has broken within 2 years and had to be fixed. At great cost. I had to get a lodger in to pay for some of it so am understandably pissed off. When I moved I went to the nearest dentist that was predominantly NHS (though I have to be a private patient) becuase I wanted solid, no-nonsense, no-frills treatment. She did a grand job and then told me the root-canal filling I needed to get the lodger in for is starting to come loose. I've had it 18m.

I loathe the dentistry profession. I'm sure some of htem are lovely and honest and good at their job, but I have no way of identifying those ones and no ability to decide if my treatment is reasonable, or exploitative.

I have a hunch that a certain amount of deliberate bad work goes on in order to generate business.

We have a lovely young lady dentist who has really got the confidence of my kids, she charged me £8 the last time i went for a check up and clean. My dh who previously hated dentists thinks shes great, does basic work and doesnt charge a fortune. Got to say though she really doesnt have a surgery packed with gadgets! Maybe its a bloke thing