• @AlternatePersonMan
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    92 hours ago

    I had many teeth ruined by a crooked dentist. I didn’t need any dental work for fifteen years after I changed dentists.

    I don’t know why there aren’t government stings for dentists and mechanics. We have them against restaurants and bars all the time.

  • @[email protected]
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    72 hours ago

    My friend’s wife owns her own dental practice and straight up says that numerous offices do this. It’s hardly a secret, apparently, among them.

  • @[email protected]
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    103 hours ago

    This is not tbe first time i’ve heard of dental offices unnecessarily removing teeth in pursuit of profits.

  • @garretble
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    144 hours ago

    I’m so fortunate I had a dentist that isn’t a piece of shit. Nothing she ever said sounded far fetched or like she was trying to get some cash. She unfortunately retired last year, but the other dentists at the practice seem good so far.

    Long story short, I had an endodontist say I needed to pull a tooth because there was an infection, and my new dentist could do that. But he said he didn’t think it needed to be done and to go to another endodontist. Turns out the second opinion was to just get a root canal. In and out in fifteen minutes, and I still have my tooth.

    So not all dentists are bad!

  • Orbituary
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    727 hours ago

    My good friend is a dentist. He’s extremely ethical. He told me dentists have been doing this forever. He believes most cavities are overly cut out, which causes teeth to lose integrity, ensuring more visits later in the person’s life.

    He told me this over ten years ago.

    • @The_v
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      83 hours ago

      This was especially true with the old metal based fillings (gold, silver, etc). The metal contracts and expands a miniscule amount with heat and cold. Eventually they end up cracking the tooth. The larger the filling, the worse it is.

      I am on crown #5 because of that asshole dentist when I was 23. Oh and a nice plus is they were extremely sensitive to temperature and randomly hurt like hell. At $1000 per crown it’s not fun on the pocket book.

    • @[email protected]
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      236 hours ago

      This has definitely been happening forever. Unnecessary fillings are par for the course. I went to a new dentist once and on the first visit he told me I needed 3 fillings. I declined and a high pressure sales pitch followed. I went to someone else the next time who said there was nothing that required immediate attention. I’ve been going there for years and just now needed one filling from her.

      Lots of other people would just trust the first sleazebag dentist, or lack the confidence to say no, making this a serious problem. Licensing boards need to hold their licenses accountable for performing ethical work

      • Orbituary
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        106 hours ago

        I felt like I was let in on a dirty little secret that nobody else knew about. It’s almost stunning to see someone else who’s aware of what he told me. I texted my friend with this article right after I made my comment and he sent back this to me:

        Yup private equity doesn’t care about your teeth.

        The dude’s one in a million.

      • @[email protected]
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        15 hours ago

        Happened to me nearly 40 years ago on my baby teeth. My mother finally had enough and took me for a second opinion and the next dentist found no problems. It’s given me 40 years of dental anxiety so bad that I have to go to a specialist that deals with it. The only time I had to have work done there, they drugged me to the gills.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 hours ago

      could it be that this is more like an American problem. I don’t see it happening in great degree in countries that implement government-backed health/+insurance system.

    • @arin
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      85 hours ago

      Capitalism, what could go wrong?

    • @Frozengyro
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      24 hours ago

      We should have the insurance companies decide if you need it, that’ll help!

      /s

  • @Duamerthrax
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    55 hours ago

    I got prescribed fillings for all four quarters once, but the dentist suddenly died and it took me a while to find a new one. The new one didn’t comment at all about needing any work and seemed satisfied with how I was taking care of my teeth. So, there’s that. If you’re prescribed expensive work, it might pay to get a second option.

  • @[email protected]
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    7 hours ago

    Oh, you mean when you involve a profit motive in health care, providers will act accordingly at the expense of the patient? Get the fuck out of here! No way! Next you’ll tell me when you introduce middlemen into the system they will also abuse their customers to benefit themselves!

    • @Tylerdurdon
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      65 hours ago

      I wonder if the side effects will include “teeth growing in unusual locations…” beyond the usual nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea of course.

  • toiletobserver
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    96 hours ago

    My guy suggested that i replace a tooth repair made 20+ years ago, maybe get some whitening. I asked if anything was functionally wrong with it, he said no. Not so sure he should be in medicine.

  • Lightor
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    35 hours ago

    Stubb’s in Utah is horrible about this. I was shocked at how often this happens

    • @RagingRobot
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      24 hours ago

      Stubb’s? Like my teeth are just Stubbs now?

      • Lightor
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        12 hours ago

        So poetic, how did I not see it

  • @WraithGear
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    25 hours ago

    This has me kinda worried. They said i had a cyst that destroyed 40% of the inside of my jaw. To drain the cyst, i got a marsupialization, but was told to make room for it they needed to pull a perfect tooth…