Need feedback on dentists

[disneysteve]

the dentist i go to now uses better quality fillings

That's a great point. It may not be the quality of the work but the quality of the materials that you need to focus on.

[jenn_jenn]

It seems to me there must be more than 2 choices: rich expensive dentist and ghetto dental clinic. I don't know how it is where you are but around here, there is no shortage of dentists, both private independent ones and "chain" practices.

One thing about your story that disturbs me more than the price is the differing findings between the two. One found 14 cavities; the other found 12. One of them is wrong. Either the rich guy is overstating things to milk you for money or the clinic is under-diagnosing which is problematic in other ways. You need to find out what is actually wrong before you can compare prices. Seek out another opinion from an independent dentist. Get another exam and another quote.

I agree with all of this. If your dentist options are limited, it’s probably worth the drive to a nearby town.

[~bs]

That's a great point. It may not be the quality of the work but the quality of the materials that you need to focus on.

oh, and the old dentist had those cheap crappy polaroid xrays compared to the digital imaging from the new dentist. lol

probably part of the reason why the decay under the filling went undetected

[Drake3287]

Be careful with those fancy, modern dental office's, you know who's paying for all that. For 25 years everyone in our family has been going to the same small town dentist that has always provided us with both great dental care and customer service. This dentist also doesn't charge patients in my line of work for the 20% that insurance doesn't cover, he basically just excepts the 80% that the insurance will pay. He has saved our family thousands of dollars over the years. Two out of my 3 adult kids have now decided to see a fancy, young, modern dentist with all the newest office equipment even though our "old" dentist still offers the same discount to my kids.

Now they pay the 20% out of pocket because they think a younger, modern dentist is better. I shake my head every time I see a dentist bill come in the mail for them. Long story short, more expensive doesn't always mean better.

[~bs]

^

That's true. BUT I think a lot can be said for more modern procedures, equipment, and materials. I used to have the same mentality.

One reason why I like the dentist i switched to is because i had switched jobs recently around the time of the root canal, so the insurance i had basically doesn't cover expensive procedures within the 1st year. He basically "ate" that cost and only charged me the copay. A nice gesture, even though he had no idea if I would stay on as a client afterwards.

[disneysteve]

Now they pay the 20% out of pocket because they think a younger, modern dentist is better.

Let me preface this by saying I'm an older, experienced physician in practice for over 25 years. I don't know if this holds true for dentists but many studies have shown that younger doctors newer in practice are far more likely to be up to date with current diagnostic and treatment protocols. A lot of older things have found to not be as effective as once thought once evidence-based studies were done. But it's very common and easy to get set in your ways and still be doing things the same way 15 or 20 or 25 years later even though there are newer, better, safer options out there.

[~bs]

Let me preface this by saying I'm an older, experienced physician in practice for over 25 years. I don't know if this holds true for dentists but many studies have shown that younger doctors newer in practice are far more likely to be up to date with current diagnostic and treatment protocols. A lot of older things have found to not be as effective as once thought once evidence-based studies were done. But it's very common and easy to get set in your ways and still be doing things the same way 15 or 20 or 25 years later even though there are newer, better, safer options out there.

Isnt that why the medical providers and stuff typically have seminars, brochures and stuff about best practices, new equipment, methodologies, and so on? Physicians dont have continuing education requirements?

[greenskeeper]

If you know the dental code for the work being done, My insurance plan allows you to search a radius of dentists for the cost to do the dental work as well as patient reviews.

[disneysteve]

Isnt that why the medical providers and stuff typically have seminars, brochures and stuff about best practices, new equipment, methodologies, and so on? Physicians dont have continuing education requirements?

Doctors do have CE requirements, but that doesn't change the fact that newer doctors have been educated and trained on the latest things from day one. It's a lot harder to re-learn how to do something you've been doing for years and years and to change long set habits.

Another problem is the pushback in recent years against pharma marketing efforts. Yes, there were abuses in the past, but meeting with sales reps and attending pharma-sponsored programs was by far the most valuable source of education about new products and new indications that I have had during my career. Now, due to public perception (which is entirely misguided) that those programs were brainwashing doctors into ordering drugs that weren't appropriate or necessary, more and more practices have banned sales reps from their offices, removing that extremely important educational resource.

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I'm thinking that the dental profession probably has some similar issues to the medical profession.

[disneysteve]

If you know the dental code for the work being done, My insurance plan allows you to search a radius of dentists for the cost to do the dental work as well as patient reviews.

That's part of the problem. Two dentists have given different diagnoses of what is wrong and what needs to be done.

[~bs]

Doctors do have CE requirements, but that doesn't change the fact that newer doctors have been educated and trained on the latest things from day one. It's a lot harder to re-learn how to do something you've been doing for years and years and to change long set habits.

Another problem is the pushback in recent years against pharma marketing efforts. Yes, there were abuses in the past, but meeting with sales reps and attending pharma-sponsored programs was by far the most valuable source of education about new products and new indications that I have had during my career. Now, due to public perception (which is entirely misguided) that those programs were brainwashing doctors into ordering drugs that weren't appropriate or necessary, more and more practices have banned sales reps from their offices, removing that extremely important educational resource.

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I'm thinking that the dental profession probably has some similar issues to the medical profession.

No worries, I appreciate the insight and it makes sense. too bad there isn't an easier way of minimizing the conflict of interest, or at least the appearance of it