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Eh? Dentistry is one of the few fields of medicine that seems to know exactly how to fix whatever is ailing you and can do so at a cost that can be reasonably

Eh? Dentistry is one of the few fields of medicine that seems to know exactly how to fix whatever is ailing you and can do so at a cost that can be reasonably borne out-of-pocket without the clowncar of the insurance industry showing up. I'd say that it's a huge success!

maxerickson 10y ago
I don't remember where, but I saw dentistry compared to carpentry and the metaphor really stuck. Take out the old thing, glue in a new thing, spackle, etc. Hell, dentists even occasionally use brute force to get things to line up better (<-that's an inapt description of braces).
mickronome 10y ago
Thats only true if you have simple issues, I've had a molar silently split into 4 pieces (likely) because of a non-perfect filling (one of the only two I have/had). Apart from the non-fix of removing the tooth, there was a tremendous amount of 'umm's and 'maybe's from a competent dentist, and the attempt at root filling and gluing the tooth together ultimately failed. So now I'm stuck with a molar less, or filing down perfectly healthy teeth to make a bridge, or an implant which might not work because the bone was affected by the previous broken tooth - and molar implants can be problematic in any case - or so I've been told. Dentistry might not be a dark art anymore, but we appear to be much better at fixing broken bones than broken teeth.
- akiselev 10y ago
  》 Dentistry might not be a dark art anymore, but we appear to be much better at fixing broken bones than broken teeth. I don't think we are. I'd like to see a real study on this but I would think many more sugeries on bone end with complications that are life altering than dental surgeries, even despite their significantly more intrusive nature (although dental surgeries do always carry risk of nerve damage which can be debilitating). As a matter of scale, I bet there is a lot more patients for dental work than broken bones requiring surgery. Dentists also see many more patients since the work requires far less time, so I'd imagine these two factors meant they had much more data and practice to work with.
maxxxxx 10y ago
It seems most of the fixing is done by removing old parts and putting on prostheses. When a root is inflamed they just take it out. No antibiotics or whatever. There is not much they can do when your gums recede. This is definitely an area where I expect to see a lot of progress one day. It looks very hard though.
oxide 10y ago
Last time I saw a dentist I needed 10k worth of work. My current plan involves a trip to Mexico or maybe just dying from blood poisoning.
- hoppa_liza 10y ago
  Several acquaintances of mine living in first world countries resort to going back to their 3rd world countries of origin when serious dental work is needed. So much that it has become a trend and a very common piece of advice. If this is not a sign of the health care system failing, I do not know what is.
  - BatFastard 10y ago
    I have been looking for a good dental vacation, any advice?
    - sehutson 10y ago
      I had a fantastic experience in Costa Rica. I researched on WhatClinic, TripAdvisor discussions, and various blogs where people talked about their experiences, then contacted a couple places to get a feel for what they were like. I ended up going with one of the most expensive ones there, but it was still a better deal than what my little sister paid for her root canals and crowns after insurance here in the US (she has great benefits as a teacher) - and of course, there was no annual benefit cap to contend with. I'd definitely recommend going during their rainy season, since hotels and flights are cheaper and you'll spend a ton of time at their office and in your hotel room anyway. If your work won't be too painful and you can afford it, plan the trip to be longer than you actually need so you can build in a little more fun time. Most of the better places have coordinators who are happy to help you figure out where to stay and how best to schedule the trip. You can send your xrays down ahead of time to get a rough estimate of what's needed, but they'll do a new evaluation when you get there. In my case, they told me that some of what my US-based dentists had recommended was completely unnecessary (and that the treatment plans had likely been more about making money). I needed a few root canals and crowns, but not as many as was recommended here in the US. Similarly, the CR dentist said there was no reason I couldn't keep my 2 remaining wisdom teeth. I'd recommend staying really, really close to the office you choose. Traffic is pretty awful and the driving down there can be a little scary to those of us who are used to orderly driving. I stayed at the Radisson and went to Meza Dental and it was no more than 5 minutes back and forth, even during rush hour. When your face is numb and you're miserable after a long day at the dentist, that's really nice. The only thing I think I would have done differently is to pack more of my own food, as hotel food started to get really old and food there can be surprisingly expensive, even at the local Walmart. The hotel employees repeatedly advised against going out after dark (about 5:30-6pm in June) without a large group or local guide, so I ate a lot of room service (which, weirdly enough, was the same price as walking to the hotel restaurants to eat).

maxerickson 10y ago

I don't remember where, but I saw dentistry compared to carpentry and the metaphor really stuck. Take out the old thing, glue in a new thing, spackle, etc. Hell, dentists even occasionally use brute force to get things to line up better (<-that's an inapt description of braces).

mickronome 10y ago

Thats only true if you have simple issues, I've had a molar silently split into 4 pieces (likely) because of a non-perfect filling (one of the only two I have/had). Apart from the non-fix of removing the tooth, there was a tremendous amount of 'umm's and 'maybe's from a competent dentist, and the attempt at root filling and gluing the tooth together ultimately failed. So now I'm stuck with a molar less, or filing down perfectly healthy teeth to make a bridge, or an implant which might not work because the bone was affected by the previous broken tooth - and molar implants can be problematic in any case - or so I've been told. Dentistry might not be a dark art anymore, but we appear to be much better at fixing broken bones than broken teeth.

akiselev 10y ago
》 Dentistry might not be a dark art anymore, but we appear to be much better at fixing broken bones than broken teeth. I don't think we are. I'd like to see a real study on this but I would think many more sugeries on bone end with complications that are life altering than dental surgeries, even despite their significantly more intrusive nature (although dental surgeries do always carry risk of nerve damage which can be debilitating). As a matter of scale, I bet there is a lot more patients for dental work than broken bones requiring surgery. Dentists also see many more patients since the work requires far less time, so I'd imagine these two factors meant they had much more data and practice to work with.

maxxxxx 10y ago

It seems most of the fixing is done by removing old parts and putting on prostheses. When a root is inflamed they just take it out. No antibiotics or whatever. There is not much they can do when your gums recede. This is definitely an area where I expect to see a lot of progress one day. It looks very hard though.

oxide 10y ago

Last time I saw a dentist I needed 10k worth of work. My current plan involves a trip to Mexico or maybe just dying from blood poisoning.

hoppa_liza 10y ago
Several acquaintances of mine living in first world countries resort to going back to their 3rd world countries of origin when serious dental work is needed. So much that it has become a trend and a very common piece of advice. If this is not a sign of the health care system failing, I do not know what is.
- BatFastard 10y ago
  I have been looking for a good dental vacation, any advice?
  - sehutson 10y ago
    I had a fantastic experience in Costa Rica. I researched on WhatClinic, TripAdvisor discussions, and various blogs where people talked about their experiences, then contacted a couple places to get a feel for what they were like. I ended up going with one of the most expensive ones there, but it was still a better deal than what my little sister paid for her root canals and crowns after insurance here in the US (she has great benefits as a teacher) - and of course, there was no annual benefit cap to contend with. I'd definitely recommend going during their rainy season, since hotels and flights are cheaper and you'll spend a ton of time at their office and in your hotel room anyway. If your work won't be too painful and you can afford it, plan the trip to be longer than you actually need so you can build in a little more fun time. Most of the better places have coordinators who are happy to help you figure out where to stay and how best to schedule the trip. You can send your xrays down ahead of time to get a rough estimate of what's needed, but they'll do a new evaluation when you get there. In my case, they told me that some of what my US-based dentists had recommended was completely unnecessary (and that the treatment plans had likely been more about making money). I needed a few root canals and crowns, but not as many as was recommended here in the US. Similarly, the CR dentist said there was no reason I couldn't keep my 2 remaining wisdom teeth. I'd recommend staying really, really close to the office you choose. Traffic is pretty awful and the driving down there can be a little scary to those of us who are used to orderly driving. I stayed at the Radisson and went to Meza Dental and it was no more than 5 minutes back and forth, even during rush hour. When your face is numb and you're miserable after a long day at the dentist, that's really nice. The only thing I think I would have done differently is to pack more of my own food, as hotel food started to get really old and food there can be surprisingly expensive, even at the local Walmart. The hotel employees repeatedly advised against going out after dark (about 5:30-6pm in June) without a large group or local guide, so I ate a lot of room service (which, weirdly enough, was the same price as walking to the hotel restaurants to eat).