6 ms·

Other outdated yet still routine dental practices include polishing of teeth during checkups for any justification other than cosmetic reasons

eastbound 2y ago
and fees. But are checkups themselves backed by evidence? Unless you say “It hurts there”, will the dentist find anything on their own?
- krackers 2y ago
  Good question, cochrane says longer check-up intervals than the standard 6-months aren't any worse assuming you don't have pre-existing conditions https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-how-often-should-you-see-your-dentist-check https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-how-often-shou...
- SteveNuts 2y ago
  > will the dentist find anything on their own? In my experience they always find something that they "have time to take care of right now if you want". I've heard anecdotes of folks going to get second opinions that reaches a different conclusion.
  - eastbound 2y ago
    In Australia they always found me exactly 4 things to do for a total sum of just above $1000 (but never the same things to do). It’s so regular that I can only assume this is the recommended amount by the marketing that a dentist can extract each time.
  - noleetcode 2y ago
    Just for one anecdote, three years ago my then-dentist (who was a part of a franchise practice and probably under pressure to bill) told me that I had 12 (!!) cavities across all quadrants of my mouth that needed to be filled immediately. I went to another dentist in the area, they took some x-rays themselves, and told me that there was nothing that needed immediate work - maybe one pre-cavity that would eventually turn in to something but certainly not worth doing anything with now. Three years later (and sticking with that new dentist) I still haven't needed to have anything done (and certainly don't have any pain in my mouth anywhere either).
  - thefaux 2y ago
    Yeah, I didn't go to the dentist for a few years when I was in grad school and had no insurance. My first visit with a new dentist he informs me I had three cavities. I had no pain but just thought it was prudent to get checked out. I went ahead with the fillings and he nicked a nerve. For days I was in horrible pain and just assumed that was what happened when you had a filling. A few years later I started experiencing extreme shooting pains in the side of my mouth. Then an abscess formed. It turned out the tooth was dying and I had go get a root canal (which actually wasn't that bad). The root canal was eight years ago. I brush and floss twice a day (brushing without flossing feels weird to me now). I haven't been to the dentist since before the pandemic and my teeth feel completely fine.
JSDevOps 2y ago
Don’t you polish your prized possessions?
jebarker 2y ago
My bugbear with dentists in the US (after living my first 30 years in the UK) is that they all continually hassle me to have my wisdom teeth removed. Said teeth have never caused me any problems and are all through the gums. I can only assume it's dogma or an opportunity to bill insurance for costly unnecessary surgery.
- electronbeam 2y ago
  I was told they get harder to remove when you’re older
  - doe_eyes 2y ago
    It's one of these areas where people (including medical professionals) hold strong beliefs, but then it turns out that there are other highly-developed countries where this is not routinely practiced, and the outcomes aren't necessarily different. Routine wisdom teeth removal is not a thing in most of Europe. Another random example are colonoscopies and routine flu vaccines (except for the elderly).
    - macNchz 2y ago
      I've generally assumed the simplest explanation is that many of these weakly-supported procedures are regular, consistent income streams for the people who perform them in the US: my four wisdom teeth (that were causing me serious issues at age 19) cost $2k to remove nearly 20 years ago, and I know colonoscopies are billed to insurance in the thousands. There's not much incentive to move to cheaper tests or wait-and-see, when you can just do it to everyone who reaches a certain age by default. Presumably flu shots are good business for the manufacturers, though I'm not sure about the science. After having the flu as a healthy late-twenty-something a while ago, which was...intensely horrible, I've chosen to get it ever since.
      - kalleboo 2y ago
        It's not always true though. My dentist in Europe pushed me to get my wisdom teeth removed early "because you're going to need to get them removed eventually anyway" at a government clinic with no profit incentive.

eastbound 2y ago

and fees. But are checkups themselves backed by evidence? Unless you say “It hurts there”, will the dentist find anything on their own?

krackers 2y ago
Good question, cochrane says longer check-up intervals than the standard 6-months aren't any worse assuming you don't have pre-existing conditions https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-how-often-should-you-see-your-dentist-check https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-how-often-shou...
SteveNuts 2y ago
> will the dentist find anything on their own? In my experience they always find something that they "have time to take care of right now if you want". I've heard anecdotes of folks going to get second opinions that reaches a different conclusion.
- eastbound 2y ago
  In Australia they always found me exactly 4 things to do for a total sum of just above $1000 (but never the same things to do). It’s so regular that I can only assume this is the recommended amount by the marketing that a dentist can extract each time.
- noleetcode 2y ago
  Just for one anecdote, three years ago my then-dentist (who was a part of a franchise practice and probably under pressure to bill) told me that I had 12 (!!) cavities across all quadrants of my mouth that needed to be filled immediately. I went to another dentist in the area, they took some x-rays themselves, and told me that there was nothing that needed immediate work - maybe one pre-cavity that would eventually turn in to something but certainly not worth doing anything with now. Three years later (and sticking with that new dentist) I still haven't needed to have anything done (and certainly don't have any pain in my mouth anywhere either).
- thefaux 2y ago
  Yeah, I didn't go to the dentist for a few years when I was in grad school and had no insurance. My first visit with a new dentist he informs me I had three cavities. I had no pain but just thought it was prudent to get checked out. I went ahead with the fillings and he nicked a nerve. For days I was in horrible pain and just assumed that was what happened when you had a filling. A few years later I started experiencing extreme shooting pains in the side of my mouth. Then an abscess formed. It turned out the tooth was dying and I had go get a root canal (which actually wasn't that bad). The root canal was eight years ago. I brush and floss twice a day (brushing without flossing feels weird to me now). I haven't been to the dentist since before the pandemic and my teeth feel completely fine.

JSDevOps 2y ago

Don’t you polish your prized possessions?

jebarker 2y ago

My bugbear with dentists in the US (after living my first 30 years in the UK) is that they all continually hassle me to have my wisdom teeth removed. Said teeth have never caused me any problems and are all through the gums. I can only assume it's dogma or an opportunity to bill insurance for costly unnecessary surgery.

electronbeam 2y ago
I was told they get harder to remove when you’re older
- doe_eyes 2y ago
  It's one of these areas where people (including medical professionals) hold strong beliefs, but then it turns out that there are other highly-developed countries where this is not routinely practiced, and the outcomes aren't necessarily different. Routine wisdom teeth removal is not a thing in most of Europe. Another random example are colonoscopies and routine flu vaccines (except for the elderly).
  - macNchz 2y ago
    I've generally assumed the simplest explanation is that many of these weakly-supported procedures are regular, consistent income streams for the people who perform them in the US: my four wisdom teeth (that were causing me serious issues at age 19) cost $2k to remove nearly 20 years ago, and I know colonoscopies are billed to insurance in the thousands. There's not much incentive to move to cheaper tests or wait-and-see, when you can just do it to everyone who reaches a certain age by default. Presumably flu shots are good business for the manufacturers, though I'm not sure about the science. After having the flu as a healthy late-twenty-something a while ago, which was...intensely horrible, I've chosen to get it ever since.
    - kalleboo 2y ago
      It's not always true though. My dentist in Europe pushed me to get my wisdom teeth removed early "because you're going to need to get them removed eventually anyway" at a government clinic with no profit incentive.