Is the new dentist gouging me?
 

My dentist of 15 years retired recently and sold his practice to a young, ambitious dentist. I’m a big time teeth grinder but my old dentist would simply adjust my night guard and call it a day. This new dentist says she has to replace four fillings as I’ve worn them down pretty badly plus I’ll need a new crown on a back tooth. Total work is about $1000 out of pocket. I’m going to have the fillings replaced but hold off on the crown.

I don’t know if I trust this new dentist. Is it possible to get a second opinion from another, non-affiliated dentist? How does that work and will insurance pay for the second opinion or all out of pocket?

My old dentist said "you need an implant, not worth fixing".

I went to another...he said "yeah, we can fix it. We'll make a crown". Which he did. It held couple of years. Then another. It held two more. Then tooth cracked. Then they took away the tooth. Then I got an implant.

In hindsight, I should have got an implant when first guy proposed it. Instead it cost me double the money and lot of pain and dentist visits.

I have 16 cubic zirconia crowns in my mouth from grinding. Also did 16 front veneers because "while you're in there." It was easy to trust my dentist since we've been friends for 35 years.

$1K seems inexpensive for 4 fillings and a crown so I'm not sure why you are questioning her.

Can you ask your old dentist to look inside your mouth?

If not, I'm sure you can call any dentist and make an appointment for a check-up. Will cost you $100 for an initial visit but you might get peace of mind for it.

I'm going in to the oral surgeon in 2 weeks to have all 4 wisdom teeth taken out, under gas, it's $1550 which seems cheap.

Remember, you are paying for what they know, not how long it takes. Never be cheap on brakes or teeth.

Tough to say. Possibly the old dentist would "watch" stuff while the new DDS prefers to treat it. Likely not financially motivated. Could be experience vs inexperience. Could be risk tolerance of each dentist. Neither are wrong. One the one hand the old DDS approach could cost you more when something fails catastrophically vs. new DDS approach treating it when you still have the control to do so and expenses are less.

If I have learned anything in my 22 year career it's that not all dentists match all patients. I have no heartache when a patient recognizes that and goes elsewhere. I often recognize that as well and dismiss patients from my practice that I am not getting anywhere with. I don't want to waste my time any more than I want my patients to waste theirs.

Maybe go have a conversation about your concerns posted above directly with the new guy. Make your decision based on how that goes. Maybe you are the type of patient who would rather risk catastrophic failure of something than spend the money, but he doesn't know that yet. Maybe he is the type of dentist who will do everything he can to avoid you saying "why didn't you catch this earlier?" when something does happen. Perhaps you two just need to get to know each other.

My last crown cost me $2000 out of pocket.

Maybe the old dentist was doing things the old way, and the new dentist is following more current wisdom. I wonder about the same stuff though. The dentist that we use seems to always want to do stuff, and has a good story for why, but I can't help but feel like it's a way to make more money. Are things "good enough" or do they need to be perfect? I don't know.

Liability, followed by number of $$$ per patient per visit. My wife's in the business........

My old dentist said "you need an implant, not worth fixing".
I went to another...he said "yeah, we can fix it. We'll make a crown". Which he did. It held couple of years. Then another. It held two more. Then tooth cracked. Then they took away the tooth. Then I got an implant.
In hindsight, I should have got an implant when first guy proposed it. Instead it cost me double the money and lot of pain and dentist visits.

So it is not always safe to assume they are out to gouge you.

deja vu! :D

How old are the fillings? Did you get shown the xrays? Old fillings do wear out. I'm a grinder as well and at 60, most if not all of my fillings are version 2. Ask why and if the explanation makes sense, I'd get the work done.

$1000 seems cheap for all that. I can't see it getting cheaper later on.

$1,200 for a replacement crown last fall. Original was 35 years old. As others have said, $1,000 for the proposed work isn't bad at all.

I was getting a chipped tooth fixed and asked the dentist (new guy at the practice) to check where I had a wisdom tooth pulled 2 weeks prior while I had my mouth open. It took him 30 seconds and he charged me $70.00.

Don't fix anything

Let it rot, let it break.

That's why God made blenders and baby food.

Funny that nobody wonders when you need to replace brakes, blades, tools, water heaters due to wear and tear.

It blows my mind how ignorant people can be. The dental IQ of general population is closed to 0. Yes your teeth wear, brake, chip, decay, fall etc etc....

I have dentists in my family. I greatly respect the profession and yes there are some crooks like in any other profession

New guy dentist is just doing his job. Old dentist guy probably not motivated.

$1k is on the lower side for a crown from my experience.

After welding a paper-thin rusty exhaust pipe a couple times, I started to understand the concept. Sometimes it's better to start over. Who knows what quality of enamel is existing, tooth hardness, extent of decay, or patient habits in maintenaince. An older dentist will have seen it all and know better what will last. They are often in the business for the (loveless) love of it. Younger ones will have bills to pay but that doesn't happen without a customer base. Ask questions. I had a young dental tenant with a sniffly nose, failed engagement, temper, who broke a window at the appartment. Sad situation there.

If you trusted your last dentist try to give the next one the benefit of the doubt. That didn't work out in my case where the old man was an old friend of family with shaky hands. The new business was a mess with the partners completely different personalities.

Remember to brush your tongue with a sonic and mouthwash at night. It is a big sponge which holds acidic replacement bacterial. And at least rinse after coffee/wine/desert. Tell your kids that each tooth equals about $5k-10k over a lifetime.

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Your post comes across as condescending and a personal attack.

I think the problem is that he had a trusted dentist that did things a certain way, and the new dentist does things differently, and it's concerning if/when you don't understand what's going on, the same as going to a mechanic or Dr or anyone else.

I have no doubt that there are some dentists and doctors that work like lawyers or mechanics, and I'm sure that there are good ones that do what is needed (which may sometimes seem like the folks that are trying to make money for unnecessary treatments). I'm also sure that there are some that either through apathy or because they are doing things the old way or based on old info that don't do enough. If you aren't an expert, it can be difficult (and concerning) trying to navigate through these.

Maybe the fact that you've got dentists in your family means that you're more in the know than most folks which gives you insight that most folks don't have. If you didn't, would you just be one of the folks that you're calling ignorant in your post?

A tongue scraper works better than brushing, but absolutely, do something to keep your tongue clean.

[QUOTE=2.7RS;11903862]
It blows my mind how ignorant people can be. The dental IQ of general population is closed to 0.



Is closed to 0 worse than open to 0? :D

I'd love to hear more about this. What gives you pause in trusting her? Lexus brochures on her instrument tray? She left her iPhone on the tray and her Crypto account was open?

Went to an Oral Surgeon to get three teeth pulled. To do implants I was told I need bone grafts. $5000 out of pocket. After three month when I went back he took X-rays and said I still did not have enough bone. $20,000 for more grafts and implants. Went to my dentist and got a partial retainer for $1800.