I do believe I have stepped into the new century with Dentistry.

[vash]

!@#$!@#!!

Dentists!!

my faithful dentist retired. he considered himself (his words) a country dentist. he did the cleaning himself. all of it. had a small office with just one assistant.

old school. film x-rays. clay molds for teeth crowns and implants. he retired. I'll miss him as a bud. but as a dentist..I learned things today with my new dentist.

she is kinda a badass. I put the crowing glory on my root canal this morning. she SCANNED my mouth with a wand, and my crown started 3D printing in the next room!! the actually work was still barbaric as hell with the grinding and stuff.

oh, her modern x-rays sent pics to a giant monitor where she found my next trouble spot. I'm dental-dumb and I saw the crack before she pointed it out to me. well, it looks like a crack. she thinks that is my next implant. the mental cussing in my mind was epic. oh well. I'm not convinced my old dentist would have seen the minuscule crack into those tiny 1"x1.25" photos you hold up to a light table.

she did offer me nitrous. I declined.

[masraum]

It's been a few years, but my dentist is similar, everything VERY high tech in the office. What soured me a bit is the constant wanting to sell tooth whitening or invisalign tooth straightening. I have no doubt that she's excellent, but that's a bit of a turn-off. Her business was her dad, but now it's both of them in 2 locations.

[Zeke]

@masraum, I've been to both schools and the endodontist is in between. He has a 3D x-ray that costs $350 per image, you only need one. The fancy (lady, coincidence there) had the big screen and wasn't pushy, but the vibe to sell up was there. Maybe because she herself is in her mid 60's, so she's been around for a while.

The family dentist is no country dentist so let's just call him a "family" dentist, which is how he presents his practice. No ads, just family and friends. In fact his son took up pediatric dentistry to "keep it in the family."

He'll be retired before I die, so there's that. That is unless I drop over pretty soon. A race?

[rwest]

My dentist (hygienist) uses some fancy tool that can tell the condition of your gums? A voice sounds out a number every time she probes the gums, I think the higher the better; 1-4or5 is the range.

Neither her or the dentist has every tried to up sell me, except they want me to come in for cleaning every 4 months, but at one of the last ones, I realized that I wasn’t brushing low enough in the front and actually could see the plaque on the screen, so they are probably doing the right thing.

When I made the comment that before going to them, I was going every ten years- they didn’t find it funny...

[vash]

Rwest. I think the lower the better. they are measuring the gap down each tooth root. 1-3 is okay..

4-5, expect a lecture about flossing.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rwest

When I made the comment that before going to them, I was going every ten years- they didn’t find it funny...

Before I went to my dentist, it had been 28 years since my previous appt (18>46). I had 1 new cavity, and they replaced 2 old fillings. It was just a regular cleaning, not one of the heavy duty ones. They told me that I'm lucky that I've got good chemistry so I don't build up plaque.

Originally Posted by vash

Rwest. I think the lower the better. they are measuring the gap down each tooth root. 1-3 is okay..

4-5, expect a lecture about flossing.

Agreed. At least, at my dentist, it's the gum gap or something and smaller numbers are better.

[GH85Carrera]

The most astonishing thing to me is the digital X-rays. My hygienist today is very pregnant, and she took several x-rays with no protection like a lead lined apron.

With the old film x-rays the dentist hid behind a lead lined wall, and he put a apron on me that was lined with lead. Now the dose is super small.

[vash]

Originally Posted by masraum

Before I went to my dentist, it had been 28 years since my previous appt (18>46). I had 1 new cavity, and they replaced 2 old fillings. It was just a regular cleaning, not one of the heavy duty ones. They told me that I'm lucky that I've got good chemistry so I don't build up plaque.

OH>>> GOOOOODDD FORRRRRR YOUUUUUUU!

hahaha...super jealous. pretty sure if this was the gold rush era, I would be dead by 40 with a brain infections that started with my teeth.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The most astonishing thing to me is the digital X-rays. My hygienist today is very pregnant, and she took several x-rays with no protection like a lead lined apron.

With the old film x-rays the dentist hid behind a lead lined wall, and he put a apron on me that was lined with lead. Now the dose is super small.

I don’t think the assistant was very smart

[A930Rocket]

I’ve got an appointment Thursday to get my teeth cleaned. I floss and brushed like a madman, but when she cleans my teeth, it’s brutal. I may cancel it and see if I can get one of the other hygienists in the office

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

I don’t think the assistant was very smart

...and her child won’t be either!

[rwest]

Originally Posted by vash

Rwest. I think the lower the better. they are measuring the gap down each tooth root. 1-3 is okay..

4-5, expect a lecture about flossing.

That would make sense- dentists are using golf theory!

[Dixie]

All I know is I'm dealing with $3,000 worth of root canal and crown this week. My teeth where pretty dang solid until I turned 60. Now they're more like Roman ruins, boo hoo.

[rcooled]

One of the best things about modern dentistry is no more drilling out cavities. My dentist uses a laser to remove decayed material from a tooth before filling. No novocaine required either. Completely painless and your mouth isn't still all numbed-out after your visit.

Originally Posted by Zeke

He has a 3D x-ray that costs $350 per image...

I had a 3D X-ray today...cost was $165.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

I don’t think the assistant was very smart

Actually the new recommendations from the ADA do not recommend the use of a lead apron while taking digital X rays since the dose is over 50% less than the old analog film.

Many “old school” dentists still use the lead apron as it was standard operating procedure for so long.

https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/ada-releases-updated-recommendations-to-enhance-radiography-safety-in-dentistry

[wdfifteen]

My dentist is retiring and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I love the guy. He a sports car guy and we he always takes time to talk cars. We rib each other about our cars every trip. He has Corvettes (“Plastic Gas Guzzlers) and of course I have Porsches (“German Dick Extenders”). I almost look forward to my dentist visits.

[berettafan]

My dentist is somewhat modern with the scanning and such but a small operation. He tells me the only way a young dentist can pay his bills today is to do things they won't be proud of ie sell unnecessary stuff.

[vash]

my gums hurt!! they peeled them back apparently to get a full accurate scan.

she said the pain will subside in a few days. hope she is right. hahha..

my dentist are ballers. when my tooth cracked, I visited one dentist that could see me. one X-ray, and he poked his head in and literally said, "a filling feel out, I cant fix it for you today, just wait until your appointment Monday with your other dentist"

I got the bill from him.. it was $1100. hahaha.. and he was WRONG (I hope). turned out the better scans put me in the chair of a root canal guy. this entire turn of events probably is $7k.

thankfully I am double covered.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

Actually the new recommendations from the ADA do not recommend the use of a lead apron while taking digital X rays since the dose is over 50% less than the old analog film.

Many “old school” dentists still use the lead apron as it was standard operating procedure for so long.

https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/ada-releases-updated-recommendations-to-enhance-radiography-safety-in-dentistry

Probably a caveat for pregnant women or couples trying to create meiosis.

[stealthn]

Just got back yesterday from my dentist, got a crown; they do 3D imaging right there and have a machine that makes the porcelain crown in the office.

You pay through the teeth for the service though