My husband and I went to the dentist I'd been going to for some time before Len and I were married. I first went to him because I was living at home, he was convenient and my parents and his were friends. Len went to him because he had no regular dentist.

Eventually, Steve retired and sold his practice to another dentist. When I first went to the new dentist, he examined my x-rays and my mouth and began to out-line an extenive program of work that he recommended--including cleaning every four months and replacement of this and that that had never given me any problems.

At the time, we were covered by Len's dental insurance policy through Boeing. All of a sudden, after I'd gone through the 'every four month' teeth cleaning and gum surgery around a molar, our insurance would no longer cover our visits to that dentist. Our insurance company had dropped him from their 'list.'

I wondered why, at the time--then I remembered all of what I considered to be unnecessay work on my teeth. But I'm not a dentist--so how could I disagree.

Then the dentist was dropped from the roles of 'approved' dentists, by the managing company and we had to find another dentist who's services were covered by our insurance.

What happened to Steve's replacement--who bought his practice?

I hope he's been drummed out of the corps for insurance and medicare fraud, because that's what he was certainly doing.

I'm sure there are righteous dentists somewhere, although I've never managed to find one.

To me, the entire practice of dentistry seems to be about selling patients work they don't need.

Most of the cleaning, implantations, periodontal work, etc. is oversold, overpraised, and in the case of periodontics, virtually worthless.

I am trying, but not succeeding very well, in keeping my anger at dentists under control. My best advice when a dentist tells you how much work you need (and they tell everybody how much work they need) is to get a second and third opinion, because these people will sell you a ten thousand dollar series of treatments as soon as look at you.

While I suppose some of them are skilled enough to extract a tooth without leaving chips of root fragments embedded in the gums, or clean your teeth without managing to burn your gums or tongue in the process, as far as I'm concerned the great majority of them are hucksters, and some are no better than thieves.

I love dentist stories!

My mother was obsessive about our teeth...TOO obsessive! In fact our teen dentist picked up on her panic and engaged my younger brother and myself in "lots" of dental work. He "pulled" two of my wisdom teeth right before I left for a choir trip to San Fransisco (I was 17)... He gave me NO follow up...just a bunch of cotton in my mouth. I bled in the hotel room...to the point it looked like someone had been murdered! Off I went to the hospital and missed the entire field trip, with the exception of the return trip home.

When I left home for college the following year, I NEVER saw another dentist until I was in my late twenties... We found Nelson and his wife on a cruise ship..lovely couple and wow, they lived in our city! So, Nelso became my dentist. I must say we were lucky...but he wasn't beyond recommending procedures. He is honest, and I think dentists do what is taught to them in dental school...and most likely hasn't a clue half the stuff he recommends, we could all survive without.

The best advice I received from a doctor regarding dentistry was to remove my amalgam fillings, which have a good dose of mercury in them. I tested for heavy metals and yes, mercury was HIGH! As I sat in Nelson's office removing my old filings, his wife Karen, came in and explained the safety of amalgam filings and that I was needlessly creating dental work. She told me, and I will never forget this, that new safety measures have been in place...dentists were required by law to handle mercury with special equipment and masks before placing in the patient's mouth. Upon removal, again - handled with kitten gloves and places in "special toxic waste" container... AND the carpet and flooring of the dental office was such as NOT to absorb mercury poisoning, therefore workers and clients were less able to breathe mercury fumes! HELP!! Ok, yes Karen, you have convinced me it is perfectly safe to have mercury filings!

I felt better after they were removed...and after about a year of chelation therapy! The same doctor recommended my husband take extra absorbable vitamin C to clear up his hereditary peridontal problems... His entire family has suffered from gum disease. He followed the advice, and voila! He is the ONLY member of his immediate family that is peridontal disease free....

Dental medicine should be approached by including it in the the medicine as whole..but it's not. It is "over there on the side" medicine. It is treated this way by the medical community as well as insurers.

It's interesting that your MD recommended you get rid of the amalgam fillings. My youngest sister is very allergic to mercury--but didn't realize it until after she got her fillings replaced.

I'm also allergic to mercury, but to a lesser degree. As a result, I can't get a flu shot nor can I leave my skin in contact with any metal that contains mercury. I had a belt from China with studs in it and a metal buckle that apparently contained mercury. Wherever the metal touched the skin of my belly, I broke out in an itchy rash that then turned into patches of dead skin.

The hospital where my sister works insisted (rightly so) that every employee get a flu shot. My sister, a lab tech, refused. She did some research and discovered that children's flu shots don't contain mercury as the result of parents linking vaccinations to autism. Since her employer had made the shots mandatory, she was able to get a flu shot without mercury.

Most employers aren't that accomodating, however, since flu shots are voluntary.

And how many people, really, are allergic to mercury?

But not all dentists are uncaring crooks. Steve, our former dentist, did pro-bono work on an extended VietNamese family--got everyone's mouth in shape. Later on he learned that the family bought a large, lake front home on Lake Sammamish, the second largest lake in the area.

Liz, mercury is one of the most poisonous elements known to man... You are not just allergic to mercury, but it poisons you. Hospitals no longer utilize mercury thermometers because if one were to break, the entire hospital would have to be evacuated. Every person has a certain tolerant level. Some people turn into the "madhatter" by just looking at mercury...others can go years with exposure to mercury without showing any ill effects...until one day!


btw, I agree with you, not all dentists are uncaring crooks... Nelson certainly was not. My teen dentist was just plain incompetent. (I could tell you more horror stories about that guy!) ...AND I will venture to add I believe very few are crooks. Dental Schools across the nation teach them - many of the procedures they recommend their patients are needed.