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Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

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Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#11

Post by pram »

geek_at wrote: post #4

> In the pre-Szaszian era, medicine was something that happened to you. You would put your health in your doctor's hands and they would unilaterally decide your course of treatment. But in today's patient-centered world, doctors are more like consultants To be honest I've only seen this level of "patient-centered" stuff in the US. Never heard the phrase "Ask your doctor about xy" anywhere but on US TV. Sometimes pret…

I think it's because the US is one of the few (only??) countries to allow advertisements for prescription drugs.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#12

Post by matsemann »

Why are dentists so scammy?

In Norway I've seen documentaries about them sending the same people to multiple dentists, and some of them receive wildly different advice. Some of that can be ascribed to some being in the school of pro-active, so they want to fix your teeth at the first glance of issues. But in the end, most of the things being quoted were unnecessary. They all seemed very intent on removing wisdom teeth, even when they pose no problems.

They re-did the experiment recently, and I think one of the guys they sent got his teeth cleaned and tartar removed from 10 dentists in a week or so. No one stopped to see if it was actually needed, they all just do it by default and charge you for it.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#14

Post by notamy »

petesergeant wrote: post #7

> Laser bacterial reduction (LBR) is just one example of the many high-stakes medical decisions Whether or not to drop $400 is not a "high-stakes medical decision". Also, expecting Google to give you high-quality medical advice when your actual, licensed, trained dental hygienest is not is asking a lot of a search engine. Personally I've found sticking "examine.com" on the end of most results to be very useful for an…

> Whether or not to drop $400 is not a "high-stakes medical decision".

This just feels out-of-touch. $400 on a medical decision is a MASSIVE choice for many people -- it could be the difference between whether not they eat.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#15

Post by mannykannot »

petesergeant wrote: post #7

> Laser bacterial reduction (LBR) is just one example of the many high-stakes medical decisions Whether or not to drop $400 is not a "high-stakes medical decision". Also, expecting Google to give you high-quality medical advice when your actual, licensed, trained dental hygienest is not is asking a lot of a search engine. Personally I've found sticking "examine.com" on the end of most results to be very useful for an…

A one-time, or even recurring, payment of $400 may not be a high-stakes financial decision (though for too many people it is), but there is quite a lot at stake medically in choosing dental and periodontal care and treatment.

I appreciate your suggestions for improving search results.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#16

Post by matsemann »

donatj wrote: post #9
geek_at wrote: post #4

> In the pre-Szaszian era, medicine was something that happened to you. You would put your health in your doctor's hands and they would unilaterally decide your course of treatment. But in today's patient-centered world, doctors are more like consultants To be honest I've only seen this level of "patient-centered" stuff in the US. Never heard the phrase "Ask your doctor about xy" anywhere but on US TV. Sometimes pret…

I would personally rather be involved in the decision making process related to my very existence rather than just told what to do.

I "feel" like I would like that as well. But if I every get really ill with something longterm, I'm also afraid I'd spend too much energy on all the decisions and research. Giving patients options also gives them doubts.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#17

Post by donatj »

matsemann wrote: post #12

Why are dentists so scammy? In Norway I've seen documentaries about them sending the same people to multiple dentists, and some of them receive wildly different advice. Some of that can be ascribed to some being in the school of pro-active, so they want to fix your teeth at the first glance of issues. But in the end, most of the things being quoted were unnecessary. They all seemed very intent on removing wisdom teet…

I went to a new dentist for a broken filling and they tried to tell me I had 14 cavities and set me down with a finance person to set up a payment plan for how I was going to pay for them over the next 5 years.

I went to a second dentist, they fixed the broken filling and said my teeth were otherwise fine. I have the paperwork to back this up.

I’d been seeing another dentist for a while and he suddenly wanted to crown 3 of my teeth. Again I got a second opinion, and again they were like “That’s probably not necessary”.

I think a lot of dentistry comes down to how much money they need that month. It certainly doesn’t feel very scientific.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#18

Post by fullstop »

donatj wrote: post #9
geek_at wrote: post #4

> In the pre-Szaszian era, medicine was something that happened to you. You would put your health in your doctor's hands and they would unilaterally decide your course of treatment. But in today's patient-centered world, doctors are more like consultants To be honest I've only seen this level of "patient-centered" stuff in the US. Never heard the phrase "Ask your doctor about xy" anywhere but on US TV. Sometimes pret…

I would personally rather be involved in the decision making process related to my very existence rather than just told what to do.

I mean, I agree with this but also feel that pharmaceutical companies should not be advertising directly to the public.

Re: Google almost convinced me to spend $400 on useless laser treatments

#19

Post by pineconewarrior »

yellow_lead wrote: post #13

I'm interested in an update on the author's startup. Last time I heard he was shutting it down, but at the end of the article I realized this was content marketing for it.

It says "Check back on August 1, 2022 for the public launch!".

So, perhaps we shall do just that

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