Its an old article "This article originally ran in the February 1997 issue of Reader’s Digest."
I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
251–260 of 585 posts
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#252If anyone is in my situation where you need dental work but can't afford it and have some time/availability, see if there's a dental college nearby that has a student care program. The one I'm going to is costing me about 40% of the quote I got from a regular dentist for the same work. (The downside is it takes a lot longer.)
But don't sign up for any experimental procedures that they want to test on you. Also, be prepared for more pain since they're inexperienced.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#253>What, then, can Americans do to protect themselves from overtreatment and overcharging? Says the ADA’s Dr. Seldin, “We encourage patients to seek out—certainly if there’s a lot of work to be done—second or third opinions so they can have comfort with the practitioner’s recommendations.”
Actually, the article already identified the prime protection mechanism -- insurance. The data in the article is nearly meaningless, because in each case it was presented as "I will get reimbursed for whatever you charge me".
Having said that, you also need to get quality insurance, not the kind that limits you to the local "Smiles" dental franchise office.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same is true for healthcare generally in my experience. Very bad advice is often given. I can't really common about the US, but here in the UK the quality of healthcare is shocking bad. Although we may have the opposite problem, where instead of doing unnecessary procedures to increase costs, the NHS generally tries to avoid doing anything unless you're dying. I had some pain in my abdomen a few years back and ha…
I lived in Argentina for a few years. There are plenty of problems with their public healthcare system that pretty much mirror any country with a troubled economy, but one day a work colleague recommended I visit the Favoloro Institute. I’ve never seen such an impressive healthcare organization in my life. They time their appointments ever 2 minutes so you’re expected to arrive early. Once you start, they wiz you aro…
That sounds like what private clinics offer around here, certainly not for free, but they tend to perform an onslaught of tests.
I don't know how effective it is, and how much of it is theater.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#255Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
So whom would you ask if you need oral surgery if not a dentist?
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> I’m not a conspiracy nut. I believe in listening to experts (but ultimately making an informed decision). I believe in modern medicine. But that experience shook me and forever changed my trust in the dental industry. Ask anybody who’s experienced a “chronic” illness about the “experts” and they’ll tell you a tale or two. The experts are great until they have a case that is unusual. The don’t have the time or know…
"The experts are great until they have a case that is unusual. " I was so pissed by this I created a way to find experts. People that actually studied the issue, have actual publish papers on the topic. What I found was no one cared. No one wanted "experts" - they want a specialist that is in their network and close. Example of searching for mohs surgury. https://www.opendoctor.io/research/?research_papers=mohs&zip..…
If this is in the US it would make sense that people are really bound by their insurance provider as to who they are allowed to see cheaply.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#257Doctors are just people. I personally don’t trust a single one and why I always get multiple opinions. The sooner they’re replaced by automation that’s far superior in terms of accuracy and diagnosis, the better. Just a hundred years ago doctors were doing wack shit like chopping off limbs and giving people toxins or cocaine. Maybe the cocaine isn’t so bad. Today they give us SSRIs and opioids. They are given far too…
Would a robot change much? The company that makes or leases it is still going to make more money when it is used.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#258My son when 3 had a fall and a few teeth were bent. Went to our local dentist who mostly had a wait and see opinion. But then calls a day later and says they’ve decided they should just come out. Two top front teeth. Would have no top front teeth for years. I went into engineer mode and while I acknowledged I didn’t have domain expertise, I asked questions and probed the whole situation. Very unsatisfactory, meanderi…
>> I’m not a conspiracy nut. I believe in listening to experts (but ultimately making an informed decision). I believe in modern medicine. But that experience shook me and forever changed my trust in the dental industry. Ask anybody who’s experienced a “chronic” illness about the “experts” and they’ll tell you a tale or two. The experts are great until they have a case that is unusual. The don’t have the time or know…
House, MD was a fictional show on how the medical system is supposed to work, with abundant detective work and testing of hypotheses and pursuing a solution until one is found.
On the other hand, from the administrator's perspective:
"Your team of four people treat about one patient a week, why am I paying your salaries again?"
In our universe, I probably won't receive that much medical care in my lifetime.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#259Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Consumers often lack the resources, information, or decisions tree in most instances to look for any indicators of actual knowledge in the field beyond that credential This is true. I have no clue how to check the expertise of my dentist, apart from using my own mental bullshit detector (of limited use here) and reading reviews by others (also of questionable use, because who reviews their dentist? And where?). The…
>>expensive products with the property that they usually work well, but sometimes become flaky. Think a washing machine. that is a different problem, consumerism killed that. There used to be several media companies that focused on long term durability of "durable goods" like washing machines and such But today most people buy new appliances not when they fail but when they need to upgrade to the latest technology, o…
That may be true for a lot of folks, but that's not the only issue.
From my experience, the biggest issue is that a lot of the appliances and other gadgets we have these days are very complex. You have to be an electrical engineers, software engineer and a mechanical engineer, or a big service company that employs all three, to be able to fix anything.
Additionally it's sometimes really difficult to find service manuals for a lot of these things. If your doodat is flashing error code E-71-X1-C and the user manual you have just says "call for service", what are you going to do about it? You typically need pretty serious google-fu magic to find enough information to start figuring out what's wrong.
When my dryer broke several years ago I think I found the proper service manual for it on a site that looked exactly like a SEO spam site and seriously sketchy. Downloading the PDF I was praying my anti-virus application was up-to-date.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#260If you have an ongoing problem of plaque/tartar build up on your teeth then this BBC article[1] could be a life changer for you. It was for me. After a year of doing it right my gums are now close to perfect. I notice though that neither my hygenist's or my dentist's office has been handing out information about this approach. Not good for business perhaps. I believe this technique works via abrasion so toothpaste is…
So it's just holding the electric brush at 45 degrees against the gum?