Can the HN title be updated? Read this whole article thinking the numbers were from last year, not 1997...
I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
321–330 of 585 posts
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#322Earlier 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..…
This is great, thank you.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#323My wife was shocked to learn in dental school how many people were there focused on the money. From her experience I learned that dentistry in particular is a profession that has a low investment / high payoff ratio. Relative to medical school dental school is easier to get into and shorter, and unscrupulous dentists can extract a lot of money out of patients. PS: I feel compelled to share her best advice re oral hyg…
Ok sample of N = 1, but here it goes. Flossing daily was the single thing that imroved my dental hygiene more than anything else. Brushing, mouthwash, fluoride treatment, gum laser treatment, regular dentist visits, nothing worked. Still had bleeding gum, pain here and there, bad smell, unstopabble tooth decay. In my mid 20-s I started flossing daily (even multiple times when I feel like food is stuck). Really my mou…
just don't use floss with PFAS / microplastics
eg Oral B Glide tests at 248,900 ppm / 25% of volume for PFAS
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#324Earlier 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…
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.
If you ever get cancer... Maybe it's just that I lucked into getting the most aggressive oncologists, but on more than one occasion I was sent to get an MRI or CT on the spur of the moment. There were times when it was scheduled out as well - but along the lines of "come back in six months; we'll schedule the CT for the week before".
(But I know I was lucky - my oncologist could order a river to reverse itself and it probably would.)
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#325A few months ago my gf went in for a 6 month cleaning (to her regular dentist office of several years) and they told he she had 4 cavities, after having none 6 months prior. She got a second opinion and the diagnosis was zero cavities. She called the original office to see what their angle was and they said something to the effect of "ok, no problem. See you in 6 months." They were so used to getting away with fraud (or worse), they didn't even blink.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#326Earlier quoted context omitted.
This whole fear of being labeled a "conspiracy nut" for exploring less trodden paths needs to end. Calling people conspiracy nuts for looking behind curtains they shouldn't was a good tactic by various entities to cover up secrets and misdeeds, but it has spilled over into the non political arena and poisoned everything. Humans don't have a full understanding of everything, and in fact it's quite the opposite, in tha…
The earth is not 6000 years old God didn’t do it Gravity is the curvature of spacetime Things are not attracted to the planet through static electricity Covid is real Vaccines work Rich mother fuckers do NOT have our best interests at heart Intelligent aliens have not visited earth People are called conspiracy nuts for being conspiracy nuts. Not for “taking less trodden paths”. Getting real tired of the HNs new “wahh…
You are arguing with a straw man. Nothing in my post suggested support for any of those things. That's why I included the terms skepticism and data.
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#327A couple years ago my dentist sold her practice to a new dentist. Before I had an appointment with the new dentist, my wife had an appointment, and he told her she had gum disease with bone loss and needed a deep cleaning and to go on a "periodontal schedule" where she would have to come in every three months instead of six. (Note: My wife and I have different last names and separate insurance, so he wouldn't have kn…
Oh, first I thought "measuring your pocket" meant that they somehow gauged your financial status.
Oh, believe me - they most certainly are. :-)
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#328Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely true, and that is if you even have a family doctor to refer you to a specialist. For those who had the luck to lose their family doctor (mine through retirement), it is impossible to find one that takes new patients. Many retired during covid, many more only work part time. The Canadian health care is a disaster at this point, and those who have a family doctor have no clue how awful this is.
In the US it's not easy to find a primary care provider also. When we moved couple of years ago and called a local medical center to establish a primary care provider, we were given answers like "we have the nearest appointments in 6-8 months". If you have something urgent, there's telemedicine line where you can talk to advice nurse or if there's something really urgent, get an appointment with an urgent care doctor…
rich enough so you can afford personal concierge
A few minutes research suggests it's not that expensive. (As little as ~2000/year).
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#329Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is this problem specific to the US? I live in Germany and hear exactly the same problem of needing to be your own advocate in northern Europe.
Also in Europe and most doctors just want to get you out of the office. I've met only a few doctors who actually care and will work with you to figure out the issue. The equivalent in software engineering would be waiting for my client to tell me what line to change in what file. To be fair, doctors are usually overworked and on a human level I understand that the system is a bit broken, but it's still infuriating wh…
The internal term is "Treat and street". Get them out on the street as quick as possible .
Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
#330I've posted this before, but I went to a new dentist one time and though I'd never had a cavity, the new dentist said I had nine, some of which were pretty bad and needed immediate treatment lest they require a root canal. I didn't have any money or dental insurance at the time, so I didn't go back and just worried about it a lot for a while. That was twenty-five years ago. Haven't been to a dentist since. My teeth a…
Similar experience but I was in the military and I didn't have a choice to say no. I have 5 fillings. They wanted to schedule 2 more but I was due to be reassigned overseas. They tried to delay my reassignment over it. Eventually, they cleared my paperwork but made it clear I was to see the dentist at my new base as soon as possible.
My new dentist says there is nothing wrong with my teeth whatsoever.