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I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

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Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#461
post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP, but if you have nothing to contribute but vitriol, maybe do not comment, and move on.

I have nothing but vitriol to comment towards people that perform copy pastas of anti-science, anti-intellectual, conspiracy theorist propaganda. Similarly, I will certainly and absolutely NOT stop calling out conspiracy theorist propaganda just because conspiracy nuts don’t like it. If you don’t like being called out for posting conspiracy propaganda, don’t post it, and don’t defend it.

> I have nothing but vitriol to comment

So go away!

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#462

Earlier 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..…

Very cool resource, bookmarked. I hope I don't need it anytime soon, and I hope it's still there when I do.

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#464
post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the NHS is seriously under-funded, the Tory government is responsible, and healthcare is suffering as a result. However, I do want to provide an anecdote to illustrate that private healthcare is not perfect. I had some persistent pain in my foot. Realized I wouldn't get anywhere with the NHS so I went private. The person I saw had an excellent manner. They suggested some fairly gnarly surgery. Said I should…

As a percentage of GDP, the UK has the 6th highest healthcare spending of OECD countries, on par with Switzerland. The UK is not an outlier in terms of spending. https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SHA

Some of that is probably down to the dysfunctional models that have been brought in (in the name of 'cost saving' or 'efficiency' or what ever nonsense) - like Blair's PFI model where they signed up to pay £80 billion to private investors over the long term for what amounted to £13bn of actual investment... This seems to have continued under the Tories and the UK public are on the hook to continue to pay huge repayments to private companies for decades to provide services that could have just been publicly funded in the first place...

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#465
post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

What I can find around me with a quick look sounds like about ~$400/m, or $4800/yr - which I could handle if I had to, but it would sting (especially as I still would have to pay my regular health insurance, of course). And there doesn't seem to be all that much choice - at least in places where I know to look.

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#466
Pro life tip: all medical doctors are like that. When your health is on the line question everything.

Yes, doctors are just technicians trying to fix your body. In your It career how many lousy technicians have you met? This is exactly the same, but it's your life, or the quality of it on the line. Remember it next time you get "a diagnosis" and you have this little voice of doubt in your head "hmm, that seems weird".

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most people, that's expensive.

No, it isn't. Most people pay about that much for their cable. For the bottom 20 percent, yes, it is a budget-buster. However, that is beside the point. Believe me, I hate explaining simple, simple things--but the person I was responding to is probably comfortably middle or upper-middle class and could afford a miserable 2000/year on a doctor. He doesn't have to become "rich enough", and almost 100 percent of the peo…

[deleted]

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#469
post #459

A couple of years ago I stayed in south Oregon, on my 2 week visit to the US. I started having incredible tooth ache, so I found dentist clinic and went there. I had no insurance or anything. After being quite impressed with the facility, the dentist came and started testing my teeth at the back. He was putting small swab with cold water, but he didn't find it. He told me that there should be root canal, and that I s…

Dentistry (and most medical care) in the US is absurdly expensive compared with other countries. Medical tourism is a thing, for sure.

I know of a few people that just fly to Puerto Vallarta, have a vacation in a nice 5 star hotel, get multiple days worth of dental work done and then fly back. All for less money than a single dental visit in the US and equal or better care.

Re: I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)

#470
post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> I don't know how effective it is, and how much of it is theater.

They may not know either.

Most of our research is studying how well treatments work on "patients that came in with _____ symptoms and we found test X Y and Z was outside of the normal range".

Does that mean you should use the same treatments when you have X Y and Z out of range but without symptoms? We often don't know.

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