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A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

arstechnica.com

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Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#31

Post by hansonkd »

This might sound stupid but I refuse to go to dentists that have "too nice" of an office.

Over the years I have lived in several places and had a variety of dentists and one common theme that sticks with me, the nicer and higher tech the office is, the more procedures they are going to recommend you. They need to pay for the equipment and office somehow.

I've had one dentist say I need 3 cavities filled. That I needed laser treatments, extra cleanings, etc. They made it sound like my teeth were going to fall out of my head. I was going to Brazil in a few months and so i decided to wait until I was there to get the work done.

The dentists there took xrays, etc and didn't find any problems. I even went to another dental clinic and the same thing. They had no idea what that dentist thought was wrong.

When I came back to the states i went to another dentist. Instead of being on a top floor with an army of technicians and the fanciest machines like the first one, this dentist had a small older office. He did the cleanings himself and again he found no problems and told me I had very healthy mouth and gums.

This has happened to me before when i went away to college my childhood dentist said I had cavities that I needed to fill. When i got to college and went to the dentist there, they couldn't find a problem.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#32

Post by RobotToaster »

SoftTalker wrote: post #4

It's a bit off topic but I often wonder why dentistry is not a specialization of medicine (like e.g. dermatology) but is its own separate thing, with separate insurance, etc. Dental health is part of being healthy. A lot of dental work is surgery. To me, it should be part of regular medical care.

I kinda feel the opposite about some specializations in medicine. Why does a psychiatrist need to know about the bone structure of the ankle? They're never going to use half their medical training.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#33

Post by yardie »

My wife, who is a recent immigrant to the US, when she goes to get her teeth cleaned here is what happens: dental hygeniest does there thing, X-rays are taken that weren't asked for, dentist come in to review the photos, sure enough her mouth is falling apart and she has loads of cavities, then they want to discuss a treatment plan. When she gets home we discuss it and agree $8000 in Invisalign is a bit excessive. Then we promise not to use that dentist ever again, try another one for the next cleaning, where the cycle continues.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#35

Post by xyclos »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #2

I went to a new dentist when I was 18 because my other dentist was unavailable. He declares that I have two cavities and fills one, but doesn't use enough anesthetic. Given my bad exp with him I went back to my other dentist who's flabbergasted that there was supposedly a cavity on the other tooth. No sign of any decay. These kind of experiences are why I try to vet a new dentist very hard before trusting them, even…

When I was 12, I was scheduled by my regular dentist to have two cavities filled. It was the first time I had anything negative in a dental checkup. We were very poor, so my dad was pissed that it was going to be almost $400 to get them filled. He found a different dentist that was supposed to be a bit cheaper, and I went to that one instead. He was shocked to hear that I had been scheduled for two fillings. Since I was a new patient, he did x-rays, which showed zero decay. The dentist that lied about me having cavities is still in practice today more than 20 years later, and has 4.5 stars on Google.

I fear there's not really a good way to vet Dentists effectively since most people probably never find out that they've been scammed for years. I'd love to learn some new strategies though.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#36

Post by mwigdahl »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #2

I went to a new dentist when I was 18 because my other dentist was unavailable. He declares that I have two cavities and fills one, but doesn't use enough anesthetic. Given my bad exp with him I went back to my other dentist who's flabbergasted that there was supposedly a cavity on the other tooth. No sign of any decay. These kind of experiences are why I try to vet a new dentist very hard before trusting them, even…

I had a similar experience -- went to a new dentist, they found two "cavities", tried to hard-sell me into getting them filled right then. I declined, never went back to that practice, and 10 years later my teeth are perfectly fine.

#notalldentists, of course, but there are certainly unscrupulous ones out there, and not just a few.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#37

Post by aesh2Xa1 »

anonu wrote: post #19
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #2

I went to a new dentist when I was 18 because my other dentist was unavailable. He declares that I have two cavities and fills one, but doesn't use enough anesthetic. Given my bad exp with him I went back to my other dentist who's flabbergasted that there was supposedly a cavity on the other tooth. No sign of any decay. These kind of experiences are why I try to vet a new dentist very hard before trusting them, even…

I am pretty sure Ive had cavities taken care of that were not cavities. Ultimately its a small procedure and nets the dentist a few $100 bucks - and the patient can't be bothered to get a 2nd opinion. Maybe this is where AI helps with analysis of x-rays. Is there really an urgent issue? Or can it wait?

The dentist earns a few hundred, and the patient has a permanently-damaged health in the case of a tooth that was, in fact, healthy.

Maybe insurance companies would be interested in AI review on the basis of future costs. Informed patients might be, too.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#38

Post by pyrrhotech »

Unfortunately there's nothing new about this scam; it happened to one of my dad's friends 20 years ago. I think it's wise to treat anything you are told by a dental or healthcare professional with a healthy dose of skepticism as your interests are often misaligned.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#39

Post by siliconc0w »

If you ask three different dentists, you'll often get three different recommendations. I had a really bad experience once so the next time I was told I needed something I did exactly this and it was pretty discouraging - they all wanted to do work but there was no consistently in what. I'm pretty sure most are hacks at this point and if you aren't actually in pain, I'd be wary of any work.

Re: A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones

#40

Post by delecti »

anonu wrote: post #19
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #2

I went to a new dentist when I was 18 because my other dentist was unavailable. He declares that I have two cavities and fills one, but doesn't use enough anesthetic. Given my bad exp with him I went back to my other dentist who's flabbergasted that there was supposedly a cavity on the other tooth. No sign of any decay. These kind of experiences are why I try to vet a new dentist very hard before trusting them, even…

I am pretty sure Ive had cavities taken care of that were not cavities. Ultimately its a small procedure and nets the dentist a few $100 bucks - and the patient can't be bothered to get a 2nd opinion. Maybe this is where AI helps with analysis of x-rays. Is there really an urgent issue? Or can it wait?

I'm unclear on who is using AI in this scenario. Are you going to use your own AI on your X-rays, or expect that the dentist will use a new tool to tell them to not do the procedure to get them more money?
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