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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

#81

Post by ilc »

cj wrote: post #18

This reminds me of when I went to a dentist in SF who told me I needed to have my wisdom teeth out. I did the initial exam, and then hesitated when it came to booking the procedure. The dentist noticed my hesitation, and said something along the lines of "And after the surgery, don't forget we'll also prescribe really great pain medication!" 10 years later my new dentist says the wisdom teeth are fine and to leave th…

Odd, my dentist's hygenist complains that people who have their wisdom teeth suck at taking care of them in general.

Mine got pulled for good reason. They were severely impacted, and pushing other teeth out of alignment. (I can still feel that I have out of alignment teeth in the far back of my mouth.)

Not everyone should "keep their wisdom teeth." Sometimes... they gotta go.

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

#82

Post by washadjeffmad »

bugbuddy wrote: post #51
yardie wrote: post #33

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. Th…

Run away when you hear “treatment plan” because you are about to be robbed.

Treatment plans are used in every medical field and are required for insurance billing.

The bigger problem is that most hospitals and medical offices won't tell you the billing codes for procedure pricing until there's a treatment plan, which requires seeing a doctor first, effectively preventing shopping for care by price.

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

#84

Post by hansonkd »

BadHumans wrote: post #53
hansonkd wrote: post #31

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 neede…

My dentist has one of the most state of the art facilities I've ever seen. On my first visit they told me I needed 2 fillings and a cleaning and sent me on my way. > 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. The college dentist could also just be wrong.

> The college dentist could also just be wrong

Maybe, but then other dentists I saw after college would also be wrong too.

I think you are hitting a core problem with dentists, is that it is hard to verify and get a second opinion. Since insurance only covers one xray a year, etc. it is more economical for people to just get a filling (maybe $50-$100 with insurance) compared with going out and paying out of pocket for a second exam and xrays ($100-$300).

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

#85

Post by zdragnar »

hansonkd wrote: post #31

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 neede…

It might work alright as a first pass heuristic, but it's definitely not failsafe. My dad had a healthy distrust of dentists for most of his life because the small town not-glamorous dentist he had as a kid would drill anything and everything to bill it and ruined his teeth.

The better heuristic is, I think, to get a second opinion before someone suggests a surgery you aren't sure you actually need.

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

#86

Post by blharr »

aesh2Xa1 wrote: post #37
anonu wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Unfortunately, It'll just be great for insurance to deny necessary prescriptions/procedures/scans because AI review found nothing wrong

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

#87

Post by pythonguython »

This is not new. Average dentist is going $300k in debt for school these days. The average dentist salary isn’t that impressive considering the education cost, so many quickly feel the pressure to sell expensive treatments once they start practicing, then they see how much money they can make through these procedures. The dentists making $500k+ know this.

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

#88

Post by woobar »

yardie wrote: post #33

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. Th…

You are saying that multiple dentists found issues with your wife's teeth, she routinely refuses treatment, and this is somehow a scam?

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

#89

Post by ThinkingGuy »

azinman2 wrote: post #13
nextworddev wrote: post #9

Dental profession has a rampant fraud problem in general. Personally know many dentists who scare people to upsell unnecessary procedures, extractions etc.

The biggest problem is the cost of education. People have loans to repay, and then don’t take time to apprentice like they used to. In dentistry this leads to a lot of unnecessary work. In medicine this leads to very short appointments, and fewer doctors.

One explanation I've read is that fluoridation of drinking water plus improved dental hygiene in general has decreased the average number of cavities in the population, driving dentists to pursue other income sources, such as cosmetic procedures (my last dentists was always trying to push Invisilign on me).

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

#90

Post by thimabi »

intelVISA wrote: post #45

The dental 'Rewrite it in Rust' gambit?

Most certainly not. Software rewrites usually are well-intentioned and might have benefits. Dental replacements like these are certainly not well-intentioned and only the dentist benefits from them.
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