Paulycarts

Has anybody else experienced a first visit to a US dentist??

My wife has been telling me about laser dentistry and how amazing it is, so we both booked in for check up and clean. The dentist placed a camera inside my mouth which magnified the teeth and showed on a monitor for both of us to see. I was disgusted to see the work my previous (English) dentists had done. One tooth even having a thumb print on the top of it.
My new dentist, who was a really nice guy, said it was common to see work like this from European clients, as we have NHS and they do the work as cheaply as is possible. My dentist has assured me he can repair the damage.

Now i know why we are the butt of jokes on tv regarding our teeth

Englishtart

I am phobic about going to the dentist, I'm sure it's because of the way I was treated by the dentists back home

I know the dentists here do a lot more to help you keep your own teeth, but I do sometimes feel that some of the 'extras' they do are just so they can charge you half your yearly salary!

Paulycarts

Well this guy was really nice he said he would work within the yearly insurance budget we have ....luckily.
I never realised how bad it was back home but thinking back i have also had some terrible dentists

Macca67

My advice is to shop around for everything. The not so subtle difference between UK & US dentistry, is that over here it is a commercially run business and they want your cash badly. When I arrived in the States 5 years ago the first dentisit I went to was a real shyster who wanted to charge me $12 grand to correct the 'European work'.

Beware.

elfman

not going to comment on the tiresome old chestnut about bad teeth Brits, just to say that the in-the-mouth camera technology isn't particularly new/unusual: the dentist I used to go to in Herne Hill, South London in 2000-2002 had one of those.

elfman

I agree - the first dentist I saw here told me I needed two crowns and root canal work. The second (and subsequently third) dentist I've been to didn't recommend any such treatment and I've had zero problems.

Paulycarts

I actually was watching NCIS the other day and this dead guy had really bad teeth and the guy inspecting him said " and i thought english teeth were bad"
.....bloody turn coat.

I know he is Scottish before anyone comments lol

oc-bound

If it takes a dentist with an in mouth camera to notice that one of your teeth had a thumb print on it... why would that bother you?

Do your friends all have in mouth cameras?!

Paulycarts

That isnt what bothered me its just an example of the shoddy work which had been done. The camera just showed up the incredibly bad work in my mouth... it had to be seen to be believed!!

Paulycarts

Not saying this was anything new, just the crappy dentists i have been to didn't have this technology and it was the first time i had been able to see my teeth close up...believe me it was a shock how bad it was.

Bob

Aye shop around, it's amazing what they can find at times....some dentists are great, some are shite and some are just conartists, just like anywhere.

A good place for an impartial second opinion is going to a dental school and it's usually free or minimal cost, but the down side is they are only open during term time. They don't need to try the hard sell so more likely to not mess you around.

Mummy in the foothills

Our dentist uses the mouth camera thingy and shows you where he thinks the work needs doing.
I too had a mouth full of NHS fillings, and he was very impressed with the quality of them too, surprised they had lasted over 30 years and were still going strong My trouble was the crack up the side of a molar and the two teeth I cracked eating trail mix and peanut brittle So the last two of my NHS fillings will come out this fall so he can repair my cracked tooth (crown it) and he'll replace the other filling while he's at it.

Ash UK/US

I had my fillings done on the NHS 15 years ago and the only comment US dentist made was that over time they will wear and he will have to replace them. One was already replaced and the other was the same situation as you, I had a molar that had a filling, the tooth cracked, he replaced the filling and put a crown on.

Norri

Got to agree.
I lost a filling at the end of last year, went to a shyster who x rayed everything then explained that I needed a mouthfull of crowns and gum repair as all my teeth were going to fall out, $15K please.
The financial person offered to do the problem tooth for $1K (the dentist didn't even mention it) I went elswhere and got my filling replaced for $250.

Steerpike

Wait till the work has been completed and all the bills are in before you sing too many praises! I'm generally very happy with the quality of the dental work here, although the out-of-pocket costs are significantly higher. But a crown (Molar) that was put on 6 months ago is not working ... I'm facing a probable root-canal and then a battle with them over what to do next; they would rather die than do an extraction, but I'm convinced this is going to be better than the various options they will want me to pursue. I have that fun to look forward to in the next month or so ...