US dentists
 

Hi,

Whats with the dentists here.Has anyone had conflicting views ?

I used to go every 6 months in England and my teeth were fine. No fillings since little girl and had all the wisdoms out between 1993 and 2002.

Now my new dentist has me going in for a clean and scrape etc every 3 -4 months.And now he tells me i need flap surgery in the next couple of months on top back teeth ,one each side...Im freaking. Was all fine in UK.

What do you the rest of you think.Do we believe them or get more opinions ?

Thanks.

Re: US dentists
 

Don't go to the dentist here but have dental insurance in case I get a few teeth knocked out.
See my dentist back home for a check up every time I'm there......actually called my mum today to make an appointment for me when I'm home for Christmas :)

Re: US dentists
 

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=dentists

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=dentists

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=dentists



Dentists are always a hot topic on these forums. Here are just a few of the recent threads. You'll find that most people hate the dentist and coming from NHS dentistry in Britain find it extremely expensive here.
I have been a dental assistant in this country for over 10 years and I can tell you that on the whole, the treatment that you will receive here is excellent. There are exceptions to every rule however and if you have any doubts about the treatment that has been suggested to you then ask your dentist more questions (or when in doubt, ask the experts on BE! :D ).

Re: US dentists
 

Good dentists are like good hairdressers - once you've found one you realise how precious they are!
Although I'm still feeling the pain from two big holes in my gums where my wisdom teeth used to be (in blaze's 3rd linked thread above), I have to say my dental work has been excellent. My dentist recommends a cleaning every 6 months, I think every 3-4 is a bit much but what do I know.

Last Christmas when I saw my dentist in the UK, he said 18 months in America had done more damage to my teeth than the previous 10 years :scared:
Aaahhhh I love the food here; sugar for breakfast, sucrose for lunch and high fructose corn syrup for dinner.

Re: US dentists
 

Get more opinions.

Re: US dentists
 

I hate my dentist here.

I used to go religiously every 6 months in UK, clean, check-up, all ok.

Get here, and first visit consisted of about 20 x-rays (can't be good for you) and about 2 hours to clean my teeth.

Then was told I needed 8 fillings :eek: - so over the course of the next year I had them all done. I also needed a crown (this has been on the cards for a while), although it was not bothering me.

I decided to have the crown done last time. There was more filling than tooth, when the dentist took the filling out, she realised that she had to build up the tooth before the crown could go on. By this time my face felt like it was 3 times its usual size and she had her hands in my mouth.

I could hardly say, oh don't bother with it then. FFS she has been looking at the tooth for the past couple of years, did she not think that it might need building up, and quote me on the worst case.

The look on my face must have said it all.

They also gave me a list of what else needed doing (after taking another 6 or 7 x-rays) almost every tooth in my mouths needs something done to it. Crikey you would never have thought I have ever been to the dentist.

I have just received some paperwork from my dental insurance and there are two teeth on there that they haven't even done anything to. I am not best pleased.

They are also overly friendly. Hi Sam, how are you, you look great - PUK.
I'm Mrs Buchanan, thankyou very much...........................................

Re: US dentists
 

get a second or third opinion...try dental schools too....

Re: US dentists
 

haha not sure how long you've been here but sounds to me like it's early days for you but you'll learn...they're just after your hard earned dosh, plain and simple :rolleyes:

Re: US dentists
 

I only go once a year here, we do have cover, but I'm not listening to there bull shit of what I need doing, I'll go if I'm in pain. Money grabbing *****ers the lot of em :(

Re: US dentists
 

find another Dentist :D

Re: US dentists
 

Gosh you lot are hard! :D

I just wanted to address two points:
Once you're in pain in most cases it can be too late, pain means problems and it can mean that the problem has progressed too far for anything easy to be done to fix it or anything at all. :o
And to sambuc, if your name is Sam then what's the problem with them calling you that? :)

Re: US dentists
 

One also might wonder if the services quoted to you here (2 hour cleaning, eight fillings etc) might be a reflection on the level of dentristry in the UK, rather than a money grubber out toperform un-needed services here. The
x-rays is pretty routine- it is a great profit center and most insurance allows a set per year...and most dentists (and MD's/hospitals) know the insurance plans better that anyone. Again, if you feel they are un needed and don't want them, just say "NO"!

On the personal side, if you feel your dentist is being too familiar with you, tell him/her... or simply find another dentist.

Re: US dentists
 

[QUOTE=ironporer]x-rays is pretty routine- it is a great profit center and most insurance allows a set per year...and most dentists (and MD's/hospitals) know the insurance plans better that anyone. Again, if you feel they are un needed and don't want them, just say "NO"!





Right. The 20 x-rays that were spoken of are called a full mouth series. There are usually 18-20 of them and they are done every 2-3 years depending on how much dental work has been done during that time. Bite wing x-rays are taken every 12 months. All of this should be paid for by your insurance company. If individual x-rays (usually around $15 each) are required in between for problems etc then that is up to the insurance companies discretion.

And just just to add to another point that you made. It's amazing how most brits in this country just presume that it's the American dentist trying to line their pockets, it never occurs to them that it could be they just had terrible treatment in the UK and never knew it. I worked for an NHS dental practice and would never have let them touch my teeth, hence the fact I eventually quit my job because I couldn't stand working there (oh, and the dentist was a letch! :( ).

Re: US dentists
 

I just went to my dentist to have a filling done; he's a great dentist who doesn't charge us for the part the insurance doesn't cover. :)

Also, the x-rays he did showed 1) my wisdom teeth coming through at the wrong angle, and 2) a cavity which was quite difficult to see.

I'm quite pleased... :)

Re: US dentists
 

On the personal side, if you feel your dentist is being too familiar with you, tell him/her... or simply find another dentist.[/QUOTE]


Oh believe me I'm looking for another one.

Re: US dentists
 

My name is Sam, and I have no problem with being called that by my friends. My dentist is not my friend.

Re: US dentists
 

I am too...much better than my UK dentist.

Re: US dentists
 

I'd have to say that my dentist in the US is much better than anyone I had in the UK. For example I'd never had an X-ray on my mouth before I came to the US (cheap enough for my insurance company to cover, yet a little too pricey for the hallowed NHS to provide as standard treatment I guess). Same goes for my teeth cleaning that they do every 6 months -never had that done on the NHS. In fact my average appointment with my UK dentist lasted around 5 minutes -no doubt because the guy had another 70 patients to see that day. A question to those who think that the US dentists are just trying to squeeze more money out of them: would you say that your dental care in the States was better or worse than your five minutes with your NHS dentist?

Re: US dentists
 

Well I've had x-rays and teeth cleaned in the UK, so can't say that it was short, nor crap care, £10 to get teeth cleaned, £3 to a jab when needed a filling.

My old dentist in Maine, he was really good, the other bloke in the practice was a complete tw@ though....but we also had half decent dental insurance then....still not seen m y current dentist, but he came highly recommended by someone at work, so went with him, 15 odd miles away though, and there's dentists a dime a dozen around here it would seem, after I registered *lol*.

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My policy is to visit two dentists about six months apart. On the very rare occasion that both tell me I've got a cavity in the SAME tooth, I'll get it filled. So far I've had two cavities filled, and eight 'cavities' left undone over 12 years.

Re: US dentists
 

problem with that, unless you've seen the dentist, it can take yonks to even get an appointment, hell, my last place, even as a regular, would have to book 6 odd months in advance....that and the huge hassle of changing dentists on the insurance, don't make it easy.

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I had to go through 3 dentists before I found one I liked. Now my US dentist lets me go home and get cheaper private treatment in the UK when needed. He even provides me with the x-rays to save cash. I saved $200 on my last crown and as I was going home anyway it didn't make a difference. My insurance company pays 50% for treatment in any country.

Those people that go home -- do you go as an NHS patient or a private one? I didn't think going back as NHS was allowed? :confused:

Re: US dentists
 

I like my new US dentist...one he is cheap...two he asks what I feel needs doing giving me the cheaper option first...

Both me and hubby have found that each time we have a crown...the tooth next to it has problems...so its crown time again with that tooth so I now try not to have any crowns...just repair work...and I've had less problems...

Re: US dentists
 

Just had a crown done here. Dentist did an excellent job. Insurance paid 50%, so price was similar to that paid in the UK for a crown (according to my mum, I have never had one before). I think you get more choice here as to what you want doing.

As regards the skill level of the dentists, I don't think there is any difference here or elsewhere, you get good ones and bad ones everywhere, I should imagine, but I don't think I've ever come across a bad one yet.

Re: US dentists
 

I like the dentist here as I feel she give recommendations for what we should have done and she also presents options. Our cleanings and x-rays 'preventative care' are free and insurance pays 50% or so for most things. They will pay 100% of silver fillings and we pay the difference for white ones.

My last UK dentist was a nice man and he tried to do a good job. He'd just arrived from Spain and I got on his books as the practice accepted new patients when he arrived. We hadn't had an NHS dentist for a few years. He told me he was limited in what he could do--started to do a crown on me, stopped as he didn't have the tools he needed, and he sent me private. The quote from them was higher than a quote I got here, so I had it done here when we were on a visit.