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Shady Dentists

noleclone2

HR Legend
May 4, 2015
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Anyone have any stories? I just had my first experience confirmed.

Not sure how, think it may have been due to massive fluoride treatments that probably will kill me before 60, but at age 50, I have managed to go through life with zero cavities, unlike anyone else in my immediate family.

Well 6 months ago, the place I had been going for two years, without telling me prior to my routine cleaning, had changed both the dental hygienist and the dentist, which was the first red flag looking back.

The new dentist walked in after my cleaning to inspect the x-rays and my chart and stated with heavy skepticism "So, you have never had a cavity?"

I immediately got wary from this because, while it is cool (and I am sure HORT is very proud of me) it's also not THAT rare a thing either.

He proceeded to look and poke around with the hook of terror a few minutes and and then dickishly pronounced to me and the hygienist "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like you got two cavities in your back lower molars"

It went downhill pretty fast from that statement when I immediately was skeptical and after some back and forth, I made it clear I was not going forward to scheduling caps he was selling me and made it clear I would be changing dentists and getting second opinion. He got a bit of an attitude and said go on ahead and get a second opinion and quickly walked out. I will add the hygienist was very quiet looking down whole time and seemed uncomfortable afterward.

I was in no rush for a second opinion, having zero pain or any other signs of trouble, and carried on with finding new place and making an appointment for the next cleaning.

Whelp - fast forward to today 6 months later at my new dentist and after cleaning and x-rays, magically I still have no cavities.

So having the BS confirmed, the whole thing is incredible to me that in 2022 we have brazen con dentists like the first guy trying to sucker patients in for unneeded work. I am sure I would have fallen for it if I already had some past issues so it makes me really wonder just how bad it is out there if this dude can't even pass up trying to pull a fast one on a guy with no cavities in his half a century on the planet.

Is something like this worth even trying to report to my insurance?
 
Insurance? No. AMA or BBB? Yes.

Anecdotally, I know a guy who had to switch dentists for he and his whole family. The dentist that they ended up at told each family member they had like 6 or 8 cavities apiece. He ended up switching dentists and like you, magically no cavities for any family member.
 
Insurance? No. AMA or BBB? Yes.

Anecdotally, I know a guy who had to switch dentists for he and his whole family. The dentist that they ended up at told each family member they had like 6 or 8 cavities apiece. He ended up switching dentists and like you, magically no cavities for any family member.
Incredible.
 
Anyone have any stories? I just had my first experience confirmed.

Not sure how, think it may have been due to massive fluoride treatments that probably will kill me before 60, but at age 50, I have managed to go through life with zero cavities, unlike anyone else in my immediate family.

Well 6 months ago, the place I had been going for two years, without telling me prior to my routine cleaning, had changed both the dental hygienist and the dentist, which was the first red flag looking back.

The new dentist walked in after my cleaning to inspect the x-rays and my chart and stated with heavy skepticism "So, you have never had a cavity?"

I immediately got wary from this because, while it is cool (and I am sure HORT is very proud of me) it's also not THAT rare a thing either.

He proceeded to look and poke around with the hook of terror a few minutes and and then dickishly pronounced to me and the hygienist "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like you got two cavities in your back lower molars"

It went downhill pretty fast from that statement when I immediately was skeptical and after some back and forth, I made it clear I was not going forward to scheduling caps he was selling me and made it clear I would be changing dentists and getting second opinion. He got a bit of an attitude and said go on ahead and get a second opinion and quickly walked out. I will add the hygienist was very quiet looking down whole time and seemed uncomfortable afterward.

I was in no rush for a second opinion, having zero pain or any other signs of trouble, and carried on with finding new place and making an appointment for the next cleaning.

Whelp - fast forward to today 6 months later at my new dentist and after cleaning and x-rays, magically I still have no cavities.

So having the BS confirmed, the whole thing is incredible to me that in 2022 we have brazen con dentists like the first guy trying to sucker patients in for unneeded work. I am sure I would have fallen for it if I already had some past issues so it makes me really wonder just how bad it is out there if this dude can't even pass up trying to pull a fast one on a guy with no cavities in his half a century on the planet.

Is something like this worth even trying to report to my insurance?

flat out had a dentist say “we’ll you have the good insurance and no copay, maybe we should do…”

At least he was transparent. I said no and never went back.
 
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My dentist always requires that I remove my pants prior to checkup, and he says it is routine that they knock patients out for cleanings. I thought that was odd, but my no pic wife says her eye doctor requires her to remove all her clothes for her monthly eye exams and he says a full body check is the only way to really test vision. So I guess it is probably legit.
 
shady dentists are like shady mechanics...they can always find a problem if they "want" to...

BTW the worst dentist I ever went to was a U of Iowa grad in Davenport in 1990...I still have issues to this day from his "work"...
 
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aV041YK_460s.jpg
 
I had no cavities until 51… I have deep grooves and they said pre-cavity (soft, sticky, whatever). I questioned whether they were pulling a fast one but just had it done anyway. I don’t want to mess around with more complicated work.

Side CSB, my last visit I asked my hygienist what was the record for a patient having not had a teeth cleaning and she said she had a guy last year who hadn’t been to the dentist in over 40 years. Took like 4-5 hours for a cleaning!
 
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shady dentists are like shady mechanics...they can always find a problem if they "want" to...

BTW the worst dentist I ever went to was a U of Iowa grad in Davenport in 1990...I still have issues to this day from his "work"...
Name? I went to an old school one in Davenport when going to Palmer…. Office looked 1950s. Dirk Jecklin maybe
 
I had a substitute dentist come in to do the spot exam after a routine cleaning. Dude did the exam, then pulled up my x-rays on the computer. He proceeded to tell me I needed a root canal on a tooth that had been damaged years before. That tooth had a new crown just a few weeks prior. I told him I'd think about it. When he left, the dental hygienist apologized profusely. I told her (very nicely) to let the regular dentist know what happened, to make sure I wasn't billed for the exam, and that guy would never touch me again.

My next visit, my regular dentist apologized and thanked me for being nice and not confronting the substitute about his obvious mistake.
 
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"In early 2012, Lund retired. Brendon Zeidler, a young dentist looking to expand his business, bought Lund’s practice and assumed responsibility for his patients. Within a few months, Zeidler began to suspect that something was amiss. Financial records indicated that Lund had been spectacularly successful, but Zeidler was making only 10 to 25 percent of Lund’s reported earnings each month. As Zeidler met more of Lund’s former patients, he noticed a disquieting trend: Many of them had undergone extensive dental work—a much larger proportion than he would have expected. When Zeidler told them, after routine exams or cleanings, that they didn’t need any additional procedures at that time, they tended to react with surprise and concern: Was he sure? Nothing at all? Had he checked thoroughly?

In the summer, Zeidler decided to take a closer look at Lund’s career. He gathered years’ worth of dental records and bills for Lund’s patients and began to scrutinize them, one by one. The process took him months to complete. What he uncovered was appalling."

 
Anyone have any stories? I just had my first experience confirmed.

Not sure how, think it may have been due to massive fluoride treatments that probably will kill me before 60, but at age 50, I have managed to go through life with zero cavities, unlike anyone else in my immediate family.

Well 6 months ago, the place I had been going for two years, without telling me prior to my routine cleaning, had changed both the dental hygienist and the dentist, which was the first red flag looking back.

The new dentist walked in after my cleaning to inspect the x-rays and my chart and stated with heavy skepticism "So, you have never had a cavity?"

I immediately got wary from this because, while it is cool (and I am sure HORT is very proud of me) it's also not THAT rare a thing either.

He proceeded to look and poke around with the hook of terror a few minutes and and then dickishly pronounced to me and the hygienist "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like you got two cavities in your back lower molars"

It went downhill pretty fast from that statement when I immediately was skeptical and after some back and forth, I made it clear I was not going forward to scheduling caps he was selling me and made it clear I would be changing dentists and getting second opinion. He got a bit of an attitude and said go on ahead and get a second opinion and quickly walked out. I will add the hygienist was very quiet looking down whole time and seemed uncomfortable afterward.

I was in no rush for a second opinion, having zero pain or any other signs of trouble, and carried on with finding new place and making an appointment for the next cleaning.

Whelp - fast forward to today 6 months later at my new dentist and after cleaning and x-rays, magically I still have no cavities.

So having the BS confirmed, the whole thing is incredible to me that in 2022 we have brazen con dentists like the first guy trying to sucker patients in for unneeded work. I am sure I would have fallen for it if I already had some past issues so it makes me really wonder just how bad it is out there if this dude can't even pass up trying to pull a fast one on a guy with no cavities in his half a century on the planet.

Is something like this worth even trying to report to my insurance?
report the bastard
 
Which dentist? Will be searching for a new one soon due to insurance . Don’t want a crook.
 
Name? I went to an old school one in Davenport when going to Palmer…. Office looked 1950s. Dirk Jecklin maybe
I doubt they are still there...it was across the street from the McDonald's on the bike path off Brady Street...he was also on the Swim Team at Iowa...that was my Senior year in high school, so I think that had a lot to do with my detesting the Swim Team while at Iowa...that and living on the same floor as them and having to deal with them at Quad Foodservice... f'ing douchebags...
 
I’m so old I remember when my dentist didn’t use the newfangled fancy gloves. Straight up fingers in mouth. He did wash his hands when he came in, some of the time.
 
My worst experience was when I went to one for the first time and he was dead set on doing some gum surgery because my gums were “so bad”. It stressed me out for a week before I went to a different one who said my gums were perfectly fine. That was about 15 years ago and not once has any dentist ever mentioned my gums being bad.
 
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I doubt they are still there...it was across the street from the McDonald's on the bike path off Brady Street...he was also on the Swim Team at Iowa...that was my Senior year in high school, so I think that had a lot to do with my detesting the Swim Team while at Iowa...that and living on the same floor as them and having to deal with them at Quad Foodservice... f'ing douchebags...

I remember there use to be a plant & garden business across from the Brady Street McDonald's. Brady Street McDonald's had killer Happy Meals and twist cones. Keep in mind peoples, you can experience fraudulent practices & shit service in any profession.
 
At the first new dentist I went to see when I moved to the Tampa Bay area, I felt more like I was on a used car lot than at a trusted professionals office.

When I initially called, I asked if they accepted my insurance. The answer was yes. I guess I asked the wrong question because my 100% insurance on cleanings and exams resulted in me getting a $142 bill from at the end of my appointment. It was then that the receptionist said, yes we said we accepted your insurance, we do, but we are not a preferred provider, so your insurance only covers 35% of the charges, not 100%.

Back to the cleaning: During the cleaning, the hygienist attempted to sell me some type of fluoride treatment not covered by insurance, then tried to sell me on an oral cancer screening not covered by insurance, then tried to sell me an electric toothbrush for an outrageous amount.

Now to the exam: The saleswoman, ummm ... I mean dentist, examined me and came up with a treatment plan. Extract one tooth and replace, replace two fillings and put in a third. Total cost of well over $3,000. Since they "accepted my insurance" but were not a "preferred provider", my out of pocket was going to be well over $2,000.

I decided to go to a "preferred provider" for a second opinion. He said he could fill the tooth she wanted to extract and the other work was not necessary. He filled the tooth. Total out of pocket was $140 and I didn't have any issues with that tooth or the ones she said needed to be done. Oh, and he did the oral cancer screening, which consists of 15 seconds running a finger along your gums, for free. He didn't try to sell me anything. He has been awesome.
 
My wife’s last dentist always tried to con her into 3 deep cleanings a year. Switched dentists and the new one says just need the two regular visits.
 
My wife’s last dentist always tried to con her into 3 deep cleanings a year. Switched dentists and the new one says just need the two regular visits.
I fell for the deep cleaning bit once, but to be fair, I hadn’t been to the dentist in some time after I moved.
 
Twenty-fiveish years ago, one of the popular local dentists retired & sold his practice to a young dentist who moved to the area. At the time, there was a popular theory that the old silver/metal fillings were unhealthy because they could cause mercury poisoning.
One of my clients came in for his tax meeting right after having gone to the new dentist. Somewhere along the line, he asked what dentist I go to; he was mad as hell at the new young dentist, who wanted to replace ALL of his old metal fillings because the mercury poisoning might kill him. The fee was going to be something like $5k. The guy was in his mid-80s. He told her "Honey, I'm damn near dead already. Something's gonna get me long before those fillings do me in."
 
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I’m so old I remember when my dentist didn’t use the newfangled fancy gloves. Straight up fingers in mouth. He did wash his hands when he came in, some of the time.
In the early 90s, I was seeing a dentist and he asked me if I was oK with him not wearing gloves, I said that was OK with me. Six months later, we wa wearing gloves and wondered why he didn't adopt sooner.
 
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