Do dentists want you to have bad teeth?

As health professionals, dentists aren’t interested in judging you or making you feel bad. All they really care about is your oral health. Rather than worrying about what they might think of you on a personal level, think of dentists as partners who are on your side and working to protect your oral health.

Do dentists lie to you?

The answer is not always. Unfortunately, a cavity can be deceptive. It can hide and be obscured by old fillings, location, or just not be obvious by eye or X-ray. Many times I see a small cavity in a tooth that I think will be small and find after drilling that it is much, much bigger than originally thought.

How do I know if I can trust my dentist?

If you work with a professional and he/she makes you feel like your individual needs matter, then that is a dentist you can trust. The dentist should make sure you are comfortable with the treatment, and he/she should follow up with you after any major procedure to ensure you are healing well.

How can my dentist help me choose the right treatment?

Your dentist should act as an expert adviser, whose task it is to help you make those choices. Your dentist should be happy to explain to you: what the options and alternatives are (including potential consequences of not having the treatment) and importantly, what they would choose for themselves if it was their mouth.

Is there such a thing as overtreatment in dentistry?

Let’s face it – overtreatment and even unnecessary treatment do exist. Having said that, it’s actually quite a rare occurrence in the UK nowadays. The same can’t be said for some other parts of the world. There are a number of reasons why a dentist might suggest unnecessary or overzealous treatment:

Do dentists take shortcuts for financial gain?

But, like many industries, a potential for taking shortcuts for financial gain will attract a small but not insignificant number of people who feel they can take advantage of others. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud describes the problem as involving “a small but disturbing number of dentists.”

How to choose the right dental health partner for You?

The right dental health partner for you is the dentist who is wholly concerned with your overall health and not the health of her pocketbook. The wrong dentist can wreak havoc on your mouth and do permanent damage with too much work you don’t need.