Any dentists?

[bmwmike]

Went for a dentist check up a couple of weeks ago. Usual dentist. Soon as I set down on the chair he sticks two bits of paper in my mouth and tells me to clamp down. Next thing he has a drill in his hand and it's heading my way. I ask wtf and he said it's his new thing, my wisdom teeth are affecting my jaw alignment and he will grind 0.1mm off the back to resit my jaw and it'll cure headaches. I didn't ask for that and I've never mentioned headaches.

I didn't ask for it, wasn't explained risks, and didn't really consent but I didn't tell him an absolute NO THANKS either, and now my jaw sits slightly differently to how it did before this procedure. The odd thing is I'm now getting the neck and rear headaches he said would be gone, but I never had them in the first place!

I asked him why no other dentist has ever suggested this before and he said it's 'his thing'. I asked why HE hadn't mentioned it before seeing as my last checkup was six months prior, and he said he'd seen it at some dentist conference four months earlier. He claimed he was doing it to all his patients and everyone was telling him they were sleeping better and headaches gone.

As I type this out it seems bonkers. I should have told him to fk off and frankly this feels a bit like that masseuse kiss on the cheek episode from IT crowd.

I thought the enamel was the hard bit of the tooth. Does that mean they are more vulnerable to cavities now?

I'm thinking of raising a formal complaint, but wanted to check in here first in case I'm being an asshat. Does anyone recognise this procedure? Seems more like quackery than dentistry to me

Thanks

Edited by bmwmike on Wednesday 6th March 17:06

[Badda]

As you allude to….wtf were you thinking allowing him to do it? The whole thing sounds ridiculous and if you didn’t consent then thr dentist is in huge trouble. If you did consent, well, more fool you in the nicest possible way.

[BoRED S2upid]

Yeah fk that grinding down your teeth because he’s been to a conference and is now an expert! bks.

Reminds me about 20 years ago a dentist wanted to do a couple of fillings. But I’ve had no tooth ache? Ah yes preventative. What? No fk off. 20 years 3 different dentists 10 x rays and nobody has ever mentioned any fillings.

[Doofus]

My dentist told me I had a gum condition with "No name, no symptoms, no treatment and no cure." and tried to sign me up for a £900 hygienist appointment.

[Shiv_P]

fk that, get him reported.

[bmwmike]

Ya, i remember getting told a story many moons ago about my grandad getting his teeth removed as a way to cure headaches. I guess dentistry = quackery and really hasn't moved on at all since then eh.

Wasn't charged for this little bit of work btw, perhaps tellingly.

[bmwmike]

Badda said:

As you allude to….wtf were you thinking allowing him to do it? The whole thing sounds ridiculous and if you didn’t consent then thr dentist is in huge trouble. If you did consent, well, more fool you in the nicest possible way.

Yes, i agree tbh. It happened quickly and was very much a trust me sort of thing. Feel like an idiot not telling him to fk off tbh. I honestly thought dentists were medical professionals.

[Sheets Tabuer]

Feck me, sounds like a dentist from the 80s, I walked in once and came out with 8 fillings.

[Geffg]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Feck me, sounds like a dentist from the 80s, I walked in once and came out with 8 fillings.

I had similar experience when I was a kid. Fillings and no needles to numb the pain either. Think he done them for fun. Think that’s why I have my fear of dentists.

[CrgT16]

It’s a thing occlusal equilibration… he probably went in a course and wants to do it. If you are asymptomatic with no para function and no signs of wear/cusp fracture best to leave well alone.

Some lines of thought think that it’s better to act than others. I am more on the side of action if it can be justified and the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Occlusal equilibration can be a rabbit hole…

[DirktheDaring]

Dentists, not all, just the majority, are con men.

Hope you manage to raise a complaint, try here for starters.

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-do-i-...

[bmwmike]

CrgT16 said:

It’s a thing occlusal equilibration… he probably went in a course and wants to do it. If you are asymptomatic with no para function and no signs of wear/cusp fracture best to leave well alone.

Some lines of thought think that it’s better to act than others. I am more on the side of action if it can be justified and the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Occlusal equilibration can be a rabbit hole…

Thanks.

Presumably informed consent should be obtained prior to going ahead regardless.

[CrgT16]

bmwmike said:

Thanks.

Presumably informed consent should be obtained prior to going ahead regardless.

Absolutely! I do more oral surgery and specialised treatment these days but I think 70% of my job is ensuring the patients know all the available options, even ones I do not offer myself and understand clearly the pros and cons and are given time to consider this information before booking the treatment.

We have a bad rep because of some bad actors but I will say I know more honest ones than not.

There is no need to worry about chafing the money. If you are decent, honest and open the money is there. That’s my experience, to focus on the person and how I can help them. All else falls in place, like in any other job I guess.

[xx99xx]

Was this an NHS dentist?

I would not be happy with this event although his drill would not have made it in front of my face without an injection or 2 so he'd have been stopped right there. Too many of us have had unnecessary treatments in the past so no symptoms = no drilling with me (unless they show me an x-ray of a cavity that isn't causing bother yet then I'd get that done before it escalates).

[bmwmike]

xx99xx said:

Was this an NHS dentist?

I would not be happy with this event although his drill would not have made it in front of my face without an injection or 2 so he'd have been stopped right there. Too many of us have had unnecessary treatments in the past so no symptoms = no drilling with me (unless they show me an x-ray of a cavity that isn't causing bother yet then I'd get that done before it escalates).

No, private!

[illmonkey]

Geffg said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

Feck me, sounds like a dentist from the 80s, I walked in once and came out with 8 fillings.

I had similar experience when I was a kid. Fillings and no needles to numb the pain either. Think he done them for fun. Think that’s why I have my fear of dentists.

My mum told me they used to get subsidies for doing fillings! This was before the 80's but maybe habit?

[Sheets Tabuer]

illmonkey said:

Geffg said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

Feck me, sounds like a dentist from the 80s, I walked in once and came out with 8 fillings.

I had similar experience when I was a kid. Fillings and no needles to numb the pain either. Think he done them for fun. Think that’s why I have my fear of dentists.

My mum told me they used to get subsidies for doing fillings! This was before the 80's but maybe habit?

Absolutely, there was a massive scandal as dentist were drilling people left, right and centre, the government finally stopped paying per filling and it died out.

[fourstardan]

Was the drill a Makita or DeWalt?

[CrgT16]

The problem was that the prescriber and the person treating were the same so some saw it as a victimless crime. Completely wrong. The knee jerk reaction of the new system is also not great.

I am glad I don’t work with those systems.

Find a good one they are out there. Both private or nhs there are decent ones out there.

[chemistry]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Absolutely, there was a massive scandal as dentist were drilling people left, right and centre, the government finally stopped paying per filling and it died out.

Correct; the 'only' problem being that the new system that replaced 'drill and fill' system is largely responsible for the fact that you can't now get an NHS dentist.

In effect the new system (introduced in 2006) means that if you need one filling or (say) 6 in the same course of treatment the dentists gets paid the same (based on 3 units of dental activity), meaning that in many cases it's then uneconomic for them to do so. Lots of other related issues with the 2006 contract.

In essence, the pendulum swung too far the other way, from 'encouraging' NHS dentists to do unnecessary work, to discouraging them from seeing NHS patients all all in case they end up doing work at a loss. So although when the government stopped paying per filling that did indeed cause over-treatment of NHS patients by unscrupulous dentists to largely die out, the unintended consequence was that it caused a lot of perfectly responsibly and upstanding dentists to stop treating NHS patients altogether too.