8 Red Flags To Watch For At The Dentist’s Office
As if going to the dentist wasn’t already nerve-racking enough, getting subpar service could leave you with more than just a sore set of choppers. There are always things to be on the lookout for if you’re wary about the care you’re about to receive at any dental office. Not sure what to look for? Here are the red flags that should have you scrambling out of the chair.
1. The office doesn’t request your old dental records.
Before you even show up for an appointment at a new dentist’s office, the staff should be asking for these records as a baseline. While some problems may be very apparent, having previous records, especially X-rays, are crucial to recognizing developing issues. The dentist should also ask if you’ve had X-rays within the last six months, because repeating them too soon adds unnecessary radiation exposure with no medical benefit. The American Dental Association (ADA) says that healthy patients need a full set of X-rays every two years at the most.
2. They’re using old technology.
Film is so 10 years ago! Digital X-ray technology, when used as recommended by the ADA in their 2012 radiography guidelines, also causes less radiation exposure than film. Just know that higher tech isn’t always better: A special “cone-beam” X-ray, along with a 3-D picture of your mouth, will not improve your care but will zap your mouth with 18 times the radiation of a plain old digital X-ray.
3. They’re not careful about germs.
Obviously, you don’t want to see the dentist or hygienist dig through drawers, adjust the light, or tap at a keyboard with gloved hands and then proceed to poke inside your mouth without first putting on a fresh pair of gloves. Then there’s the sterility of the tools. Ask if the dentist autoclaves the tools with heat sterilization, since most bacteria only die with heat.
4. They don’t do an oral cancer screening.
At every visit, or at least every six months, your dentist should check your mouth for signs of oral cancers. You might think they’re rare, but oral cancers linked to the human papilloma virus (HPV) have increased three-fold over the past two decades, according to the American Association for CancerResearch. The exam involves looking for lesions, such as abnormal white or red patches of cells, on the mucous membranes. The dentist should feel the lymph nodes in your neck, lift your tongue and inspect both sides of it and check the inside of your cheeks, gum tissue, and throat.
5. They recommend extensive work.
If you’ve been going to the dentist regularly and now a new dentist says you have a mouth full of cavities, that all your fillings need to be replaced, or that you need surgery to extend your receding gums, get a second opinion, ideally from a dentist affiliated with a dental school. Similarly, be skeptical of services the dentist recommends simply because they’re covered by your insurance. In general, insurance covers models of the mouth, X-rays, and deep cleaning of the gums (whether you need them or not). The opposite is also true, however. In that case, you ought to consider a discount dental plan that will provide discounts on all dental procedures.
6. They recommend removing amalgam fillings because they’re “toxic.”
Most dentists no longer use traditional silver fillings, a mix of liquid mercury and an alloy of silver, tin, and copper, but if you already have it in older cavities, they’re not dangerous, according to the FDA. The fillings would need to be switched out only if they’ve begun to corrode and shrink away from the tooth surface, which creates openings for bacteria to settle in. And removal can be risky. The mercury vapors released from drilling out all silver fillings is more harmful than leaving the fillings in place. The force of the removal also has the potential to take some bits of tooth with it, causing your tooth to crack.
7. They try to upsell you on caps or crowns.
There’s a better, cheaper way to fix a tooth that has decay or is broken or cracked. With the dental materials available today, it’s possible to restore a tooth using bonded restoration, which molds a composite to the affected tooth as long as you still have at least 50% of the remaining tooth. It’s always better to conserve tooth structure rather than be aggressive and drill down the tooth with a cap unless it is absolutely necessary.
8. They treat you like just another set of teeth.
If the dentist greets you with “open wide,” you might want to stay clamped shut. Your dentist should be focused on making an effort to be compassionate and a great listener and striving to establish a personal relationship with you. A competent dentist strives to provide a unique experience and personalized treatment plan for each and every patient.
For more red flags to watch out for, click here.
