fbhjr: (Shark)
[personal profile] fbhjr

Last night I had my final crown put in from the prep work I had done a
month ago.
http://www.fbhjr.livejournal.com/971555.html

I had to leave early to get there in time. As I walked out of the staff
meeting to go, one of the software engineers asked:
“Why don’t you go to one of the dentists that can just 3D print new crowns?”
He went on to say how the one he goes to does that and it saves a second
trip and is very convenient.

And part of me does think that would be very cool. To have a new tooth
printed while you sit there and not have to spend a month with a temporary
would be great.

But…

The last couple of dentists I’ve had were from big corporate practices with
a dozen or more dentists working together. They could get together and
afford some of the cool new “toys” like fancy x-ray machines and such. I’m
very sure that those are the same folks who can manage to buy teeth
printers too.

Some of the dentists at those groups were very good.
But, my over all experience there was not.
And, this stuff happened at more than one such place.
They’d change my appointments without telling me. They’d push for me to
get things done that I didn’t want and didn’t really need. Some times they
just wouldn’t show up when I had an appointment and would expect one of the
other people to cover for them. Sometimes that left no one there. (One
place I got there for an appointment and the place was locked and the
lights off. No one had shown up that day.)

The endless trying to upsell me things REALLY annoyed me as well.

I was told at every appointment I had at two different dental groups that I
should buy a night shield for my teeth to prevent wear on them while I
slept.
Every single time I’d ask which teeth they were talking about. They always
pointed to the same four.

“I broke those four in February 1983 when I got so drunk I fell down on my
face on a cement floor,” I’d tell them. “If your product will go back in
time to stop that from happening, I’ll be happy to buy it. If it won’t,
stop trying to sell it to me.”
Six months later, we’d have the same conversation.
Clearly they made a lot of money selling those to people…

My current dentist is a one man operation. No partners, no receptionists,
no hygienists or anything else.
He has left family events to come work on my wife’s teeth when she had an
emergency.
He’s helped us out on weekends, nights and every single time we needed it.
Of course, he has rescheduled appointments. But, never without notice.
And, he’s never just failed to show up.

He has always been up front about problems, what solutions there were and
the costs involved.
The only thing he has ever tried to sell me is tooth paste and he told me
where I could get it cheaper even though he wouldn’t get a kickback.

And, he’s very good at his job as well.

Printing a new crown for me as I waited would be very nice.
I hate temporary crowns and would very much like to skip that part of the
process.

But, I think I’ll still stick with my guy and avoid all that other stuff
I’ve had to deal with elsewhere.

Date: 2015-04-02 03:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] yesididit.livejournal.com
when you find a good dentist, stick with them! not all are created equal, thats for sure!

Date: 2015-04-02 06:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heathersmoo.livejournal.com
I love my dentist. A good one is worth their weight in gold. I'm glad you have a nice one too.

Date: 2015-04-03 06:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chaquir.livejournal.com
a good dentist is very important!!

Date: 2015-04-03 08:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cosmicirony.livejournal.com
My dentist has one of the 3D machines (it's a milling machine that carves the crown out of a block, then it gets cured and installed - takes a couple of hours start to finish).

He's a one dentist operation, but I don't know that he'd come to the office off hours for an emergency.

Date: 2015-04-04 12:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] palusbuteo.livejournal.com
*insert "Cut one's teeth" joke here*

Date: 2015-04-04 02:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] merilune.livejournal.com
I think your dentist sounds like a great one to stick with. I don't think fancy machines take the place of a caring and hardworking professional!

Date: 2015-04-11 08:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cissa.livejournal.com
I should make an appointment with him. I haven't been to the dentist in several years, except for an extraction, because a root canal I got at our dentist's office- though not done by him- was exceedingly painful and traumatic. I just lost all trust in him as a result, especially since he pooh-poohed how awful it was.

Date: 2015-04-11 09:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fbhjr.livejournal.com
I don't blame you. If they don't listed to you about how bad it is, then there is something wrong.

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