The Dental Scam?

If I haven't mentioned that we do not have dental insurance, I'm mentioning it again.

We have no dental insurance. I haven't had dental insurance since I was 18 and got booted off my mom's. Owning your own business is fantastic, but you are majorly screwed when it comes to group insurance.

I broke my two front teeth off in 5th grade and I've had to replace those caps 4 times since I turned 18. CHA-CHING! I've spent at least $8000 on my front teeth. You will NEVER see me bite into an apple.

Anyway, I took the boys in yesterday because I found a deal that was a cleaning, x-rays, and an exam for $59. I drove by and the office was brand-new and beautiful, so in my mind I figured they were trying to build a clientele, because that's what I would do if I was a new dentist with a new location. After I made the appointment, Greg told me he found one down the street for $49, but you know, I had already made the appointment so I went ahead and went in.



The boys were so cute. You would think that with all the medical procedures Austin has endured, that he'd be afraid. But he isn't afraid of anything. He is the sweetest child ever. He laid right down and opened his mouth. See that little box on the counter in the background? That's the Magic Money Making Box.



Gregory was a little more timid, but he was fine and very compliant. They tried to x-ray both boys, and even though they were willing, the lady told me that the x-ray trays were just too big for their mouths.

So I said fine. What do I know? I'm not a hygienist.

While the other hygienist was working on Austin, the dentist came in to look at Gregory. Then she took out this laser cavity detector.



She started pointing the wand in Gregory's mouth.

Suddenly, it started beeping.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The number 12 flashed on the screen.

"That's a cavity."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The number 8 came up.

"There's another one."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"That's another one."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"How many is that? Four?"

By then, I'd stopped breathing and I started losing consciousness. I actually had to lean against the counter to keep from passing out.

The rest is a blur. They cleaned Gregory's teeth. Austin's teeth were fine. I think they got toys.

She handed me a summary of the work that needed to be done.

Filling $167
Filling $167
Filling $167
Filling $167
Nitrous Oxide $100

I drove home and told Greg that Gregory needed $800 in dental work. Did you guys hear him yesterday around noon? He had a meltdown that may have actually contributed to global warming.

So after all the drama, I came to my senses and started making phone calls. You may have talked to me yesterday. I wanted to see if anyone else had heard of the laser cavity detector that the dentist used yesterday.

Then I got online and looked it up. I had all these great links, but I lost them all and I don't have time to go find them. The machine is called a Diagnodent and it's a new laser technology to discover the very beginnings of tooth decay, even before they actually become cavities.

So I kept reading.

Turns out that a score of less than 30 is likely not any sort of tooth decay that can actually be treated yet. It means that IT'S LIKELY the tooth may develop a cavity in the NEXT YEAR. It doesn't mean you start drilling RIGHT NOW. If you get a "high" score, it means there is something going on under the enamel and precaution must be taken to avoid the tooth from further decay.

I talked to my neighbor, who is a retired dentist, and he said that with fluoride drops and better hygiene, it's likely the teeth can remineralize and those won't become cavities.

Then I read that the Diagnodent is a great diagnostic tool to use in conjunction with X-RAYS AND A VISUAL INSPECTION. But that the tool should not be used alone for diagnosing dental caries. She never really looked in his mouth other than to point the machine in there.

Then I read that if the laser is used prior to the cleaning, plaque in the fissures can cause a false-positive reading. They cleaned Gregory's teeth afterwards.

THEN I read an article from a dentist in Australia that said a lot of dentists are using it to drum up business and do unnecessary work.

AHA!

So I joined a dental plan yesterday, and found another dentist, and we are going in tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. The girl at the new dentist assured me that they have tiny, tiny trays to do x-rays.

I called and cancelled the girl's appointment too. I told the receptionist exactly what I thought about the way they diagnosed Gregory too.

I'm getting a second opinion!

It's still entirely possible that my child's teeth are all rotten and I'll get the World's Worst Mother Award.

But it will only cost $240 and not $800.

The jury is out. Was the dentist a liar and a scam artist or does Gregory have bad teeth?

Stay tuned for Friday.