Dentists suck! I hate my dentist. I hate all the dentists in the area and after today, that's it. I'm done.
Mouth history-haven't had a cavity since high school and THAT is questionable. See, I had been using Looney Tunes toothpaste. This was 1983 so having ANYTHING besides mint was AMAZING! It was bubblegum flavor. Ok, so are teenagers real big on noticing if things have fluoride or not? To this day, I have no idea. I don't even know if it was in the water or not at that time.On top of that, I have some grooves and pits in my teeth. Everyone does, but dentists love to stick that pick in there and say, "This is deep, but not sticky. We need to watch this," ever since I had teeth.
So, did THAT dentist decide he could make a little money on the sly and created cavities out of normal pits? Because I had no pain, no problems, it was just a cleaning/check-up. Or did I really have cavities? Don't know. But I have 3 fillings from that day and not one since, which also proves my point of, I think the guy took advantage.
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Over the last few years, dentists have changed in my area. Cleanings aren't making them enough money. Now it's the hard-sell when you walk in by the secretary ("Are you ready to make your teeth last a lifetime?") and questionnaires upselling everything from sleep apnea gear ("Join today to see if you have sleep apnea! Fill out this form!") to braces (already had 'em). The whitening is out of vogue. I used to get the hard-sell for THAT constantly. Look, a simple google look-see will explain to any dentist (who should know better, which means they DO know better, they're just hoping that I don't know better) that if you have stained teeth from tetracycline, teeth whitening doesn't work. Want to know something cool? My BONES are stained too! Yeah, went through a glass table-top once. The skin is thin there.
But I digress.
Yeah, dentists totally lie to make money. I had one tell me my fillings needed replacements because they silver was wearing dangerously thin and if I did nothing, I was going to be in a lot of pain. That was 25 years ago. Ya get me? I don't trust these lying damn dentists.
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So today I try a new dentist, spouse's dentist and it's in the paperwork, "Rate how important it is to you to keep your teeth." "Do you want teeth or dentures in your future?" "How committed are you to your dental health?" Along with wanting my Driver's License number (didn't give it) and my email (didn't give it). I also told him I didn't appreciate the upsell techniques and it's insulting. Basically, I refused to play.
Now, when I made this appointment, I said, "no xrays, just a cleaning." Of course, when I show up, they demand I have xrays. Nope. Not going to do it.
Why? Ok, first of all, the ADA (American Dental Association) and the FDA have said, since 1987, that, "adults who aren't at high risk should get them every two to three years."
CNN Article
Economist Article
So why do I have to fight them on this every single time? Follow the money. Xrays make them money, cleanings do not.
So, to teach me a lesson, they had me wait for 20 minutes in the waiting room after I refused. Then they took me back to the room and I waited another 10. When the dentist came in, he had a lot of body language, trying to get the upper hand, trying to make me recline in the seat by moving his chair where my legs were, and I wouldn't play along. Trying to tell me that he, by law, had to treat me, which I laughed off. Then told me he called my insurance and I was a month early so I had to pay for today out of pocket. I also laughed because that's nonsense. I cancelled my other dentist (new dentist bought out the place, wasn't up to standards. The overhead light wasn't clean and had no plastic on the handles. I'm not getting AIDS from the dentist) so I had an appt this month, 6 months from my last appt. And then he made comments about how nice that I came with my spouse, one car. I didn't know what he was up to until later, it's so petty that he should be embarrassed.
So then he asked, "So, you don't want xrays for philosophical reasons?"
Yes, asshole. I'm a fucking tree-hugger who doesn't believe in vaccines or global warming, you jackass. Instead of asking, he just decides I'm totally unreasonable and crazy and he'll humor me. Fuck you.
"No, I'm not doing xrays for MEDICAL reasons. 1st, the ADA clearly states that normal healthy people do not require xrays more than once every 3 years. Also, if you check my chart, I've had more skin cancers than cavities. Cancer, as in squamous AND melanoma, the deadliest cancer you can get. Technically, I'm in remission for the next 3 years. If I don't die, I'm considered cured of THAT outbreak but my odds are more than doubled for another. If I'm really lucky, I'll see it in time and it won't be under my hair or down my throat or in my intestines. On top of that, 1 year and 2 weeks ago, my cousin on my mother's side, died of a brain tumor. On my father's side, both grandparents died of cancer, my father's cousin died of a rare cancer, and my uncle has had multiple cancers. I'm the last person in the world who needs extra cumulative radiation."
Stick that in your xray and smoke it, fuckwad.
He got all huffy, even though I didn't actually call him a fuckwad. Maybe I should have?
Remember how you'd go for your cleaning and the tech would look in your mouth, move your tongue around and that would take 2 minutes? Now the dentist measures every single gum line and calls out numbers. I'm 2s and 3s. Yeah, I could have told you that my gums are tip top. Then he moves my tongue around. Yup, I could have told you, no mouth sores. That was about half an hour. Then dick-head said I have to come back and schedule an actual cleaning. EVEN THOUGH I DID! And this was suppose to be it! No, the new scam is you get a precleaning screening. Just in case they need to do a $1000.00 deep cleaning. Do you BELIEVE this shit?
And the petty nonsense? He kept spouse back there for his cleaning for 2 hours. He made sure that I got to wait, as punishment for thwarting him. What a fucker!
And he made his point. Clearly, he doesn't want me back there wasting his time because he doesn't make any money on cleaning teeth. He wants xrays and CPAP machines, and invisalign.
So I ask myself, "Self? What do visits to the dentists DO for you?" I can and DO floss at home. I don't have problems. I don't have cavities. Why am I bothering? So, unless I have a problem, I'm done with this nonsense.
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