Not sure this worked out

[Night Elf]

My dentist that I've been with for almost 20 years is 40 minutes away. Due to my extreme anxiety in driving, especially on highways, I decided to transfer my records to a new dentist. She took xrays and discovered I had 7 small cavities and need 2 crowns replaced. I thought about having the xrays sent to my first dentist to get his opinion but his new receptionist who doesn't know me said I'd have to have a consultation appointment. So I decided since there were areas of my mouth that hurt and were sensitive, I'd assume this new dentist knew was she was talking about and started her suggested treatment. To date, she has filled 5 of my cavities. I had an appt. to have the last 2 filled next week but have had a change of mind. My yearly benefits are almost out. I'll have to pay more out of pocket to have these last 2 cavities filled. So instead, I made the consultation appointment with my first dentist and will ask him if she knew was she talking about. I'll be so disappointed if he disagrees with her treatment plan. Mostly, I want to know what he thinks of her saying I need two crowns replaced. I can't afford to have that done this year with no dental benefits left. Each one is about $1300. So I'll see what my first dentist says and will probably just go back to him and deal with the driving. It's a nuisance and my anxiety shoots through the roof when I have to drive but my mouth health is very important to me.

[Ausmumof3]

I would have a second opinion.  Different dentists have a different threshold of what needs filling because extremely minor cavities can recalcify if you have a healthy diet.

[Rachel]

I recently got a second opinion and got a filling instead of a crown. The second opinion did confirm a couple other things I had questioned with my first dentist. It gave me piece of mind. 

If you have been a past patient, when you call tell them that. 

[klmama]

Beth, it's worth going back to the original dentist, at least for a 2nd opinion.  Maybe you can set up an appointment for a time when the traffic isn't as bad.

I saw a dentist once whose whole approach was traumatizing.  I went in for a cleaning and a check-up.  After taking more x-rays than I'd ever had in my life, he wanted to crown all of my molars.  He wanted to whiten all of my front teeth.  Pressure, pressure, pressure.  Dh went to him, too, and got the same pressure to get crowns and teeth whitening.  We talked to our friends, and they'd had the same experience.  We did nothing.  Six months later, we went to a different dentist for a cleaning; he looked at our teeth and said each of us had a filling that should be redone, but no crowns.  Maybe in 5 years.  He retired and we moved on to yet another dentist after that, who said the same thing.  Eventually, all of those teeth were crowned, but over time.  One at a time.  

[wendyroo]

If it were me, I would schedule a consultation with another dentist near you to get a second/third opinion.

It seems that you were with dentist #1 for a long time, but still had areas of your mouth that hurt and were sensitive.  So maybe he wasn't catching and treating everything that needed work.

It certainly is possible that dentist #2 is treating teeth that don't really need it, but it is also possible that she is taking action in areas that have been deteriorating over time.

I would get another, entirely separate opinion.   Maybe dentist #3 will think the proposed work is overkill (in which case you might feel comfortable moving to his/her practice near you instead of going back to dentist #1), or maybe dentist #3 will agree with dentist #2, in which case you would then have two good dental options near you.

Wendy

[Night Elf]

8 hours ago, wendyroo said:

If it were me, I would schedule a consultation with another dentist near you to get a second/third opinion.

It seems that you were with dentist #1 for a long time, but still had areas of your mouth that hurt and were sensitive.  So maybe he wasn't catching and treating everything that needed work.

It certainly is possible that dentist #2 is treating teeth that don't really need it, but it is also possible that she is taking action in areas that have been deteriorating over time.

I would get another, entirely separate opinion.   Maybe dentist #3 will think the proposed work is overkill (in which case you might feel comfortable moving to his/her practice near you instead of going back to dentist #1), or maybe dentist #3 will agree with dentist #2, in which case you would then have two good dental options near you.

Wendy

My DH and I thought about this, but my new dentist said they were very small and that they could have developed fairly quickly and others might have been missed. When I saw my first dentist last November, he found a cavity that had formed in the 6 months since I had been there last and was surprised at how big it was considering there was nothing there 6 months prior. I have had lots of dental work done over my lifetime and so I know I don't have the best dental health. 

I'll see what 1st dentist has to say and maybe will find a 3rd dentist.

[Okra]

You absolutely need a second opinion!

I would consider this highly important before spending so much money.

[RootAnn]

Well, I put off replacing crowns until it was absolutely necessary. (So does DH.) As long as they aren't bothering you, I'm of the opinion that they are ok. Obviously, professionals will probably disagree. If we had someone who was a real master at getting the crown right the first time, perhaps we wouldn't be too gun-shy. So far, DH has only had one dentist who had the magical touch - and he retired several years ago.

DH agreed to have a crown replaced (before it was bothering him but after about two years of reminders from the dentist that it needed to be replaced). The temp crown cracked within a few days (the night before we left to visit relatives in another state). They didn't get him in until the permanent crown was ready and it had to be ground down so much that they had to take a new mold & reorder another permanent crown. It took over two months before he finally had a permanent crown that didn't bother him. He's not anxious to repeat that.