
Ask HN: How satisfied are you with your dental care? - tmamic
I&#x27;ve seen a large amount of posts in r&#x2F;dentistry about shitty dental experiences. Is it just a reddit thing?
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ksaj
I have heard that dentistry and veterinary are the two most depressed
vocations because people generally dislike having to visit them, and patient
anxiety / pain adversity leads to less positive feedback. Reddit accepts a
high level of cynicism which could easily amplify negative or alarmed
perceptions. ("Kill it with fire!")

To counter this, a lot of dentists use phrases like "pain free" in their ad
collateral, and include all kinds of joyful imagery in their offices.

The only problem I've had with my dentist, and it is such a minor quibble that
is hardly worth mentioning (except that it is on-topic), is that after every
appointment they try to sign me up for wisdom tooth extraction. I'm over 50
and have never had problems with my wisdoms - even the x-rays show them as
being perfectly fine. Maybe harder to reach, but they're still clean and
healthy anyway. So I just say "No thanks" and schedule my next appointment.

I think my hygienist has an awesome personality, so I don't give her any flack
for trying to bring more money into the clinic.

~~~
tmamic
Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, I would say that good 20% of posts are about anxiety of dentist visits.
But what I've seen many more stories about over-treatments. Luckily for you,
your dentist didn't abuse your trust.

~~~
ksaj
I think the constant attempt at signing me up for tooth extraction is an
attempt at over-treatment. Especially since they always act as if it was I who
requested it. Eg: Before I leave, I go to the front desk to schedule my next
appointment. They say, every time, "When would you like to schedule your
extraction?" which is clearly a dark pattern.

So I'm inclined to believe those stories. I just accept that dentists make
more money from wisdom extractions, even if there's no reason to have the
procedure. It only annoyed me the first few times until I realized they'll
_always_ be asking me this.

Incidentally, I think it's a lot like circumcision. A lot of natal doctors
just assume they're going to be doing that without asking the parents. It's
mostly done because it's a surgical (read: more money) procedure to add to the
medical bill. It's pretty much illegal to cut without specific permission
where I live now, but that was a common complaint before then.

