A 2020 Cochrane review that assessed the two clinical trials concluded that “whether adults see their dentist for a check‐up every six months or at personalized intervals based on their dentist’s assessment of their risk of dental disease does not affect tooth decay, gum disease, or quality of life. Longer intervals (up to 24 months) between check‐ups may not negatively affect these outcomes.” The Cochrane reviewers reported that they were “confident” of little to no difference between six-month and risk-based check-ups and were “moderately confident” that going up to 24-month checkups would make little to no difference either.
Likewise, Nadanovsky and his colleagues highlight that there is no evidence supporting the benefit of common scaling and polishing treatments for adults without periodontitis. And for children, cavities in baby teeth are routinely filled, despite evidence from a randomized controlled trial that rates of pain and infections are similar—about 40 percent—whether the cavities are filled or not.
Further evidence that the privatization of healthcare is incentivized to produce worse outcomes and waste.
This article of a dentist testing other dentists gives some more anecdotal evidence: https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/
Great article, and shocking to see the prices mentioned and this at the end: This article originally ran in the February 1997 issue of Reader’s Digest.
Time before last I had a dental checkup, they said I needed 12 fillings. Didn’t schedule the fillings.
Last time I went in for a dental checkup, they said I needed 5 fillings. Didn’t schedule the fillings.
It’s been 15 years since that, and none of my teeth have gone rotten. None of them have gotten painful.
Sounds like you need a better dentist.
There are caring legit dentists out there. I know, hard to believe.
No reason to have shame. All I’m saying is if you think your dentist is fucking around you should get a better dentist instead of avoiding them your entire life.
There are clear benefits to getting regular checkups. You are blessed that you don’t have any problems. But that can change quickly with age.
You only get one set of teeth and you don’t know what you don’t know.
All it takes is a simple infection to fuck your shit up. Bite wing X-rays allows you to get ahead of issues like that instead of waiting until it’s an issue because by then it’s too late.
I feel like there’s a lot of dentists in here mad that a study scientifically showed dental care is drastically over prescribed…
You post an ancedot about how you were over prescribed treatment which aligns with the scientific study’s findings…
And someone immediately tries to tell you it was bad luck you had it happen
And not the norm across various countries like the scientific study found.
Some dentists can be very proactive. Mine ID’d 2 small cavities but said if I focus on those areas they will probably not grow and be fine.
My wife’s childhood dentist gave her more than a dozen fillings for small cavities. If you ever get a dentist like that, I’d suggest to get a second opinion.
Don’t fuck around with your mouth health: dentures are not fun and infections there can be lethal. But another check-up won’t hurt if you think something’s off.
Takes 6 months to even get an appointment!
I think the 6mo cleanings are the prepare for people who don’t take good care of their teeth. My plan allows for 3/4 cleanings a year if I want them. And some people are a lot more prone.
