Dental Cleanings/Dental Work

That's frightening. [size=7] and Setanta wonders why I wanted him to get a second opinion last year. [/size]

I've experienced both side of the dentist coin, so to speak. Went to an out-and-out crook whose stock in trade was to tell people that everything was fine, not to worry -- even when they DID have problems. (He told me that a spot I was worried about on my daughter's tooth was just a chip. It wasn't, it was a cavity.)

The fact that it was a cavity was confirmed by a great dentist I found after a lot of searching, who's been wonderful. My daughter has been cavity-free since her fillings almost two years ago, and most importantly, enjoys going to the dentist.

The first dentist has since been disbarred, or whatever it's called when bad dentists are prohibited from practicing. (And no, stopdentists, I'm not interested in sueing, nor am I interested in stopping dentists in general. Our current dentist is my hero.)

So, I'm in the process of trying to find a dentist to see. There are maybe hundreds in and near where I live. I know there are dental schools at at least 3 nearby colleges (Tufts, Harvard and BU). Should I try for one of those? What do y'all think?

I had dental work done at the Harvard Dental school. It was done by senior/grad students under supervision. No problem, work was great, but did not save any money. Prices no different from private dentist.

One can save money on peridontal surgery and implants if you feel confident that a student will do a good job.

seaglass - but there ARE differences in dental rates as Phonix's link shows. I just want to feel secure that I am not getting ripped off. I so don't have the kind of money to pay for a dentist's vacation.

I worry about that myself. I recently refused a local dentist in HI to do implants on me - so I am either comming back to mainland for my dental work or go to one of the big clinics in Thailand where dental work is very reasonable. I just don't know if my dental plan would pay for it.

But never fun.

For big work you can save a bundle at a dental school. The gf worked at one and had a crown done there. Saved hundreds of dollars, but the work was incredibly slow and had to be redone almost immediately, partly because the supervising faculty member changed and the new one had wanted to use a different technique or something.

I don't have a problem with my dentist. I realize that it's expensive to attend dental school and basically, you'll get what you pay for in dentistry.
I recently had a cap adjusted on my tooth by my dentist. He didn't charge me anything, even though he had to put the cap back on my tooth after it fell off.

He's told me that implants, at another dentist, will cost about $4000/tooth.
He's not forcing me to buy the implant but he is providing me with the information necessary for me to make an informed consent.

My endodontist is very skilled and worth the cost to me to have his service.

I don't think that >95% of dentists are dishonest. When it comes to lawyers, of course, that's a different thing.

So stopdentists - how do we know what really needs to be done and not done. Keeping good teeth throughout my life is important. I guess I am getting a second opinion on my crown. Whether insurance pays for it or not I am not going through the pain and being uncomfortable for nothing. I am also concerned how good a job some of these dentists are doing. I had a dentist I really loved, but my insurance is not covered by him at least not 100%. Maybe I will go back and see him. I'm scared.