DENTAL FRUSTRATION, 1 OF MANY....

I love my job, anyone who knows me has had a Slightly forced conversation about dentistry. In my defense, I’m usually not the first one to bring it up, but do have a hard time stopping. I work for an AMAZING dentist. Not only is he a down to earth, great guy, but he really is an insanely talented individual. This last summer he has spent HOURS and HOURS taking continuing education courses, so he can offer more comprehensive care to his patients. The things about my job that have caused uncountable hours of frustration have nothing to do with “My Job” or our practice, but dentistry has a whole.

STANDARD OF CARE: Dentistry does not have a united standard of care, and this is a growing problem. Dentist’s are permitted to practice as long as they want, only needing to maintain minimal CE credits, which can often be gained through reading articles and listening to CD’s. There is no regulation on the actual skill level or results dentists produce. Patients, even the most educated, choose their dentist based on personality, not skill or ability. It’s not their fault, what else would they do. Very few people can interpret x-rays and understand the importance of materials, margins, open contacts/floss-ability, and the importance of being conservative while providing longevity. I am stunned at the dentistry being done everyday. It should be UNACCEPTABLE! I feel like there should be something dental professionals should do, similar to board exams, to insure they have what it takes to produce predictable and acceptable restorations. The only one’s loosing are the patients. Now, the need for dentistry or even the need to periodically update the dentistry you have is not necessarily the fault of the dentist, in fact a majority of the responsibility belongs to the patient. But if a dentist does unsatisfactory work (work that is actually making the tooth worse and lasts less then 5 years) and continues to see that patient back for hygiene exams and chooses to say nothing, ignores the EXCEPTIONALLY obvious problems, this is WRONG, ethically and legally. Supervised neglect is cause for a malpractice suit. I’m not recommending or condoning law suits, but maybe that is what it will take to make dentists open their eyes and take responsibility for the work they produce. Telling a patient everything looks good, and knowing you would never have that dentistry in your mouth, is wrong.

So to anyone who had the patience to read this, I’m not saying your dentistry or dentist is bad, but I am warning the people I care about to be aware. Some of the worst dentistry I have seen has come from the nicest, most honest professionals. Although few people have the passion for dentistry that I do, we all have to deal with our teeth and TRUST ME, you don’t want to be on the other side of this conversation, a frustrating and often emotional one I have with new patients everyday. So if you’re close enough to come to our office (I now have friends and fam traveling 4 hours) please consider a free consult. This is not an advertisement; I really do want to help the people I love find the right dentist, and avoid a future of bad dental experiences.