I remember my family used to goto Winston Louie in Chinatown. Then my mom found out somehow that he was charging us for non-existant cavities (I think she took my brother to another dental office out of coincidence).

Never went back again. He's operating in Richmond now according to a quick Google.

from my experience, specialists and general anesthesia are unnecessary for kids.
When my daughter was 3~4, she had one tooth that required extraction, my dentist referred us to specialist, Pediatric Dental Group in Richmond. They recommended that she should go anesthetic for the procedure.
I agreed as my daughter tends to freak out just hearing the word Dentist.
But then in last minute, we decided to get 2nd opinion from another dentist in Vancouver.
He recommended oral sedation instead. Drink that makes child drowsy but not fall asleep. We took his advise and everything went without a hitch.
If my daughter can pull out a tooth without anesthesia, so can any child.

now that I think of it, I'm surprised so call "Pediatric dental specialist" wanted anesthetic, instead of safer sedation.... oh she's being fussy, let's knock her out completely
I've seen some dentists who just can't handle kids.

I have a dentist I fully trust through my family network who has never pushed any expensive unnecessary procedures. I'm pretty sure regular x-rays of your teeth every six months is good dental practice to visualise the rate of your tooth decay and determine when it's most appropriate to take invasive action.

Are you paying out of your own pocket or do you have a dental plan?


I'm no dentist but I am pretty sure x-rays are not needed when you don't have cavities.
Again, I am no dentist but needing x-rays every 6 months to visialise the rate of your tooth decay and determine when it's most appropriate to take invasive action? Sounds like you are saying let the cavities continue to get worse instead of taking care of it right away which doesn't sound right to me.

Wow, that's a sad story. When I first saw the title I thought, "how does someone get brain damage from a dentist visit? He must have knocked her teeth into her brain...."
I didn't even think of sedation dentistry or that it was powerful enough to stop your heart. I've never had sedation before and I recall a few times when I was younger that the dentist didn't use enough anesthetic and I was too nieve to tell him. I used to get nervous when I started feeling the drill and the smell of the tooth being drilled away. Now I just make sure they know if I still feel pain and give me more drugs.

it's easy to forget only so much can be seen clinically (in between the teeth and beneath the bone requires x-rays)

everyone's a little different
if you've got brittle teeth and/or have lots of fillings/root canals then 6 month may be justified
healthy teeth every year or so is ideal

the dosage of digital radiography is minimal...you'll get more radiation standing out a couple hours in the sun than you do with annual x-rays in the mouth. that said, exposure should only be done when it's warranted.

i think part of it is also parents giving kids sippy cups with either juice or milk in it when they go to bed. so they have all that sugar in their saliva and it just sits there over night.

You know growing up poor as fuck in Asia, brother and I never went to the dentist when we were kids......... Teeth removal is done at home. Table salt with water is used to stop any bleeding and also cleaning. Brushing teeth is mandatory 3 times a day or after any meals, supervised by mom and dad.

Teeth turned out pretty nice when we first go to the dentist for small amount of plaque removal during the teen years. Dentist was pretty choke knowing we never went to the clinic.

I was on a plan for many years and now out of pocket. My dentist hasn't changed the way he treats me.

I think the problem is that not all cavities or dental issues can be found by visual inspection alone. (ie: between teeth, under the gums, etc) x-rays give dentists that additional information. There are certainly other dental practices though that come under questionable utility if you read online.

Yeah from what I've read, impeccable daily care after every meal vastly increases dental health compared to increasing dental visits. I think I read even fluoride treatment by your dentist is of debatable merit.

That's great that your dentist is one of the good ones.

I don't doubt the benefits of dental x-rays, but i don't think they are needed every six months if the person has had good dental health their whole life.
Like Nikko's example. They brushed regularly as dental health was important, not having xrays every 6 months didn't hurt him.
Now, if the person has new cavities on every visit, that is different and zap away.

I guess it all depends on how quickly cavities develop on average. Does it take 6 months avg? 1 year? That would likely be the most appropriate answer to how often X rays are needed.

I think most good practices use 1 year appointments to do xrays. You can always decline, but that's obviously at your own risk. (personal anecdote, plus wife is a dental hygienist).

I personally had terrible dental hygiene up until grade 10 or so. After some heavy cavity work I told myself that I'd try my best to avoid that from happening again. I floss once a day and brush/rinse religiously. All dental issues have been replacing previous fillings. A lot of that was actually done with xrays because the decay was underneath the original fillings. Having fillings falling out into your mouth while you're eating (it's happened to me) is something that I don't wish upon anyone. So jarring and disgusting.

6 months is too often imo. I'm pretty sure most if not all people can get by with xrays every year. But then again I'm not a dentist.

all the peeps that have never had a cavity hollar!!!

:fuuuuu:

I have had 70% of my teeth redone twice. some of the rears, three times.

Brush your teeth twice and floss, they said. "ok"

Thanks for the genetics dad!

Meanwhile my stepbrother never brushes his teeth, and has had ONE cavity. :rukidding:

I had one out without sedation or gas. I was able to provide productive counter resistance when the dentist started to pull me out of the chair by my tooth.