Dentists under pressure to drill 'healthy teeth' for profit, former insiders allege

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Johannah Lancaster took her 3-year-old son to Dental Express for his first checkup, expecting a routine cleaning.

She never imagined the treatment plan the Niles, Ohio, dentist would come up with after he peeked into Gregory’s mouth for what seemed like only two or three minutes.

Michael Griesmer said the preschooler needed root canals – seven of them. Stunned, Lancaster asked why he had not even taken X-rays. Griesmer told her they weren't necessary.

“I figured he is a professional so I trusted him,” she recalls. “If I knew then what I know now, I would have never gone through with any of it.”

Two weeks later, in May 2013, the dentist put Gregory under and drilled his teeth. The Medicaid bill came to $1,273 – compared to the $61 that Medicaid would have paid for a checkup and cleaning.

What Lancaster didn’t know then: Dental Express was part of North American Dental Group, a chain backed by private-equity investors. At least a year earlier, the company had told dentists like Griesmer to meet aggressive revenue targets or risk being kicked out of the chain. Those targets ratcheted up pressure to find problems that might not even exist.

https://news.yahoo.com/dentists-under-pressure-drill-healthy-110612689.html

[Brainfodder]

1. I saw this myself 4ish years back:

I have a chipped tooth from youth, well it finally had to be capped, the dentist I went to:

I was asked if I wanted the one next to it done, also, to keep them looking the same.

:WTF:

A perfectly (right usage) good tooth? GO TO HELL!

I've had a dentist tap a nerve, almost bit his finger.

[RobinA]

6. I Am 62 Years Old

and still have all four of my wisdom teeth. Unimpacted. Several dentists have offered to take them out, predicting ominous results if I leave them in. 30 years ago I had a woman who took over for my childhood dentist tell me that they had to come out because they were riddled with cavities. Interesting the old dentist never mentioned that. I didn't like her and didn't want her yanking teeth, so I searched for a new dentist. I found someone I liked and strangely, he never mentioned the supposed cavities either. Eventually HE retires and his replacement says they can stay for now, but if one ever gets a cavity (hmmmm) it has to come out, they can't be filled. So a little while later one does crop up with a cavity (maybe) and he fills it no problem.

[Brainfodder]

12. I had all 4 in that exact scenario removed when I was 17?

Had multiple dry sockets...

Fond memories!

I'm 50+ and I have had lots of dental work, right now just none of ya'll fail anytime soon, pretty please!

6 root canals over many years.... now wondering how many were really justified.

[RobinA]

2. I Have a Friend

whose daughter, when she was a preschooler, supposedly had to have root channel. I know zero about dentistry, but I thought it was a little suspicious. I didn't say anything, because who am I, but she mentioned it the other day as the beginning of her now 30-year-old daughter's fear of dentistry, and I was reminded of my suspicion.

[CrispyQ]

3. At three, they are baby teeth!

Have people lost all common sense? Didn't she think to Google root canals on 3-year-olds? Didn't she think to get a second opinion? That would have been way cheaper than letting the crackpot doctor do what he did. That poor kid, having a parent so ignorant.

I was seven before I saw a dentist. Most, maybe all, of my baby teeth were gone by then. Is it common now to have baby teeth examined if the child isn't having any issues?

[RobinA]

7. Yes, It Is Common

to take kids with baby teeth to the dentist. And has been for some time. I've heard of people's toddlers getting fillings.

[mitch96]

4. Same here, The dentists work for "management" groups... It's all about the money

I had a loose tooth. It had to come out.. The dentist said I had four.. FOUR that had to come out and the office mgr said insurance would cover it. Bill came to $5k and my share was $950. I got a copy of the bill and then called the insurance company. They said they only cover one extraction per year. So If I signed with these guys I would be on the hook for the balance.. like $4k..
Ahhh no.......

m

[empedocles]

5. I believe it. Tried 'corporate dentistry', come-on price, latest teeth cleaning devices,

crown recommendation. I declined.
6mths later went to old trusted dds, despite traffic, - no crown needed.

Repeated process, again, similar corp dds result [replacement fillings recommended this time]. Declined
6 mths later old dds cleaning, no repair recommendations

Experimenting done. Sticking with honest old dds.

[RobinA]

9. Unfortunately

My childhood dentist is gone and the guy I had found to replace him, who did not do extra stuff, has also recently retired. I thought he was a few years younger than me, but turns out he was 6 years older. Now I've got Dr. DoEverything.

[Dawson Leery]

8. Corporate healthcare is the same as corporate prisons.

Profits for the management and stock owners at the expense of everyone else.

[Mosby]

10. Modern dentistry is worse than medical care

The prices have skyrocketed for procedures.

I'm leaving the country for my dental work, why the fuck would I pay 2000 dollars per implant when I can go elsewhere for a fraction of the costs?

Eta:

We have several dentists here on DU, wonder what they think about the OP. Maybe they don't want to talk about it.

[RandiFan1290]

11. Had a dentist try to tell me I needed a root canal on a small cavity

Went and got a second opinion and saved a lot of money. She sure did put up a fight releasing my xrays too.

[Siwsan]

13. The flat out truth is, with for-profit healthcare we are no longer patients. We are customers.

Some might even say we are "marks".