Should you change dentists every few years?

TL;DR – If you’ve been going to the same dentist for 5+ years now, you should consider checking out a new dentist.

Introduction

I’ve been in Seattle for a decade now and have had 4 dentists since then.  I think most people choose dentists that are either a) close to home or b) close to work.  I had been with my current dentist for about 5 years now, but decided to go to a new one the other day since he was closer to home.  Before I talk about that incident, let’s talk about the previous 4 dentists I’ve had, which will help explain why you probably should change dentists every few years.

 

Dentist 1 – One of the top ones in Seattle

I found my first dentist in Seattle using Yelp of course.  At the time, I didn’t know how popular he was; he just had good ratings on Yelp.  I think he was the first dentist who gave me shades to wear.  I remember the dentists before that never gave me glasses and so my eyes would water due to the freaking light in my eyes.  This one also had a TV and would ask me what movie I wanted to watch while he operated.  At the time, the glasses and TV were new to me, so I thought he was awesome!

After a year or so, I saw a Seattle Met magazine in his office, which showed he was rated as one of the top dentists in Seattle.  I had mixed feelings about seeing that.  Eventually, I stopped going to him because I felt he didn’t really care about me.  He was nice and all, but he was in-and-out each time I saw him.

 

Dentist 2 – The socially awkward one

A friend recommended a dentist in Kirkland who said he was pretty “caring.”  I went for a teeth cleaning, and he must have just opened up his office because he was the one who did my teeth cleaning.  I was indifferent about that – I would prefer a hygienist who has been cleaning teeth for years and years.  I went to see him 6 months later, and he had hired a hygienist by then who cleaned my teeth.  Even so, I stopped going to him after the 2nd time because he just seemed socially awkward.  I realize this isn’t a necessary trait to be a “good” dentist, but I’d like a dentist who knows how to talk to people.  I mean, dentistry is the 2nd highest suicide occupation.

 

Dentist 3 – The Goldilocks of dentists

This is the dentist that I’ve had for the past 5 years.  When I first met him, he told me he had a basketball buddy with the same exact name.  He was very personable and balanced “chit chat time” with “let’s get the job done time” – meaning he’d remember my vacations and we’d chit chat about food for a few minutes before he looked in my mouth.  The only problem I had with him was during my first visit, after the cleaning, the hygienist gave me a fluoride rinse that wasn’t covered by insurance and cost me something like $20 out of pocket.  On my second trip, I told them to skip the fluoride rinse and wasn’t charged any out of pocket fees after that.

Recently, I bit into a peach pit and chipped my front tooth.  This was on a Sunday and I was going to Hawaii on Wednesday for a wedding.  They were able to squeeze me in on Tuesday and fixed the chip in about 15 minutes.  Out of pocket was $75 after insurance, and I can no longer bite into raw fruit, which saddens me.   The only reason I went to see a new dentist last week was because the new one is 5 minutes from my house whereas this dentist was 20-25 minutes away.

 

Dentist 4 – The Papparazzi dentist

A few days ago, I went to a new dentist by my house that was recommended to me from a fellow reader.  Since this was my first time to see him, they took the usual x-rays; however, the hygienist whipped out a Canon 7D with what looked like a 24-70mm L lens.  She started to take pictures of my face and mouth.  I told her this was the first time ever a dentist was taking photos of my face.  She said it comes in handy in case something happens to my face/teeth/mouth.  Sure enough, she was right because she showed me the photos afterwards of the inside of my mouth.

Eventually the dentist came in, who was slightly socially awkward and reminded me of the earlier dentist.  Let me first mention that this dentist was a husband and wife combo who just expanded the office to handle 10 chairs.  This was one of the biggest offices I had been in.  Anyhow, the dentist looked at the x-rays and essentially told me I needed like 5-6 fillings since I grind my teeth and chipped off some of the teeth.  This puzzled me a lot since my Goldilocks dentist never told me I needed these fillings.  At least this dentist fully admitted that he likes to err on the side of caution and would rather I grind my teeth against a filling rather than my actual tooth/enamel.

At the end of the visit, they wanted me to come in 2 more times for these fillings.  They told me my insurance would only cover 1 filling per tooth every 2 years and on one tooth, they needed to replace one of the older silver fillings and put in the newer tooth-colored filling.  The total cost was somewhere around $2,000, but I’d have to pay something like $500 out of pocket due to the insurance rules.  Anyhow I called my brother-in-law who happens to be a dentist, and he told me that he should have billed the insurance a different code.  I then asked him if the dentist was trying to game the insurance company and/or me.  I won’t tell you what he said, but you can figure it out.

What now?  I’m going to go back to Goldilocks and ask him his 2nd opinion on the 5 fillings this new guy wants to do.  This explains how new dentist has such a massive office – if he keeps pushing unnecessary work and is billing the insurance company, then that’s more cheese on his plate.

 

Lessons Learned

Sorry for the long story; this came out much longer than I expected.  But the short answer is – yes, if you’ve been going to the same dentist for a long time, it may be in your best interest to check out a new one.  The reasons for that are:

1. There may be advances in technology that your old dentist hasn’t invested in (hello shades and a TV)
2. You can get a 2nd opinion on what needs to be done.  I plan on going back to my Goldilocks dentist and asking him if I really do need to get the 5-6 fillings the new guy wants me to do.

It’s sorta like dating – you can’t just marry the first person you date.  You have to date around to see what’s out there before you settle down.  Everything is relative; how do you know the dentist you’ve been going to for a decade is awesome if you’ve never seen another dentist?  Maybe he really is awesome, and there’s only 1 way to find out.