How Some Dentists Exploit Your Pain for Their Gain
Got a toothache? Be careful of who you turn to for help.
Dental pain makes you vulnerable.
This is a continuation with the Dental Pain Management theme. In Part III we talked about Pain People and the Pain Trap.
This time I’m going to put the heat on Dentists and reveal how some take advantage of people in pain.
To begin, here’s a dirty little secret from the Dental Industry… Root Canals are highly profitable.
That’s not such a bad thing in itself. What’s troublesome is when a dentist begin slanting treatment plans for maximum profitability instead of patient benefit. It becomes a slippery slope of patient manipulation once treatment integrity has been breached.
What am I talking about? Overdoing it with the Root Canals and other invasive forms of dentistry.
What’s really disturbing is when dentists become Pain Exploiters. They start taking advantage of people in pain.
“I knew it!” you’re saying to yourself.
Wait… Before you run off on a Dentist-Hater rant, let me clarify that these Pain Exploiters are the exception, not the rule. Most dentists that I’ve met work at a level of high integrity and would do their best to help alleviate your discomfort.
How do you spot a Pain Exploiter? They’re always pushing for more invasive/expensive treatment plans. There are Root Canal Pushers, Implant Pushers, Cosmetic Pushers, you name it.
Root Canal Pushers are the Pain Exploiters. That’s where Root Canals become almost mandatory treatment for anyone with a toothache.
Uncovering the Truth about Dental Pain Exploiters
I first learned of the Pain Exploiter trend a few years back when one of my patients traveled down to Florida for a trip. When she came back I discovered a dentist had slam-dunked a Root Canal and Crown onto one of her teeth.
She had been out for dinner and bit into something hard. She got an immediate jolt of pain. Her tooth was cold sensitive and she was concerned it might get worse.
That’s a classic Cracked-Tooth situation. A newly cracked tooth will feel cold sensitive like that.
I’m not arguing whether something needed to be done. I take exception to how the dentist she saw immediately rushed her into extensive treatment. Personally, I wouldn’t take such liberties with another dentist’s patient. Most other dentists probably wouldn’t either.
Root Canal and Crown are the treatment of choice for the severe forms of Cracked Tooth Syndrome. With milder forms you can avoid the Root Canal and have a more conservative restoration instead of the full enamel-amputation that a Crown requires.
My patient’s cracked tooth was a milder version, and that meant there was no urgency to the situation. All she just needed to do was chew on the other side to avoid additional stress and have it reevaluated for appropriate care when she got back into town. No big deal.
Pain Exploiters are quick to take advantage of these situations.
I seriously doubt a Root Canal was necessary. The crown was also questionable. Too late now.
Florida can be like the Wild West in some ways, and my patient happened to find a cowboy dentist who had his fast-food systematized approach down pat for delivering a slam-bam Root Canal – Crown combo.
My patient’s situation made her an easy target and once she got on that conveyor belt there was no turning back.
Motivated by Pain
Pain is a great motivator. When you’re deep in the throes of it, there’s a sense of desperation and you’ll do whatever it takes to get out of it.
That makes you vulnerable for exploitation.
When you’re not in dental pain, Dentists have a harder time convincing you of spending anything on dental care. Wouldn’t you agree? Nobody really wants to have dentistry done in the first place.
When you have a toothache, it’s a different story. You’re a pushover for extensive treatment. You can almost here them in the background saying “We got a live one!” with the ka-ching sound of the cash register.
Pain Exploiters take advantage of your situation and push more expensive (and profitable) treatment solutions. Root Canal Treatment is often followed by a Core buildup and a Crown.
All legitimate treatment options, but more more invasive to your tooth and pocketbook.
In short order your expenses for one tooth can easily run over $2k.
The Best Dentistry?
Hands down the best dentistry is NO dentistry. Pristine, untouched teeth are living sculptures of beauty.
The second best is the least amount possible to get the job done properly. Excessive dentistry weakens your teeth. Maxing out the dental treatment options on a tooth can leave it over-engineered and vulnerable.
Don’t get me wrong, if you have a tooth in trouble, extensive treatment to save it can definitely be appropriate. When teeth are in desperate shape, heroic measures are required to have any chance of keeping them.
What I’m talking about is a disturbing trend where dentists take advantage by leveraging your dental pain to maximize treatment and profitability. Doing more dentistry when less would be more beneficial. That’s when dentists cross the line and become Pain Exploiters.
Stay Tuned for More…
In Pain Exploiters Part II, you’ll discover the 3 Dental Sins and which specific types of dentists to avoid – the Bullies and Charmers.
Stay healthy and keep smiling!
Dr. Joe 
| About the Author: Joe Bulger is a successful dentist in Toronto, Canada. Visit his blog on Dental Secrets Guide to learn more about dental services and opportunities. |
More Resources:
- How to Find a Dentist – Suggestions from eHow.com
- Expect the Best – Article on Dedication to Dental Excellence.
- How to Find a Good Dentist – Article from a Houston dental office.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Patient manipulation by slanting treatment plans for profitability and rendering treatment to take advantage of insurance plans is all horrible– That is unless the patient benefits by getting a perfect smile!! LOL… On a more serious note, I’ve been hearing about more and more of my friends and families that are getting root canals. It’s almost as though I am hearing about root canals and crowns just as much as I am hearing about fillings… I often wonder to myself if in fact it is needed. I mean, who am I to share my opinions when I am not the Dentist?? All in all, it is something that should make people stop and think. In my opinion, second opinions are always best.
Roxy, I’ve had a fair number of second opinions come to me with that very question – “Do I really need a Root Canal?”
Turns out lots of them didn’t.
I don’t reveal to people terms like Dental Pain Exploiter, because that only reflects badly on our profession. I just try to help guide people in the right direction so they don’t get taken advantage of.
I was surprised by “best dentistry is- No dentistry”. How true it is. But is it possible for a long lived person go through “No dentistry!”
Khondoker@Directory of Fort Collins Dentist´s last [type] ..Dental Veneer
You’re right, some dentistry may be inevitable. That’s where doing the least amount possible to do things properly comes in.
I remember when I first took over the practice of an older dentist. His patients were on a slow train to full dentures. Lose one tooth per year was the routine. I was able to stop the downward slide for many of them, and decrease the amount of dentistry they kept needing.
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing for people – helping them to stay healthy and keep their teeth?
Dr Joe,
I am touched with your statements: “…I was able to stop the downward slide for many of them, and decrease the amount of dentistry they kept needing. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing for people – helping them to stay healthy and keep their teeth?”
TRUE. Dentists took an oath to achieve and/or maintain the health of their patient’s oral cavities. Doing things that will worsen their current situation may it be chronically or aggressively is definitely against the law of Man and God.
I am just in awe of many patients who are against/hate dentists. But come to think of it, dentists can’t make good or harm if we won’t allow them to. Thus, all fingers should not be pointed at them. In the first place, dentists are not the one who let the bacteria take over our immune defense– possibly resulting to tooth decay or gum inflammation.
But there trully are some dentists who are income- driven. Thus, we should be vigilant.
Dr. I must congratulate you for putting up such a wonderful and sincere post on dentists who exploit people’s pain for their profit and benefit. Indeed root canal has become a very common treatments for dental health care may be for the very obvious reasons that you have mentioned. Your efforts in this regard is laudable.
Health n Fitness Care´s last [type] ..HOW FOOD AFFECTS OUR MENTAL HEALTH
Thank you for your comments. Sharing uncomfortable truths carries some risk. Most dentists are extremely conscientious and have people’s best interest at heart. It just takes a few sharks to give us all a bad name.
I have experienced having a dentist exploiting on my pain and thinking more about profit. I wanted a filling or an extraction, whichever of the two was necessary. Instead, she convinced me a root canal would save my tooth. I was hesitant but she wouldn’t have it any other way. So I ended up spending lots and lots of money, only to end up with a molar with a huge hole in the middle because every time she tries to cover it, the pain comes back with more intensity. I actually lasted a year with that very “holed” molar, having to pick out food particles that would get in there lest they get really bad-smelling. I went to another dentist eventually and she said it was good that I came to her and have the tooth pulled out. Having a huge hole on the molar makes me susceptible to infection, and it could travel down my heart. I was shocked!
Thanks for the knowledge. Actually I was amaze to know that there are some dentists who are pain exploiters! Luckily I have a good and reliable dentist who can minimize the pain while doing procedures like tooth extraction etc. I do think that these kind of dentists have malpractice their profession and should have been sanctioned somehow, because if its tolerated, more patients will be deceived and will not receive the proper services that they deserve.
Mexico Dentist´s last [type] ..Oct 27- bone loss and implants
Well, I agree with you that visiting dentist can be painful, not only for teeth but for your wallet as well!
In UK most of dentists are inevitable, yea they are!
Maybe you’re throwing this a bit out of proportion. I’ve heard of doctors that do costly procedures, but I don’t think I believe that it’s so rampant.
it’s still freak me out having a visit to a dentist, its more like a phobia for me,but when the pain is so hurt,i think there’s no reason to avoid the dentist
i have not had to have a procedure done like that (yet!) but it is not comforting to think of a doctor making a patient undergo expensive invasive surgery so he/she can profit. i hope this is not widespread. i suppose that is why alot of people recommend getting second opinions.
Its like you read my thoughts! You seem to understand so much approximately this, such as you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few p.c. to force the message house a little bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.
some dentists really do not care about the level of pain you are experiencing, they should all undergo some physiological testing before being allowed to practice.
I was surprised that there are some dentists who exploit pain! This gives the entire dental community a bad wrap.
Great written article thank you for the information funny how some dentists are pain exploiters haha I have such a gentle dentist in Cancun mexico and I saved 70% as well on the treatment. She was great would recommend her to anyone
I agree with you that visiting dentist can be painful, not only for teeth but for your wallet as well.I must congratulate you for putting up such a wonderful and sincere post on dentists..Thanks!
Dental tourism in Mexico is thriving because many Americans have little or no dental coverage. This doesn’t look like it’s going to change in the foreseeable future, even with health care reform in the US.
I would have thought, they’re are people like that. The practice won’t make any good thus putting you in danger. This won’t help because it decreases the number of clients you may have.
If the dentist take some advantages from the patient’s pain, that is horrible. The dentist should become a savior for the patients. We must choose the dentist carefully. Not only we have to know how much does a root canal cost, but also we must choose the dentist that provides good services.
Shocking read, a real eye opener to be honest! its almost like leaving your car off to be fixed, and when you go to pick it up you find its double the charge as they focused other parts that were “broken.” One things for sure, should I ever end up in this situation, I will be taking more than one dentists advice on it.
I’m not aware of this dirty job but I do not suggest any treat when the tooth is aching cause it could lead to some infection in case. IT’s best to take pain reliever and wait until the ache is totally gone before going to dentist to avoid such exploiter.
Going through root canal was a terrible experience for me. And the worse thing was, I had to go back a lot of times, so multiply that terrible experience like 4 or 5 times..not sure anymore how many times I had to go back.
Great article. A possible consequence is that some readers may doubt their dentist when they are actually being recommended a good treatment.
Yes, there are actually dentists who only think of that they can gain financially when treating a patient but it’s also best not to generalize, there are still honest and truly helpful dentists out there.
It was never comfortable when I had my wisdom teeth removed. Looking back on the situation, I probably should have had them taken out all in one appointment. But I decided to split them a couple months apart.
Dr. Joe, Thanks for the insights on “should be dentist”. It is amazing what people in general would do for money, but it is hard to accept that dentists would do such things.
Quiet revealing! Thanks.
Herbs@healthypix´s last [type] ..Welcome To Healthypix Blog
After reading your post and comments I will have to agree with Velma (#26) “there are still honest and truly helpful dentists out there”.
Root Canal Lawrenceville GA´s last [type] ..Affordable Dental Services in Lawrenceville, GA
Unnecessary dental work is the one thing that puts me off going to the dentist. I really don’t care about the pain that you have to go through if you need some work done. What worries me is the unnecessary work that they advise you to have done.
I know this doesn’t apply to all dentists out there as there are most likely many reputable dental surgeries around. The problem is, how do you find a reputable one?
Chelsey from London, UK.
I had ever visited a dentist, and I was to put on brace, he said he was going to pull off two of my teeth in order for my teeth to be put on brace. Luckily I asked for second opinion from other dentist and I don’t need to pull off those two teeth.
Albert Leonardo @ How to Whiten Teeth´s last [type] ..Causes of Tooth Staining