Comments | polyfrog: Yesterday, I went to the dentist.

polyfrog

Yesterday, I went to the dentist.

Feb 18, 2009 09:25

On 29 August, a piece of one of my teeth cracked off. This is one of the teeth that the dentist who severely traumatized me when I was a child filled because he felt like it/because he convinced my parents I would never be able to keep them clean enough because the grooves were too deep. Naturally, since amalgam fillings have an average lifespan ( Read more... )

bad feelings, health

Comments 9

fuzzyoctober February 18 2009, 18:50:55 UTC

I used to be TERRIFIED to go to the dentist. I had some very bad experiences, up to and including an orthodontist/dentist pair who pulled out some of my permanent teeth in an effort to prolong my braces wearing period to generate more money for themselves. I still have the gaps, turns out that teeth don't just move around in your mouth like they told me would happen.

ANYWAY, I know you have that barter system, but I have to really recommend my dentist, Richard Hoffman. If you can go to him, he's super awesome. He's pretty no-nonsense, and doesn't try to fill teeth that aren't worth filling. He will say things like "Well, it's a tiny cavity. But even if it was in my grandmother's mouth, I wouldn't fill it yet. Let's watch it for 6 months and see if it gets bigger." He talked about my long-term dental needs with me - my "mouthplan" as I called it. He's not scary, totally put me at ease, and none of his hygienists lay the guilt trip on you when they poke you in the gums and then the gum starts bleeding. I think that's the ( ... )

polyfrog February 18 2009, 18:57:23 UTC

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm not sure if I'll be sticking with this dentist; I haven't actually met her yet. The company isn't going to be paying for all my dentistrty on barter; just the fixing of this tooth. So if I don't much care for her, I will definitely be shopping around again.

tlunquist February 18 2009, 22:16:32 UTC

Did you have trouble with Scott Stiffel? I always thought he did a good job for us, and his hygienists were nice. The whole "burnt coffee and anesthesia" smell thing tended to get to me, but hell, it was only once every six months....

daddy_guido February 18 2009, 20:29:45 UTC

the good news is, Implant technology has become mainstream
someday, the fucktard insurance companies will be forced to take it off their "experimental technology" list and actually have to pay for it.

fictionslave February 18 2009, 22:09:38 UTC

when i was growing up, i had a terrifying dentist named Berman. you'd hear him scolding kids as they SCREAMED in pain while you were in the waiting room. he was a jerk.

tlunquist February 18 2009, 22:17:18 UTC

I wonder if it's the same guy?

fictionslave February 18 2009, 22:20:38 UTC

maybe...he seemed fairly young, but i was a child and i'm sure my memory of what he looked like isn't all that spot-on.

theaspins February 19 2009, 03:52:18 UTC

Your description sure sounds like the same guy. I went to him about 10 years after Erik did. He is the reason why my children will NEVER be in the same room with a dentist without at least one parent.

That link has a "rate this dentist" feature. theaspins February 19 2009, 03:49:47 UTC

Unfortunately, you I don't think there's a way to give a 0 star rating. Certainly not negative stars.