Last time I went to the dentist he pointed out all these minor imperfections and when I asked him how major they were, he said, not very, but should be taken care of. I didn't go in for any of these, now I need my teeth cleaned. I'm afraid he'll reprimand me for not coming in to get those small imperfections fixed. Anyone else have a dentist like this? How do you handle it?
I would just go to another dentist. That's what I did when I had a pushy dentist who insisted on pulling out my wisdom teeth for no reason that I could understand. The next dentist I went to said nothing about it.
Wait, isn't the point of going to the dentist to receive a full scale work up on your teeth/mouth and get told how they're doing?
Were these cosmetic imperfections or were they things that should be repaired for the health of your teeth?
Sadly, much of the dental profession in the US has moved from genuinely providing the care that's needed to actively upselling services that often are not needed. Most all of the dentists that have graduated in the past 10 years have been taught to upsell cosmetic crap, to use psychological techniques designed to pressure, embarrass or cajole people into spending big bucks. It fucking sucks. As KB says, if they are things that need to be repaired for your teeth to remain healthy (small cavities) by all means get them done. But if they are cosmetic, then it's different. If the dentist wasn't clear whether the work is medically necessary, your best bet is to try to find a dentist who's been in practice 30 or 40 years, who is in solo practice, and get an evaluation from him (it's usually a "him" if they've been in practice that long). If that isn't an option, PM me and I think I have an email contact for an old-school dentist that is totally appalled by the crap being sold as dentistry today and offers free consults and advice to avoid being shafted by this new dental upselling model.