Dentists- Should I go for a second opinion???
By berlong
@berlong (227)
United States
May 28, 2009 3:21pm CST
Ok, So today I went to the dentist. Ive always had good dental hygiene and oral health. However I havent been to the dentist since March of 07. Well when I then I only had ONE cavity and it was quickly taken care of with a composite filling.
I brush my teeth daily- twice a day to be precise. I also usually floss once every other day, I cant do it every day my gums get too sensitive and bleed. I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with my first baby and since ive gotten pregnant my gums seem more sensitive when flossing so i only do it about every two days. I also DONT drink soda/pop or sugary juices, and also drink milk daily...I avoid gum unless if its sugar free and most of the time I make sure to chew gum with xylitol, if im going to chew as well as after meals....
So back to my question. I went to the dentist today- a new dentist to me. It was the first time that I saw them and So I had an exam and xrays done, my cleaning will be next week. Well apparently the xrays claim that I have 12.. thats right TWELVE ( 12 ) CAVITIES! ! ! I was like WTF! ! ! Ive never had more than like 2 cavities in my ENTIRE LIFE- thats 20 years to be exact! ! and they both have been taken care of! ! !.. Apparently all of these cavities are ALL inbetween the teeth!...
So, Do you all think I should go ahead with the fillings or should I wait and go for a second opinion??? Im completely outraged...My teeth are my pride and joy, I have a beautiful smile...Ive always taken very good care of them...What do you all think?? Please help....
2 people like this
11 responses
@meandmy3 (2227)
• United States
28 May 09
Honestly I can believe that, there is a reason we should go every six months to have our teeth cleaned, there are spaces and areas of our teeth that the best toothbrush can not reach. If you are that freaked out about it then go get a second opinion. Good Luck..
@berlong (227)
• United States
29 May 09
Everyone, Thank you for the responses. After talking the situation over with my husband and my mom..lol...Ive decided to go with a second opinion...I just cant fathom to understand how I got 12 cavities... It doesnt make sense to me. And heres another piece of my logic to this...She stated that ALL 12 were between my teeth, you would think if i was to have 12 cavities at least , ATLEAST one of them would be on the top or sides of my tooth!?!?!?!... You know what I mean...Cavities dont just form between your teeth. She also didnt put the little hand tool to see if it stuck to any of the cavities, isnt that how they tell if they are cavities? if they stick to like the pit or whatever its called????
@beachstarz (1092)
• United States
29 May 09
Holy crap ! I hope you have good dental insurance . Did he show you the xrays of all the 12 cavities I would ask to see the xray. Being pregnant can change your teeth, and so can taking certain medications . If I had good insurance I would go ahead and get the work done, but I would ask to see the xray first .
Good luck with the teeth and that pregnancy
@nishdan01 (3051)
• Singapore
29 May 09
Sounds surprising! You need to get a second opinionb on that one and should not worry as most of them will be minor cavities that may not require filling. So do not worry much. I would advise you to gargle the mouth with warm salt water as you have sensitive gums. Take some Vitamic C fruits and calcium supplements. Then head to doctor for another Check-up.
@dreamr802 (985)
• United States
29 May 09
I think 12 is a little too high but I've had cavities that are between the teeth before. I would go and get a second opinion. My friend was pregnant last year and she said that her teeth were very sensitive during her pregnancy. But I would definitely get a second opinion if I was you.
@berlong (227)
• United States
29 May 09
I think ya'll are right, twelve is pretty excessive!...I saw the xrays.. nothing looked out of the norm to me... they all looked the same... ALL OF MY TEETH... I have a pretty good visual memory and so i was just looking at xrays of cavities online and my xrays looked NOTHING like them...they show up as dark spots from what I read on various websites.. well I didnt have any spots like that. All of my teeth looked the same... even between the teeth. Im going to call around the closest town to see who is a recommended dentist and go to one of them for an xray...that or even ask for a repeat xray AFTER my cleaning next week!...Im starting to wonder if this dentist is just out for money, but they are on a military post and shouldnt need the money.... BLAH.. I hate situations like these!
Happy Hygiene.. LOL
Thanks for all of the responses!
@DavidDock (1)
• India
29 May 09
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@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
28 May 09
That does seem like a lot, but like one person responded said that cavities don't have to be big holes, they may just be little spots they seen between your teeth, and one way to keep that down is to floss between your teeth all the time, as much as you can, I know you said its hard because your gums get sensitive and bleed but thats the only remedy there is, its the only way to keep buildup from getting in between your teeth, and the less buildup, the less chance you'll have in getting cavities there. I guess you could get a second opinion if you want, but if they tell you the same thing, you'll still end up having to get them filled.
@stringer321 (5644)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
16 Jul 12
You would not believe how some dentists can lie just to get their salary.
I just watched an episode on a tv program called "yatsata tzadik" with Haim Hecht.
Haim went to a girl with an absolute clean mouth with no holes and no need to do anything in it. He told her to go to some dentists to check her mouth and diagnose it before she "goes to a trip abroad for 6 months".
That girl of course had an xray (or maybe you call it rentgen) photo of her teeth taken by a professional dentist (one of the most honorable in my country) and his diagnose was that she had perfect teeth and no problem at all. Haim and that densists put hidden cameras and microphones at the girl's bag and we saw how some dentists gave false diagnose saying she had some holes needed to be fixed. Some teeth from behind "are recommended to be taken out before they make problems". Those were all lies !!! Just for money.
Seeing a second opinion is a must , seven fold if you get bad news about your teeth.
Fixing the teeth can just make more damage and make one lose a lot of money because of another false diagnoses.
@NadiaAllStar (162)
• United States
29 May 09
Berlong, I would definately get a second a opinion, alot of insurance scams out there I worked for a dentist office and I couldn't believe the things done. Please wait before you start letting them make your teeth/mouth worse. I had dentist pull out and do root canals on perfectly good tooth.
@berlong (227)
• United States
2 Jun 09
Thanks for the input Nadia.... I just wanted to update everyone on this! Ive decided to go with a second opinion. I called a dentist out in barstow, its like a 40 minute drive from here but its the closest town.. Anywhoo, My appt is on June 8th ! ! Im going to have them do the xrays, exam and my cleaning! ! Then we will go from there! ! The dentist is a graduate of University of Michigan, which has like the best dental program in the country! ! ! also, im from MICHIGAN! ! LoL... So hopefully I like what he says, but if for some reason and some way that this first dentist was telling the truth of everything then im going to go with whichever dentist im more comfortable with... - which is probably going to be him and not the first one!
Wish me luck and I will keep you all updated! !
**Oh and dear lord my wisdom tooth is KILLING me... Ive gotten extra strength orajel to put on it for now, but i think its growing OUT so that its pressing on my cheek/cheek bone ( whats that the mandible??? ) anywhoo... OOWWIEE! ! !
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
28 May 09
A cavity does not have to be large hole. They can be really small. Problem is that you really need to take care of them. But twelve seems to be a little high.
@derlilaStern (1756)
• United States
28 May 09
Last time I went to the dentist, I was scheduled with the new girl rather than my dentist. (I was pissed about it when I got there.) She did the cleaning and the exam and told me that I had 4 cavities. I was like wtf?!?! But I figured it was best to get them taken care of. 
I scheduled the appointment to get them taken care of with my dentist - because I didnt like the new girl!
I went in and he looked at the chart to see where the cavaties were. He only filled 2 of them. He said that the other 2 had weak enamel, but they werent truly cavaties. He said he doesnt bother to fill those because he has seen patients that have weak enamel that never actually progress into cavaties. Some dentists like to fill those before they become cavaties.
Your dentist may be doing the same thing. So I would go get a second opinion.
Although, it is possible. Pregnancy can do crazy things to your entire body! (It could just be a change in your body and have nothing to do with the less frequent flossing.)
I scheduled the appointment to get them taken care of with my dentist - because I didnt like the new girl!
I went in and he looked at the chart to see where the cavaties were. He only filled 2 of them. He said that the other 2 had weak enamel, but they werent truly cavaties. He said he doesnt bother to fill those because he has seen patients that have weak enamel that never actually progress into cavaties. Some dentists like to fill those before they become cavaties.
Your dentist may be doing the same thing. So I would go get a second opinion.
Although, it is possible. Pregnancy can do crazy things to your entire body! (It could just be a change in your body and have nothing to do with the less frequent flossing.) @happy6162 (3001)
• United States
28 May 09
That does seem like alot of cavities. If you think it is to many seeing as you take such good care of your teeth then you probably should get a second opinion. If the second dentist agree with the first then you can decide which dentist you want to fill the cavities. Good luck
@johnchartier (13)
• Canada
29 May 09
You should just get the fillings. You wouldn't believe how easily cavities can form between your teeth, even if you take exceptionally good care of them.
@roseyroser (1059)
• United States
28 May 09
You take much better care of your teeth than I do, and I've NEVER had 12 cavities. I'd get a second opinion. You may have twelve spots that are the "start" of what could turn into or be a cavity. I know when I got my dentist they always talk about something called "watch spots", which are spots they pay close attention to because they could be cavities someday! Definately, get a second opinion. You may still have a few cavities that need to get filled, but TWELVE? woah, I don't think so!
