I would like to invite you to gain a greater awareness of dental health and what you can do to maximize your chances to obtain the best dental health and to ensure that you are getting quality care from dental professionals. In order for this to happen you must be cognizant of the realities of dental care today, particularly if you are receiving dental care in the United States.
In our world and with the current state of health care today, it pays to not blindly trust all of the professionals that we meet simply because they are wearing a white laboratory coat. This definitely applies to our dental professionals as well. We should be able to enact certain tests or perhaps challenges to help insure we are getting quality care and are not being charged for unnecessary treatments.
It is possible that you are not quite sure why you would have to test your dental care providers in such a way. Let me give you an example to illustrate this point, and you are encouraged to go out and try this on your own. Let's say that John visits three different dentists. John may be a bit unnerved to discover that he receives three different opinions about what kind of work he needs done on his mouth. One doctor may say that he needs a cavity filled. Another might say that he has no cavities and the third may say that he needs two fillings replaced but no new cavities.
At this point, you may begin to wonder what the reality of the situation is. This is totally understandable. If you look into the situation in the dental industry a bit closer, you might find that dentists have a great deal of leeway in their judgment and diagnosis. Without clearly defined boundaries, a large degree of variance often exists between each practitioner. It might be useful if there was a standard that would ensure that all practitioners come up with the same diagnosis and that this was overseen by a government agency with mandatory compliance.
Now, you may begin to see how a potential conflict of interest might occur. While one dentist sees a stain and 'believes' it to be a cavity that needs to be drilled and filled - another may look at the same spot and say, 'we need to watch that one' and choose to take no action. The first doctor may justify his diagnosis by stating that he practices 'preventive dentistry'. Which doctor would you prefer to see. Is there a potential for monetary gain that clouds the judgment of one of these professionals?
Hopefully, you will remember that you have the option of seeking out different opinions from different, unrelated dentists who have absolutely no affiliation with one another. Perhaps it would be best if they didn't even know each other at all. Although, if a complaint were to be lodged about the questionably ethical behavior of some dentists, it is not very likely that anything would happen. This is because one can simply argue from the point of view that it was a 'gray' area. Yet, if many such complaints were lodged, perhaps the state boards would be more interested in taking some type of action.
What should I do now, you may be wondering? Under such a confusing situation, it might be best to take a look at the most conservative treatment. You may also wish to ask the doctors you have gotten opinions from about the other recommendations you received. This may compel them to 'adjust' their diagnoses. It might be helpful to simply seek out even more opinions. However, that has the potential to add toeven more to the confusion.
If you have found this article to be a bit disturbing, you may wish to read up a bit more on the subject of dental care today. Click on the link at the bottom of this article to learn more from the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease about how to make sure the professionals you are working with have your best interest at heart. Even if you don't suffer from gum disease, this book is a must read in order to protect yourself to the greatest extent possible. - 14130
In our world and with the current state of health care today, it pays to not blindly trust all of the professionals that we meet simply because they are wearing a white laboratory coat. This definitely applies to our dental professionals as well. We should be able to enact certain tests or perhaps challenges to help insure we are getting quality care and are not being charged for unnecessary treatments.
It is possible that you are not quite sure why you would have to test your dental care providers in such a way. Let me give you an example to illustrate this point, and you are encouraged to go out and try this on your own. Let's say that John visits three different dentists. John may be a bit unnerved to discover that he receives three different opinions about what kind of work he needs done on his mouth. One doctor may say that he needs a cavity filled. Another might say that he has no cavities and the third may say that he needs two fillings replaced but no new cavities.
At this point, you may begin to wonder what the reality of the situation is. This is totally understandable. If you look into the situation in the dental industry a bit closer, you might find that dentists have a great deal of leeway in their judgment and diagnosis. Without clearly defined boundaries, a large degree of variance often exists between each practitioner. It might be useful if there was a standard that would ensure that all practitioners come up with the same diagnosis and that this was overseen by a government agency with mandatory compliance.
Now, you may begin to see how a potential conflict of interest might occur. While one dentist sees a stain and 'believes' it to be a cavity that needs to be drilled and filled - another may look at the same spot and say, 'we need to watch that one' and choose to take no action. The first doctor may justify his diagnosis by stating that he practices 'preventive dentistry'. Which doctor would you prefer to see. Is there a potential for monetary gain that clouds the judgment of one of these professionals?
Hopefully, you will remember that you have the option of seeking out different opinions from different, unrelated dentists who have absolutely no affiliation with one another. Perhaps it would be best if they didn't even know each other at all. Although, if a complaint were to be lodged about the questionably ethical behavior of some dentists, it is not very likely that anything would happen. This is because one can simply argue from the point of view that it was a 'gray' area. Yet, if many such complaints were lodged, perhaps the state boards would be more interested in taking some type of action.
What should I do now, you may be wondering? Under such a confusing situation, it might be best to take a look at the most conservative treatment. You may also wish to ask the doctors you have gotten opinions from about the other recommendations you received. This may compel them to 'adjust' their diagnoses. It might be helpful to simply seek out even more opinions. However, that has the potential to add toeven more to the confusion.
If you have found this article to be a bit disturbing, you may wish to read up a bit more on the subject of dental care today. Click on the link at the bottom of this article to learn more from the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease about how to make sure the professionals you are working with have your best interest at heart. Even if you don't suffer from gum disease, this book is a must read in order to protect yourself to the greatest extent possible. - 14130
About the Author:
Grab your free dental health report now. I highly suggest taking a look at the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease - available at http://www.gingivitiskiller.com
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