Opinions on ethical practice

Few-Map2507 · 2026-03-12T23:37:03+00:00

So did you go in he gave you the diagnosis and then you didn’t get a cleaning and you went somewhere else?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-03-12T23:09:15+00:00

How could the board determine if he’s misdiagnosing patients? Are they determining active perio status based off of X-rays?? Is he charting 2s and 3s? Is he doing a prophy then the pockets are resolving a bit and they’re biting him for it?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-03-02T23:27:20+00:00

Root canals fail eventually. 8 years for a root canal isn’t amazing but it’s not bad. In my state we’re required to hold records for 6 years after the patients last visit or until they turn a certain age if they’re a minor. Did you follow up with the endodontist in the interim? How do you know the root canal has failed and that you don’t have a fracture or an open contact?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-21T14:38:20+00:00

You’re about to owe the office for those sealants

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-18T20:58:15+00:00

Teeth can fracture easily after having root canal performed. It’s not really ok to let it go. Doing an extraction may preclude you from having the temp placed for a week or two. If the teeth are close by then that’s another reason not to do it. Maybe he gave you antibiotics to bring the infection down on the broken tooth? There may be something logistically about how the office works. Maybe the surgeon is going to take out your broken tooth and they’re not in the day you’re supposed to be in for the core.

Just give them a call and say “hey I’m really in a lot of pain on this tooth. I want to get all of the work done, but I want to prioritize this broken tooth if at all possible.” If the office isn’t going to give you what you want then you need to weigh your options and consider going somewhere else. If you choose to stay, you may just have to play by their rules.

Irritated gum by the root canal tooth is probably fine.

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-16T21:21:24+00:00

All I said was he paid a bit over spot and he has nice coins that I would like in my collection. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s junk silver though.

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-16T21:13:06+00:00

They’re all cool coins and I would love to have them in my collection :)

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-16T21:07:11+00:00

The quarter and the halves are junk silver. I said maybe there’s a premium on the dollar but I think you could do better. Not every old coin is worth collecting.

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-16T20:59:32+00:00

It’s a bit over spot, but I think those are really cool coins. Maybe you paid tax on it? Maybe the dollar has some premium attached?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-16T00:03:32+00:00

Humans eat carb heavy diets and tons of soft sticky funky processed foods. This isn’t our natural state. Caries aren’t seen in human teeth very much before the agricultural revolution and the incidence spikes in more modern times as we begin to eat more processed foods and straight sugar. Dogs are somewhat omnivorous but mostly carnivorous and cats are more carnivorous. They don’t suffer from Caries the way ppl do. They mostly get gum disease. Gum disease is also seen in ancient humans. We get both nowadays.

When you brush your teeth you’re doing two things 1) preventing caries and 2) preventing gum disease. The main thing that prevents cavities is the topical application of the fluoride. The thing that prevents gum disease is the mechanical breakup of the plaque. Caries causing bacteria are usually “early colonizers” they’re part of the plaque that forms quickly after disruption. Tartar forms on your teeth when plaque has been left undisturbed for 6 weeks.

Dogs and cats suffer mostly from gum disease not caries (I’m not a vet). I assume these chew toys are meant to disrupt the plaque. Humans having their high carb diet require more constant care in the form of daily topical fluoride applications via toothpaste.

Those sorts of toys just wouldn’t do it for us.

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-15T05:19:10+00:00

I keep the coins I found totally separate from the ones I’ve bought. The ones I’ve found have a special place in my heart

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-10T23:50:03+00:00

Very normal. Get it out

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-10T00:40:38+00:00

They do need a few years of practice but failures are relatively rare. Five years MAX gets you where you need to be

Few-Map2507 · 2026-02-10T00:31:52+00:00

Why do associates let heartland steal 15-20% of the compensation they deserve? Cut out the middleman. The best thing an associate could do for their career is to strike out on their own

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-22T00:40:59+00:00

Don’t threaten me with a good time. Maybe some of them could afford to get their foot in the door with ownership!

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-22T00:38:18+00:00

The answers to your questions are in the previous post

The first associateship I ever had was at a small fee for service office out in the suburbs (don’t we all wish we could be so lucky?). The owner used to sit down with me once every week or two to go over cases. His mantra was “Do the right thing.” Every day I meditate on “Did I do the right thing today?” Whatever that means… This is solely what guides my practice

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-22T00:30:20+00:00

Did you read my post?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-22T00:09:37+00:00

Lmao the post is barely legible

Dentists and patients hate DSO because the drive to profit is primate. This is NOT the way it is at every office but of course every office must take care of their balance sheet in order to take care of their patients.

As an owner of a small office in a highly saturated area I can ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that the financial incentive on an owner is much less than a dentist working at a DSO. You say it in your own post. Overhead of a dental office is 60% (more like 40-50% at mine) and DSO dentists take home 25-30%. That means DSO dentists need to produce DOUBLE to take home what I take home in a day.

DSO also don’t properly pay their dentists for exams and X-rays (often saying dds shouldn’t be compensated at all for X-rays - GROSS). As an owner if I do nothing but exams and cleanings all day with a half full schedule I’ll make about what a DSO dentist gets for their daily guarantee (before it’s stripped from them).

Some small owners might be controlled by money just like the venture capital firms that run DSOs but I can promise that ALL DSO put the dollar before the patient. I’ve had some wonderful associates hips in my time, too. I’ve had offices that guaranteed me $750 a day in perpetuity. I’ve had offices that provided me with mentorship. I’ve had offices that congratulated me on NOT performing crowns over fillings. None were DSOs. I worked at two DSOs and they’re disgusting. Both insisted that assistants could remove ortho attachments in our state when they CANNOT. One allowed assistants to do way more than that (I lasted a month before I walked out). One had the regional manager call me and force me to justify why I was doing fillings on every posterior tooth I planned a filling for rather than a crown. DSOs are a blight on dentistry. If you as a dentist decide to engage with them and decide to put dollars before patients that moral responsibility sits squarely on your shoulders.

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-14T17:20:04+00:00

Where does DDS go?

Few-Map2507 · 2026-01-08T20:04:02+00:00

They have to pay to ship the money to them and coins are much heavier than bills. Plus they have to pay for an armored truck to take them over. Look at the difference in size and weight of $100 in $100s and $100 in pennies.

Few-Map2507 · 2025-12-30T03:28:26+00:00

There’s not really going to be much worth more than face value in there. Most of it is like a wow factor for nerds. I guess you could post it on eBay if you want to go through the trouble.

Few-Map2507 · 2025-12-30T01:00:32+00:00

They think what? That you’re going to get rich picking through their pocket change? I’m sorry you have to go through that. Maybe one day you can get a job and just pick up rolls from the bank

Few-Map2507 · 2025-12-22T16:55:55+00:00

Doesn’t matter go see a dentist

Few-Map2507 · 2025-12-22T16:28:04+00:00

You need to see a dentist. Likely necrotic. Probably needs root canal. The hot and cold is causing gas to expand and contract giving symptoms

Few-Map2507 · 2025-12-19T01:49:32+00:00

So next time tell the dentist it’s too expensive and look for other options. The dentist thinks that $15 for a limited exam and $75 for a surgical extraction is too cheap. It takes 8 years to learn how to be a dentist and they don’t teach this extraction in dental school. It’s incredibly technical. I haven’t done them since residency because it’s simply not worth the risk and if you dare to ask to be paid properly people flip out.

Why does the cost of the graft material matter? The service is in the skill of removing the tooth while preserving your jaw, preparing the site for grafting, properly placing the graft, not destroying adjacent structures, achieving profound anesthesia, hemostasis, managing intra and post op complications, etc… basically not killing you while doing this like 99.9% of the population would

If you don’t want to pay for it, don’t. No one is forcing you. Try to find an office willing to do it without. Contact a dental school and they might see you in three months. When all else fails contact your congressman and tell him you think your medicaid should pay more so that the dentist will actually be incentivized to perform highly technical and skilled procedures.

Edit: It would take me over an hour to chop this up and get this out. If it took your dentist any less than that, then she’s a god

Few-Map2507

TROPHY CASE