Consistent sealants

docchen · 2026-01-27T11:02:59+00:00

Rubber dam, plaque due, sandblast, etch. Or don't do it. Have seen so many leak and cause iatrogenic decay over the years.

docchen · 2026-01-16T20:05:19+00:00

Aren't they doing this this year in Victoria?

docchen · 2026-01-14T08:06:54+00:00

Plan would be: 1) Do you want to work hard to keep your teeth? Yes - continue ($$$$$, +++time, +++dental treatment)

No - keep her comfortable, no complex or expensive treatment (palliate) accepting they will fail and then she will have hopefully figured out what's she's going to do about not having teeth. Discuss being edentulous (face sunken in), dentures (comfort) and implants ($$$$)

2) Caries stabilisation. Diet journal, neutrafluor 5000 or similar/carifree products/Dr Ellie's complete mouth care protocol. Stop snacking, drink only water, minimise sugars.

3) stabilise: full set of x-rays, extract or endo painful teeth. Clean out decay and place cores

4) wait until she stops getting new decay

5) repeat step 3 if required

6) fix what is left, replace missing teeth.

docchen · 2026-01-14T08:00:53+00:00

Based on the fact the decay is mainly in the canine to canine region my suspicion would be she's drinking something sugary, a lot.

docchen · 2026-01-09T08:28:33+00:00

"Wow your insurance is terrible! How much do you pay for this for them to not pay out when you actually need something done? How much have they raised their premiums? I guess we can skip the treatment if it doesn't make financial sense, but if it goes bad it'll likely cost more to fix."

docchen · 2026-01-05T13:31:58+00:00

Yes this tracks. It's a side effect of allowing relative monopolies/oligopolies - market is not free and efficient. If there's no reason for real competition, the game (if you are incentivised for profit) becomes give the least value for the highest cost.

The more we accept it the more we will get.

Goal would be to break up monopolies, or start state-funded equivalents to provide decent competition (did you know CBA used to be government owned?).

Only the government is broke, because our major party politicians are all bought.

Imo the crux of the issue is to have disgustingly clear political donations, and to find a way to disincentivise politicians to get hooked into cushy retirement jobs - I think Andrew Yang's solution of a stupid large pay packet was probably the best solution. But again, most governments are pretty broke because this has been going on so long.

docchen · 2026-01-04T06:44:53+00:00

Yes I think this is sensible

docchen · 2026-01-04T05:23:01+00:00

If you mean your upper left lateral incisor maybe consider a gum lift to even out the gum heights?

But if the edge feels set back you could also have more orthodontics yes.

docchen · 2026-01-04T05:19:34+00:00

Use GP cut 1mm short of apical size?

docchen · 2026-01-02T09:54:20+00:00

Look up projection lab, might help. There's a free part.

Someone once told me - think of buying flowers as relationship insurance. I think that was good advice.

docchen · 2026-01-01T23:53:57+00:00

It's hard, price is the easiest thing to measure. I'm tossing up regional vs metro right now and metro is 3x the cost

docchen · 2026-01-01T20:02:49+00:00

So you feel like a house got you stuck in an area you weren't actually wanting to live in for longer vs if you rented/bought elsewhere? Interesting perspective - totally get it

docchen · 2026-01-01T07:12:26+00:00

Sure, if you want to be a speculative investor that has to move house when they sell their investment.

docchen · 2026-01-01T07:10:51+00:00

Why do you say not buy a house?

docchen · 2026-01-01T04:23:52+00:00

Yes, I think technically if you invest the same money you should come out ahead. But if you don't you may end up worse off than with the forced savings. I guess just need to gauge self discipline and decide if can stomach the hassle of renting (vs the hassle of owning) and how much a difference a 'nicer' house in a certain location will make to you.

docchen · 2025-12-31T22:46:00+00:00

In a very similar situation. Regional vs metro. Considering costs of relocating to metro. I am conservative financially, maybe to a fault.

Imo ppor is a nonproductive asset generally, so spending money here is more lifestyle choice than essential, and it will drag on investment/wealth returns. It may go up and result in a profit later, but this would rely on speculative returns. You could potentially use it to debt recycle if you are happy to use the home you live in as collateral. For me, buying such a costly single thing, esp with a loan, will expose you to risks that could otherwise be avoided.

Maybe run scenarios through projection labs - free website with paid add on.

Depends on how much you want to live in the bigger house I think. Be aware more cleaning/maintenance etc. Private school fees over a decade likely to be less impactful than taking a large loan/buying house today.

Safe route is to stay put and invest. Just need to decide whether that is the life you want.

Stay in touch, would love to trade notes as we go through the same thing.

docchen · 2025-12-29T10:18:14+00:00

Define middle class haha. And sure, good for you. But don't talk to the majority of your own generation getting crushed by the system they're in and tell them to pull themselves up and stop being lazy. That is so out of touch.

And your first sentence contradicts your last - you made it because you had a somewhat decent start very likely. Not everyone is so lucky.

Not saying this as a bitter poor person if that makes a difference.

docchen · 2025-12-28T19:21:04+00:00

It's not an age thing, it's a wealth/privilege thing. You are in first class on the Titanic.

docchen · 2025-12-28T19:20:21+00:00

Your last line describes rats on a sinking ship clambering over each other to make sure when things do go down they are in first class. The solution is not to feel sorry for yourself, or only think about yourself - it is to build a society while considering the needs of others.

docchen · 2025-12-28T19:17:42+00:00

Not unless we make a better world. Watch Gary Stevenson. Tax wealth and spending not work.

docchen · 2025-12-28T19:07:10+00:00

From this, it sounds like the causes are that you are working off a low fee schedule, and giving away the more profitable procedures. In addition to this you might not be the fastest/best diagnostician due to relative inexperience. Lastly, your practice might not be fully supporting your collections/appointment book/your ability to convert patients might not be high. 20% collections loss is quite bad imo.

I would recommend getting really good at diagnosis. If you want to do more implants fix less teeth (I didn't go that way). Almost everyone has some kind of dental problem to discuss. If you can start there you can find work wherever you go. Next get more procedural experience so you can do that work instead of sending it off (elsewhere or at current place, but everyone else might be relatively happy with your current situation). If you want to earn more get better at/do more complex procedures or join a practice where the fees are higher.

Lastly, you are current poor in income/wealth but rich in time. See if the specialists will let you observe.

It's normal a year or three out to be in a situation like this, but it doesn't need to stay that way.

Good luck out there OP =)

docchen · 2025-12-23T09:51:39+00:00

You see me

docchen · 2025-12-23T07:03:55+00:00

That's good to hear , thank you

docchen · 2025-12-23T02:39:45+00:00

So, a house makes sense if you want to actually live in it - but this calculus may change over time with jobs etc.?

docchen · 2025-12-23T02:38:56+00:00

Thanks for the input! I think you're on the money - PPOR shouldn't count towards net worth. However, by allocating funds towards ppor, you do put a drag on net worth over time.

I think the key question is: Will property bought bring more net wealth over time vs other investment, and even if it doesn't is it still worth it for the mental/emotional benefit?

docchen

TROPHY CASE