My last post was about my previous dentist. Previous, because when he determined I needed four new fillings, he refused to offer me traditional amalgams. Instead, he tried to sell me resin composites, which, oh strangely, run about four times the cost to me of amalgams, because my dental plan does not pay for resin composites unless they are in the “smile region” (i.e., visible when you smile).

Well, I already have 3 silver fillings in my mouth, so a few more were not going to mar my pristine smile! It was a tough choice, rent and food verus an additional $300 to spend on resin composites, but I asked for amalgams. I was told the dentist doesn’t do those anymore, but they’d be happy to forward my records to another dentist who did, “If I could find one.”

Thus started my Googling and contacting 6 other local dentists to find one who still does amalgams, which I will note here are still endorsed by the American Dental Association. I got to hear various lines of B.S. on the subject, so the effort was not a total waste. The most astonishing and disconcerting one was the dentist who told me that, in fact, many of his patients have their amalgams removed to get composites. Okay, stop and think about this one: A medical provider, who took the Hippocratic oath to first do no harm, REMOVING functioning fillings to replace them with ones that will make him more money. The reputable research indicates that amalgams are not exposing you to more dangerous mercury levels than eating fish, and they are more durable than composites, even today. And as I said, the ADA still endorses their use; but most of the dentists I contacted will not even offer their patients that option.

Which gets me back to the title of this post, Are you happy with your smile? This was a question on the Medical History portion of the first dentist’s paperwork. So tell me, doc, how is that part of my medical history? Do you need to know my psychological views of my smile so you can be sure I don’t have, say, heart problems or drug allergies?

So I tweeted this morning about how dentists these days are lobbying mightily to be brought under the insurance tent, because of the importance of oral health. I remarked that the only health many of them really seem to be interested in is that of their pocketbook. And guess what happened then? Suddenly, I get a new follower, a dentist several states away, who clearly has some automated application that “follows” anyone writing about dentists, presumably to find more patients to soak for cosmetic services. Either that, or this man has deep self-loathing and wants to follow someone who castigates his profession.