My Dentist Is So Dumb

It's true-- I used to go to this really cute little dental office in Hawthorne. Working there was a husband and wife team of dentists, their mother(in-law) as a receptionist, and a really great team of hygeinists. I used to go to the husband, who is gentle and kind, and who specializes in pediatric dentistry. What could be better?

But now, since I have different dental insurance (read: any dental insurance as opposed to none), I have to go to this other dental office in White Plains... and let me tell you, it's nuts there. I had an appointment for an exam a week and a half ago to take X-rays and basically for the dentist to figure out where I am as far as cavities and tooth decay. When I got there, I waited for a long time, then finally they called me into the office. A technician took about a thousand X-rays of my mouth, then told me to go back to the waiting room, and I dutifully returned. Then five minutes later, they called me back in, stuck me in another room and let me sit there waiting for the dentist to come in. Ten minutes later he waltzed into the little exam room, mask over his face, asked how I was without looking at me or listening to my response, and launched into a description of the dental work I would need to have taken care of for my cavities in the upcoming weeks. Then he said goodbye and told me I could leave. When I went to the desk to make appointments, I said to the clerk, "By the way-- who was that? He didn't even introduce himself." She shrugged her shoulders and told me who he was, made my appointments for me, and sent me on my way.

So anyway, then I went back there on Thursday for a cleaning and an apparent placement of a cap on one of my teeth. They took me right away for the cleaning, but the entire time it was going on, the hygeinist kept talking about how it was so much harder to be a dental against than a nurse, and how the education was so much more arduous, and how that even someone who has gone through dental school has to take all new classes if they want to be a hygeinist because it's so prestigious and blah blah blah. I wanted to punch the guy in the face, it was so annoying. But then again, he was the guy chipping away at my mouth with that terrible giant fish hook thing... so I thought better of that.

Whatever though. When I was done getting the cleaning, I went into another exam room to see the dentist. This time it was a different dentist, though this one didn't introduce himself to me either. He told me he was going to put a cap on my tooth and asked me to point to where I was having tooth pain. When I asked if I'd still be able to wear my retainer and about the exact location of the cavity, he told me that no, I would not be able to wear the retainer since that was the tooth that was going to get the cap... but that I didn't have to worry since I didn't have any cavities. I was so confused. I asked him why I needed my teeth drilled and filed down if I didn't have any decay and he was like... um...

Ugh. So I refused the cap, stating that I didn't want to have anything drastic done with my teeth until I actually had a problem, and that if there was no decay, I didn't want any drilling. So he got pissed off that I took up his time for nothing and told me I could go.

I hate this. I don't believe that I don't have any cavities, but I don't know what to do about it. One dentist says I do, another says I don't. These guys don't have any idea what they're doing. I want to go back to my old dentist and get good care again. Grrr.