That happened to me. My old dentist was horrible and I ended up with a lot of stuff to fix and I ended up needing a root canal (I was in pain for approx. 2 weeks before it could be fixed) and had a lot of cavities I needed taken care of, many of which were pretty obvious so we knew we weren't getting the money sucked out of us. I'm still regretting that I didn't sue that ************.

That's a cheap root canal!

Perhaps you should get a second opinion first.

You should definitely get a second opinion before getting anything done. I spent the last 3 years working in Dental Insurance, and sadly, I got a lot of complaints about dentists that would say someone needed a bunch of work done that their previous dentist missed. About 95% of the time, if they went to another dentist, there was nothing wrong. As much as it sucks, it's not uncommon for dentists to do unnecessary procedures just to pocket a little extra money. If you do get a second opinion and they say there's nothing wrong, contact your insurance company (if you have one) and report the dentist to them.

Dental student here: First, you, as the patient, are entitled to deny treatment and seeking a second opinion. If you have doubts about your new dentist's diagnosis, then seek out another. Many dental diagnoses are professional conclusions based on research, which is just like evidenced-based medicine. Whether or not you need a root canal is based on objective, clinical findings. Second, most oral diseases are not painful, and do not produce symptoms until well beyond the limits of less invasive care. I do not want to become accusatory, but I do have defend my colleagues. The simple fact is that the majority of dental diseases are preventable with good at-home care, but when this has been compromised the oral health care provider has to step in to repair the damage. Third, greedy dentists are a fringe minority and often lose their patients to the same gripes expressed here. If you are concerned about the expenses involved with your treatment, you must consider the materials, labor and office maintenance involved with your treatment. Dental care is relatively inexpensive when compared to hospital care, especially with insurance premiums. Fourth, believe it or not, dentists are going through eight years of extra education at the cost of $300K to provide a service to our communities. We are here to help you, but you also have to help yourselves and trust in us as your clinicians.

I agree with you, #45 & 46. I work in a dental office, too, and you shouldn't just assume the new dentist is b.s.ing you and is just out for money. We had a patient whose previous dentist told him everything was fine, never diagnosed him with gum disease. Gum disease, like any other infection, will affect your whole body if ignored. This patient got a blood infection and an infection in the lining of his heart because the bacteria in his mouth spread. He was literally 8 hours away from dying and spent 10 days in the hospital on $1200/day antibiotics. Andy Hallett, the actor who played Lorne on Angel, just died because he didn't get gum disease treated and for the past 5 years, had heart problems that finally killed him. You should absolutely get a second opinion, but don't assume this dentist is lying to you and your previous one was honest. Our office spends an average of 70 minutes cleaning an adults teeth- we've heard of offices that only spend 20 minutes. Those are the patients who come to us and need $580 worth of work and a root canal!

ohh..man. I'm so sorry. I had to get a root canal a few months ago @_@ it's gonna hurt. lol bring an mp3 player!!

@47: 70 minutes per cleaning? That's amazing. Yeah mine definitely spend 20 minutes MAXIMUM on my whole cleaning procedure. :/

Do not trust that dentist! Go to another dentist, maybe your old one, and have them give you a second opinion. I've known some dentists to just make up problems so they could charge more. It could really cause permanent damage if he was doing that, so like better safe than sorry!

Yep, 70 mins, and that's just for a normal, healthy adult. We clean below the gumline (many dentists just clean above the gumline, which is essentially what you're doing at home, and there's no way they're getting out all the bacteria if they stay above the gumline.) We check for jaw joint function; we use a laser to test for cavities (because of all the fluoridated water people drink, it's changed the composition of people's teeth over the years and you can't trust just poking the pick into the teeth to see if it's "sticky"- you won't be able to tell.) We give you a fluoride polish; not just the shaving cream-esque stuff you'd bite into a long time ago- this stuff you brush onto the teeth. Because there's a much lower chance of you swallowing it, it's a higher strength of fluoride. We also use a light gun to shine a wavelength of light into your mouth that will highlight early signs of oral cancer. We've had that a couple of years and we've found abnormal cells in several people already. A couple of them were able to get treatment before it was full-blown oral cancer. Also, if a root canal hurts, it means they're not doing a good job. We refer patients to an endodontist for most root canals and most people say it wasn't nearly as bad as they thought it was going to be- if anything, having to keep your mouth open is what's really uncomfortable, not the procedure itself. If it hurts, it's because the doctor isn't doing a good job OR because you let your treatment go so long that there's no way the anesthetic will be able to numb the nerve....and that's your fault, not the dentists'.