First I went to a dentist about a year ago and he told me I need fillings. I put it off and jsut went to a different person the other day and was told I have "deep grooves" but no cavities and that all I need is sealants....what's the deal? How do I know which is right?
Also I was told I need sealants on 16 teeth at $125 a pop. Is that a reasonable price for these? Or do they cost less and is this a ripoff? Seems like a lot of money.
2007-10-11 05:21:28 · 7 answers · asked by G 3 in Health ➔ Dental
There is a grey area b/n sealants and fillings. I make the determination based on if I have to drill on your teeth. If I need to "open up" your deep grooves to make sure you do not have decay, I charge for a filling. If you place a sealant over decay, that is a recipe waiting for disaster. The decay will get larger and the sealant can hide this occurance, until the cavitiy is quite large.
In my 10+ years of practicing, I have only placed 16 sealants on just a few people. Normally they where b/n 12-15 and had very bad oral hygiene. It just doesn't happen that often. 125 is crazy expensive. I charge 45 dollars for sealants, and I practice in the Chicagoland area. My one surface "white" fillings are 125 dollars.
What you should do is get a third opinion, and say nothing of what the first 2 dentists did or said. See what there opinion is, and go from there. This is what I would do if I had 2 completely differnet opinions on the course of treatment. Good Luck!!
2007-10-11 05:35:46 · answer #1 · answered by Mike D.D.S. 2 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes it is hard to tell if darkness in someones grooves is actually decay or just stain. Some dentists use an explorer (A pointed instrument) to determine if it "sticks". If so, they document that as a cavity. Others determine that if they cant see the decay on an xray, then there isn't any. That is not always the case.
A sealant just basically fills in the grooves of a tooth, without removing any tooth structure. This isn't good to do, if you do in fact have decay in the tooth.
The way we tell in my office if it is stain or decay in someones grooves, is to use a machine called a Diagnodent. If we get a moderate to high reading, then it's decay. If no reading, or a very low one, then its probably stain. If neither dentist has one of these, then you may not ever know who is right. Maybe they both are. Some could need fillings and others might be just deep grooves with stain.
2007-10-11 08:52:04 · answer #2 · answered by Pink Cowgirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, that is a lot of money. Do you have dental insurance? Why don't you get some prior to doing the work. Dentist can make bank with sealants. It's not a cavity now but may become later. Dentist have different thoughts on what to do with pre-cavities.
2007-10-11 05:26:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Dentists put Sealants on your back molars, to prevent cavities. They can cost anywhere from $25 to $150 depending on the dentist. Good luck!
2007-10-11 05:31:15 · answer #4 · answered by fuelisgod 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I AGREE WITH MIKE D.D.S.
GET ONE MORE OPINION. IN MY OPINION, $125 PER TOOTH FOR A SEALANT IS A BIT MUCH. AT 125 FOR 16 TEETH THAT'S $2,000 AND THAT'S JUST PLAIN STUPID.
2007-10-11 07:40:20 · answer #5 · answered by Dr. Albert, DDS, (USA) 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The waiting period after sealants is usally due to the f2 that many offices give after placing sealants. You can eat right away if you have sealants placed no big deal, however if they give your child a f2 treatment, then they usually have to wait about thirty minutes.
2016-04-08 03:09:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mike DDS has answered this question precisely and quite frankly. Take his advice, see another dentist.
2007-10-11 06:04:55 · answer #7 · answered by HeatherS 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋