I’m 100% positive that dentists learn marketing in dental school, and many, though not all, engage in practices meant to increase billings.

Get a second opinion from a different dentist. We had a dentist tell us our 5 year old needed a root canal and crown. Another dentist filled the small cavity without a fuss or problem.

Braces are not necessary nine times out of ten, I think. My teeth were BAD when I was younger. I used to suck my fingers so a few of my front teeth didn’t come down as far as they should have, and I had huge gaps. I had braces for 2 years and now I love them, but a lot of people who get braces, I notice, DON’T need them. Teeth that aren’t perfect but that are nice still look good. Though it seems that recently society has impounded in our brains that you need to have PERFECT teeth. You don’t though.

Wisdom teeth…what a big scam. If they start to come in and hurt or are causing other problems, then get them removed. I honestly don’t have any friends who have their wisdom teeth. I have mine, but that’s it. My dentist told me that it would be more of a hassle to take them out now, since they haven’t started to come through. That means more digging around inside the gums, more pain, longer healing, GROSS. Just let em come in, man.

Do you mean recommendations like whether to wear braces, get your teeth whitened, etc., or do you mean recommendations like “you shouldn’t chew gum or eat apples”?

Just as anything else in your life, you get to make the decisions that affect you and your family. Your dentist can make a recommendation, but s/he is certainly not forcing you to go through with any of these things. Based on his knowledge in his field (which I’m sure is greater than your knowledge in that field, unless you’re a dentist as well), he is giving you an opinion of what needs to be done. He isn’t trying to scam you or pull the wool over your eyes. You have the right to say, “No. I think for now we will just see how the teeth start to grow in. If there are problems down the line, we will talk about oral surgery.”

If you doubt your dentist get a second opinion.

It was very obvious that my daughter’s jaw would never be big enough for wisdom teeth to erupt without messing up the rest of her teeth, so we had them removed. My son’s jaw has plenty of room, so with him it is wait and see.

Also, both my kids really, really needed braces. Your son may not, or he might, depending on many factors. Sometimes teeth look “straight” but mechanically they make him chew in a way that will cause jaw pain or TMJ later. Sometimes teeth look straight to parents, but wouldn’t meet Hollywood standards. In the first case, braces are a good idea. In the second they would be optional.

I repeat: if you doubt any medical provider, doctor or dentist, get a second opinion. You might also look around for another practitioner that you can trust.

I waited until I was 35 to get my wisdom teeth removed, and even then, it was only because they were impacted. Their initial eruption in my early 20s pushed my two front teeth together, so I ended up never needing braces, either. The orthodontist told me at the time of their removal that because I was so old to have them out, he was concerned they might have fused to the lower jaw bone and I’d have to have jaw surgery. Feh. The whole ordeal took 10 minutes with the appropriate pliers and some Novocaine.

Get a second opinion, but after that, leave it alone unless something really is found to be wrong.

I had 3 of my wisdom teeth removed because the weren’t able to come in properly. My mouth was already too crowed, so they needed to come out. I only had 3 out because I had a molar removed, and there was enough room for that one.

Ask the dentist to explain to you why he feels they need to come out and why he fells your teenager needs braces, then get a second opinion before doing anything. Once they are gone, you can’t get them back!

My daughter needed braces but the orthodontist I took her to really messed up her entire mouth and jaw. She ended up getting all the damage he caused repaired for free at the University of Florida’s facial pain clinic. They had never seen a jaw as bad as hers, so they worked on her for free to use her as a study in TMJ. They flew doctors in from all over the country to take a look at her. I learned the hard way to ask many questions before allowing anyone to do anything to her mouth, and I’d hate to see the same happen to you and your children.

I have two crooked teeth that at worst give my smile ‘character’ but are in no way ugly, distracting or a problem. Every other tooth is perfect, no cavities, perfect placement and so on.

At thirteen my dentist told me when I was old enough “we’d get [me] some braces so I wouldn’t be so terribly unattractive anymore.”

I pushed her hand out of my mouth and told her, “Fuck you, I am pretty, now finish so I can go.”

Dunno, why we haven’t been back… :)

As for wisdom teeth, mine weren’t a problem either, but the gums covering one got infected, locked my jaw in place and was spreading rapidly. Over the weekend I might add. I had to have emergency surgery to remove them, with no money and they had to pry my mouth open to put the spacers in for the surgery. I was crying from the pain – and I have a high tolerance. It only took one day for me to lose control of my jaw.

If their teeth fully erupt it probably won’t happen, mine only occurred because the gum was still partially covering the tooth which apparently trapped a minuscule piece of food.

As for braces – I hate them. I hate what they do to naturally beautiful, quirky, normal teeth. They look wrong and alien afterwards. Too perfect. If they look good, and no one is gonna freak out when he leans in to mack on someone, and they’re causing no functional problems…. skip it.

I have to say get a second opinion. And know that for wisdom teeth removal, unless the teeth are angled differently, it probably won’t be a problem providing the mouth is big enough for them. I don’t have any wisdom teeth to begin with (hypodontia), but I have a friend who kept all his wisdom teeth, even though he was being told to remove them. He has never complained of any pain and he cleans them well. Wisdom teeth removal is known for being done when it isn’t necessary.

Braces are the same. A lot of orthodontists and dentists want teeth to be “perfect”, but unless they’re particularly crooked, it’s probably not necessary. I remember my dentist mentioning once that I might want to get braces because my bite wasn’t “perfect”. But who gives? She hasn’t mentioned it since that one time and every time I see a new hygienist, they all think I’ve had braces before because my teeth are so straight.

Get another opinion, but sometimes wisdom teeth really do need to come out. Trust me, they really can cause bad, horrible, nightmarish pain. I refused to get mine out at my dentist’s urging, he would always show me x-rays explaining why, a few years later I figured out the hard way he was right all along.

All dentists really care about your teeth.
The more healthy teeth you have, the less money they make.
Work it out!

I’m jumping on the second opinion bandwagon. Maybe instead of just looking up another dentist in the area, you can ask a few other parents or friends who they see, how happy they are with that dentist, and why. It improves the odds that you’ll get someone you’ll be happy with as well.

I used to take our kids to a pediatric dentist about five minutes from our house. For regular cleanings, they were fine. My middle child has some problems with his baby teeth being soft and having “dents” in the enamel. His adult teeth are fine, but the baby teeth are very prone to cavities. This dentist insisted on x-rays every time we went in (we don’t have any dental insurance), wanted to do a pulpectomy and crown on one tooth with a cavity, and just in general got on my nerves. We ended up going to a dentist 20 minutes away who is fantastic. All of the procedures cost less, and half the time they just don’t charge for things. Last time I took my son, they didn’t charge for the exam fee OR the x-rays. They always try to avoid using gas or novacain on kids if they suspect they won’t need it, as opposed to the other dentist who used it all of the time. My kids now love going to the dentist—even my four year old gets so excited, you’d think we were going to Disney Land.

Find someone you really trust and are happy with. It makes a huge difference.

My dentist doesn’t just make recommendations without showing me the x-rays and explaining why the work needs to be done. He takes great pains to be sure I understand how important it is, and is always willing to talk about alternatives.

If your doctor isn’t up front with you, ask more questions, or find another dentist.