bad cleaning?

Message

#1 Post by **sparklecopy** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:35 pm

I'm thinking of changing my dentist cause today was the first time I got my teeth cleaned while wearing braces and all he did was spray a high power salt spray on my teeth and braces for less than a minute and charged me $125 bucks! is this how teeth with braces are cleaned? am I getting gypped? I've always been wary with my dentist ever since my sister went to him and yelled at him for aggravating her gums and ever since I think I've gotten shoddy treatment because of guilt by association. If I knew that she yelled at him I would have never went to him.

#2 Post by **jenfire** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:47 pm

That does not sound like a very thorough cleaning. You should request your money back and select a different dentist next time.

#3 Post by **sparklecopy** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:01 pm

so what constitutes a cleaning with braces on? do they scale your teeth like regular cleanings?

#4 Post by **victory1** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:09 pm

They cleaned my teeth the same way when I did not have the braces on. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes. And yes they do scale the teeth like regular cleanings.

#5 Post by **rsprouse** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:31 pm

If you don't have any plaque on your teeth then that is a good enough cleaning. You will see anything from scaling with hand instruments. to the use of a cavitron or sand blasting like you saw. Or any combination depending on your clinician. It is either quick work (may or may not be efficient) or you could possibly have teeth that plaque does not stick too

Good Luck,
Rory

#6 Post by **chrisd** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:11 pm

my cleanings every 3-4 months consist of scaling, the high pressure spray and flouride treatments, and a thourough exam
chris

#7 Post by **newmetal** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:05 pm

125 BUCKS!??!woahhhhh is a dental cleaning really that expensive?

#8 Post by **Gennel** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:10 pm

My cleanings have been regular cleanings like before braces.

Gennel

#9 Post by **sparklecopy** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:47 am

How do they scale the front side of the teeth if you have braces on? Seems they can only scale the back side. And Manhattan is expensive.

#10 Post by **rsprouse** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:03 pm

125 BUCKS!??!woahhhhh is a dental cleaning really that expensive?

A Scaling & Prophy along with a COE and BWX can easily run $200-250. The price will vary depending on location, but $125 for the S&P is quite reasonable.

Regards,
Rory

#11 Post by **Iceolated** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:03 pm

Price seems about average. My last cleaning was $124. Insurance picked up all but $1.00 of it.

My first cleaning with braces on was this past month. Exactly the same procedure that I had sans braces: Xrays, scaling, flossing, polishing etc...

My dentist is awesome, funny part is I found him entirely by accident because he was the only one willing to squeeze me in when I had a catastrophic failure of a large filing.

If that's all your dentist did I would first ask why. Of course, if you think that your treatment is affected by your sister's experience then it may be time to get a new dentist. If you don't have confidence or trust in your dental professional that seems like it would only cause more problems in the future.

Best of luck to you.

Cheers,

ICE.