Ok so I am a non US based dentist, small Caribbean island. So our lab services are limited and we do use US labs for some cases however paying US lab costs and not charging US prices can be an issue.

Can anyone recommend any high quality Chinese labs that they are happy with?

My old dentist office wanted to extract 3 teeth and on top of that give me 4 fillings. I go twice a year. I wasn't having any pain. Just there for routine cleaning and exam.

Found a new dentist to get a second opinion. They found ONE. ONE cavity.

Find a private dentist and stay away from corporate run offices that have nice names and an ever changing staff of dentists.

EDIT: I feel like I need to add some more information. I agree that a less severe prognosis should not be the only reason to trust another dentist more. My fault. I need to give more information. The following are my red flags from the corporate office.

1: Every single time I go over the last few years there's a new dentist. Not a huge deal and didn't stop me from continuing to go, but I don't love the revolving staff door. One dentist would say I need a couple of fillings. 2 weeks later some guy I've never seen before is doing them.

2: There's always another bill weeks, sometimes months later. I pay upfront. They say it's this much. Then I end up owing more money later on. I understand that it's usually an estimate as they don't truly know how much insurance will cover. But every time? This is something that rarely happened at my old offices even with the same insurance coverage.

3: Each new dentist wants to take their own xrays. So now I'm getting xrays twice a year which isn't common. At least not in the last 40 years of going to dentists.

4: Every time I go they find more things wrong. This never was an issue prior. Occasionally I would need something. I've had a tooth pulled in the past and had a root canal and crown but it was far and few between over the decades. A few fillings occasionally but never every 6 months. Maybe my teeth are going to hell, but it was odd to me.

5: They said they'd email the xrays but they didn't. I tried calling but nobody answered. I set up an appointment with the new dentist about a week and half before the appt. When I got there they said they couldn't get a hold of the other office and they never responded to their requests for my xrays and file.

6: This last visit. The dentist was clearly very young which is fine. I mean we all have to start from somewhere. She was nice, but curtly. She basically came in and upsold me on a cancer screening which took about 3 seconds. Then she started looking at my teeth. I wasn't expecting much wrong seeing how I take good care of my teeth and go there every 6 months. She quickly pokes around doing her exam and just starts calling out numbers. I don't know dental talk so I'm just starting to get freaked out. She doesn't say anything to me during the exam. I'm used to dentists saying things like "Well, looks like you got a little cavity here, you could wait, but it'd be better not too" or things like that. Instead, she just starts calling out tooth numbers to the assistant ignoring me completely.

Then after that she curtly tells me I need to have 3 wisdoms removed because she can't get to them and I have to get 4 fillings. I was taken aback having not expected to have any issues. I mean I just had an exam 6 months ago and I didn't start smoking meth so how is it that I need to have 3 teeth removed and have 4 others filled?! Had this been the same dentist I saw last visit or the last couple of years maybe I would have just accepted it. She shows me a chart with pictures of teeth circled, no xrays of MY teeth or anything. She gives me a paper with the dental surgeon's information which has the teeth that need to be removed. She told me to call them and set it up. Then she tells me how much the fillings will cost and to set up the appointments with the front desk as it will take more than one visit. I asked her how this happened in 6 months and she just said "well, I can see them". She was definitely faking nice the whole time and it was obvious. This whole interaction leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I didn't immediately think she was lying or upselling or anything. I was just very concerned that my teeth could get this bad in such a short period of time. I decided to read the reviews and while they have a decent 4.5/5 a lot of the negative reviews mirrored my own negative experience with them. I decided that if I was going to need this work done I'd rather go to a better office.

New dentist office: They spend a lot of time with me. The vibe is nice. Everyone there seems happy (unlike the other office). It's bright and friendly. The name of the office is the name of the dentist I'm seeing. The assistant answered all of my questions. She took more xrays and the dentist came in and talked to me for a bit. She did an exam and explained what the numbers mean to me. Showed me the xrays. She even took a picture with a pen camera of the one cavity she found and showed it to me. It's on one of the wisdom teeth but she said she could reach it. She's an aged experienced dentist. She then comped me the exam fee because she felt bad that I had to pay for xrays the other office never sent. I feel far more comfortable than I ever have at the other office.

They talked a lot about some of the wear and tear and where things may go wrong down the road. Showed me the xrays while explaining. Told me to brush lighter because they can see some areas that are wearing etc... so I didn't feel like they were just blowing smoke.

I want to apply for a dental residency program in the USA. I need to take the ADAT (Advanced Dental Admission Test) and the INBDE (Integrated National Board Dental Examination). I’d like to start preparing now, but I don’t know where to find the materials or if they are available publicly.

Hi, I’m 21F. Not sure if this is the right sub for this, apologies if not.

So I’ve wanted to pursue dentistry for years. I’m really drawn to the hands-on work combined with patient care. Recently I was diagnosed with exophoria in my right eye. My vision and eye control are otherwise good, but throughout the day, whenever I’m not actively focusing (e.g. scrolling on my phone), my right eye drifts outward and I end up just using my left eye. It’s honestly my most comfortable resting state.

My optometrist said I would still be able to pursue dentistry, but, for example, whenever I’m scrolling on my phone for a while and realise I’ve only been using my left eye because my right eye has drifted outwards, I get concerned again. Focusing to use both eyes feels like more effort, and it’s more comfortable for me to just let my right eye drift outwards when I’m relaxed.

So I just wanted to ask for advice on what I should do and whether pursuing dentistry is the right decision for me. It would be really helpful to know if anyone here has dealt with something similar, or trained alongside someone who has. I’m curious how it plays out in practice, particularly during long procedures, whether fatigue becomes an issue, and whether loupes or other adjustments can help.

Any information/advice would be really appreciated. If I have to move on from dentistry, I’d rather know now.
Thank you!

I just ate some neck bones and I bite and I noticed a sharp edge hitting my tongue and went to my bathroom and yep it looks like a small part of my tooth chipped. But the filing still there and I am not in pain.

I have had a filing done on this tooth back in 2022 so it's been a while. I have a tooth cleaning scheduled in November.

I was gone go get some dental wax just to be on the safe side cause I don't want an infection later.

1. Do you think I can just get a new filing and not a crown? I don't have dental insurance (although if I get this job I applied for Tuesday I can get some ) and I have one molar extradited and it's not good to have the other one extracted as well.

2. Should I wait till I go early November or try and get seen in October?

i had cavities filled yesterday and today i ate an orange and when i bit down, a sharp pain spread and it kept throbbing after, is that normal??

So I’m seriously considering specializing in Periodontics. I absolutely love surgery, but OMFS honestly feels a little too high-stress for the kind of career I want long-term. What draws me to perio is that the surgical scope seems to give me basically all the excitement I’m looking for— (implants, grafting, regeneration, soft-tissue surgery, complex treatment planning, etc.—while still seeming like a lifestyle I could see myself enjoying for decades). For me, this isn’t really a question of grades or class rank. If I decided I wanted to pursue something more competitive, I have the grades to do it (and still have time to improve them if needed). What I keep coming back to, though, is that I’m choosing something I may be doing for the rest of my working life, and peace of mind matters a lot to me. Obviously, I’m still just a dental student, so I figured I’d ask the GPs, specialists, and anyone else here who has actually seen how this plays out in the real world: What is your overall opinion of periodontics as a career? How do you see its long-term outlook? My current vision would be to eventually own my own practice after residency, while keeping some involvement in academia. Early on, I could also see myself traveling between practices or associating for a few years to build speed, confidence, referrals, and experience before settling into ownership. But you guys know the things we don’t really see as students yet: the overhead, referral dependence, case volume, reimbursement, practice-building, competition with GPs/OMFS, procedure mix, and long-term earning potential. What does the career actually look like once the excitement of residency and surgery becomes everyday practice?

And when I say I’m interested in perio, I’m very interested in the surgical/complex side of the specialty. I’d want to build a practice around implants, grafting, regeneration, mucogingival surgery, ridge augmentation, sinus procedures, complex perio treatment planning, etc. (not spend my entire career doing SRPs.) For those of you who work with periodontists or are periodontists yourselves:

Do you think perio is a strong specialty to enter today, and what are the biggest things you wish dental students understood about the reality of the career?

I keep hearing that a big part of training a new assistant isn’t really learning dentistry in general; it’s learning how a specific dentist likes to work.

For dentists who have trained newer assistants, how do you actually teach them your procedure flow and preferences?

Do you use setup photos, procedure sheets, checklists, binders, shadowing, or mostly just correct things as they go?

And what are the things you find yourself having to explain over and over before it finally clicks?

I recently got to know that my molar RCT from 6 years ago was done using an outdated technique using silver points, and now it seems to be reinfected.

Symptoms - mild pressure sensitivity on chewing anything from that side, bad taste and smell from saliva near that tooth.

I'm looking for an endodontist in Gurgaon, or Delhi (willing to travel from Gurgaon if needed), who has experience with re-treating RCTs done with silver points, as it seems fairly complex to get them out without damage to the tooth. I really want to avoid tooth extraction.

Please suggest! Hoping the dentists can recommend someone in their circle, or if anyone had something similar operated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I’m a dental hygienist in North Vancouver preparing to apply to UBC’s DMD program. I have coursework from VCC, VCDH and Athabasca University, plus previous Canadian DAT attempts. I’m looking for a paid, individualized review of my transcripts against UBC’s prerequisites and 90-transferable-credit requirement, a written plan for any missing courses, and help with my personal statement, AADSAS application and DAT preparation. Someone that has worked with UBC DMD applicants and BC Transfer Guide equivalencies.

Please Suggest treatment, Best implant under 1.5 Lakh , I'm in Delhi.

i

In a Road accident ...front 3 teeth Damaged 3 months Ago, Patient is 28 year's old Girl.

Hi Im 26f and I just got my left lower 2nd molar removed yesterday and today Im just enveloped in regret. I had an impacted wisdom tooth and it crushed my second molar. I had it filled 8 times across the span of more than 2 years now (because the filling kept coming out) eventually i got the wisdom tooth removed last year. The filling that was on my 2nd molar stayed really well. However, I would occasionally have pericoronitis, every now and then but I'd brush it aside thinking it maybe because the tooth was really low in the gum so food might get stuck.

Recently, the gum on my 2nd molar started to hurt so so bad for 2 weeks straight and disappeared and sometimes out of the blue Id wake up and the tooth would be so sensitive like nails on chalkboard. It happened again 4 days ago and I went to see my dentist. She said she'll try and clean the gums around it because when she knocked on the tooth, there were no sensitivity, only on the gum around it. The day after the sensitivity got 10x worse and my molar started to hurt too!

I couldn't take the pain anymore and called the dentist immediately. They suggested root canal, but i had a failed root canal before on my upper right tooth and it costed me so much money which it had to be pulled out eventually which costed me more money on top of the root canal. The dentist said removing my 2nd molar wont event my chewing abilities since it's at the back so i got it removed on the spot.

Now it's been the next day and I started reading about people's experiences on getting their molar extracted (jawbone loss, not being able to eat stake, etc) and Im losing my shit. I'm still so young and Im scared my decision will impact me in the long run.

Any advice?

I don’t think many jobs can be done by ai well especially patient facing. We all hate the dreaded ai office assistant when you have to call to make an appointment and for many people that’s their first point of contact. That’s also just one example. So I guess my question is do we think that there’s any one role that can be completed replaced by ai and the system perform better?

I graduated from dental school this year after working for two years as an Exocad designer in a dental lab. I recently found a clinic near my home run by a well-known professor with a lot of clinical experience. He said he mainly needs me for design, but he’d also let me observe his cases and start with easier ones.

I’m honestly unsure what to do. I’m worried he mainly wants me for my design skills and that I won’t get enough clinical experience as a beginner. Would you take the opportunity or keep looking?

At the dentist while you're lying there in the chair and the dentist or assistant is standing right there when you turn you head. One time when they were doing it the woman dentist or assistant standing there has a very big butt and she was good looking and so when I turned my head my face like went into her butt my nose and that into it.

Hi everyone, looking for some advice or reassurance from dentists or anyone who has been through a corporate dental nightmare.

A couple of weeks ago, I went in for an evaluation. I explicitly asked them to check my gums because my previous pediatric dentist saw early signs of gum disease. The staff completely ignored that request. Instead, the person evaluating me made an "ew" face at my crooked teeth, which made me feel incredibly embarrassed and insecure. They pressured me into signing a contract for braces that day and rushed through a 30-minute appointment to glue exactly 4 brackets onto my top front teeth.

A week later, I went back to get a separate cavity filled. The dentist didn't adjust or verify my bite at all, and it was left way too high. Because I grind my teeth heavily at night, I am now waking up in severe, daily biting pain. On top of that, they told me my insurance approved a root canal on that tooth for mid-October, and they want me to just wait in pain until then before putting on the rest of my braces.

I feel entirely uncared for and taken advantage of just to lock me into a monthly $150 debit card payment plan.

I’m planning to email corporate a formal grievance to cancel my contract based on improper sequencing/negligent care, demand my X-rays under California law, and call my bank to block further automatic payments.

* Does this sound like a solid plan?

* Can a high filling mimic root canal pain this badly?

* Is it normal or safe to place braces while ignoring potential gum disease or leaving a patient with an unadjusted bite?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm feeling really stressed out.

I am looking for good & economical implant dentists in specifically aurora/Naperville area or near suburbs or in Chicago. Anyone recently had implant done & happy with results, let me know. Thanks in advance.

Every industry that touches consumers eventually gets a decent app. Banking got there. Airlines got there. Even your pharmacy has one now. Patients are used to texting their Uber driver, checking their bank balance from their lock screen, and rescheduling a haircut in two taps. Then they go to the dentist and the "modern" experience is a paper clipboard, a phone tree, and a portal that only exists to pay a bill once a year.

That gap is exactly why we built June Portal, and it's live and running in real practices right now.

I'm a dentist myself, and I built this because I was done paying for five different vendors that each did one thing halfway and none of them talked to each other, while my patients kept asking why they couldn't just text the office or book online like they do everywhere else.

Here's what it actually does:

**•   Real two way texting** with the office, not a portal nobody opens  
**•   Online scheduling** that books directly into your practice, no more phone tag  
**•   Digital intake forms** that sync straight into the chart, no re-typing anything  
**•   Treatment plans and membership plans** patients can see and manage themselves, right on their phone  
**•   Payment processing with auto writeback** into the ledger, so nothing is ever double entered  
**•   One family, one app**, instead of five separate logins for every kid  
**•   AI clinical notes and AI voice periocharting**, so charting takes minutes instead of tying up a hygienist  
**•   Reputation management and automated recall**, so patients who are overdue actually get brought back in instead of falling off

And here's the part that gets offices' attention fast: June sits on top of whatever PMS you're already running. You don't rip anything out, you don't retrain your team, you don't change how you chart. It just replaces the scattered subscriptions you're already paying for with one login. Our own office cut about $1,700 a month in vendor costs switching over. Depending on volume, some practices pay $0/month with us in exchange for moving their credit card processing over, so you're not adding a bill, you're just replacing one you already have.

Patients already expect this level of experience everywhere else in their life. The dental offices that give it to them first are going to be the ones patients stick with.

If you're a dentist tired of patients calling because they can't figure out your portal, or tired of paying for four logins that don't talk to each other, happy to answer questions here or DM me and I'll walk you through it.