Your dentist may be more interested in your cash than in the health of your teeth!
Yes, shocking as this may sound, not all dentists are as honest as one imagines them to be.
A dentist, like a motor mechanic or any other professional, is there to make money and, unless he has lots of patients to attend to, he will likely not be happy if you show up with good teeth that require perhaps only a little cleaning. The chances are that he will search your mouth frantically, looking for the slightest excuse to do a filling.
And a killing!
At your expense.
If you find it hard to believe that an expert in the field of health could also be unethical, just go and read an article that appeared in the Reader's Digest of Feb. 97 entitled "How honest are dentists?"
Bear in mind that persons with emotional problems do tend to study for prestigious and well-paying professions such as dentistry and medicine, in order to try to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy. In so doing, they often end up feeling even more stressed than before. Hence the high rate of suicide amongst doctors and dentists.
So, be on your guard when visiting a dentist. If you don't have major pain, then there is no reason to allow him to persuade you that you need a filling. A filling, as well as other invasive dental procedures, are in reality (or ought to be) methods of last resort.
Here is what an honest dentist will tell you regarding the care of your teeth:
(1) Eat mostly natural, non-refined foods, including some that require real hard chewing to break down; and restrict the consumption of coffee, sugar and alcohol, for they hinder the absorption of calcium from the diet.
(2) Never finish a meal with anything loaded with sugar. Rather end each meal or snack with fruits, nuts or seeds or simply with carrots, then rinse the mouth thoroughly with water.
(3) Use toothpicks and dental floss regularly. If there is bleeding while using them, it is a sign that the gums are infected due to the accumulation of food particles. Return to that area with the floss every day until there is no more bleeding. Infection can be detected even before bleeding if the gums feel sore when pressed upon by the pick or the floss (cleaning of the teeth, thus, can be done by yourself without the help of the dentist).
(4) Using an extra soft toothbrush, brush your teeth only once a day before going to bed for the night. Brushing in the mornings is unnecessary, unless you want to brush after breakfast.
(5) Use no toothpaste but only water when brushing. Commercial toothpastes contain sweeteners and chemicals which are best avoided, despite the wild claims of manufacturers. After the brushing, rinse the mouth with salt water. (You might try brushing with a mild herbal bar soap. But remember that you must still rinse the mouth with salt water after the brushing.)
(6) If you sense the beginning of a cavity, check your diet and take supplements of lecithin and calcium, and make sure that food particles are not allowed to accumulate around the cavity. Given a chance, the tooth will repair itself.
GOOD LUCK