Routine dental X-rays are not backed by evidence

(arstechnica.com)

352 points keithly | 1 comments | 14 Oct 24 21:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

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krackers ◴[14 Oct 24 21:56 UTC] No.41842434[source]▶

Other outdated yet still routine dental practices include polishing of teeth during checkups for any justification other than cosmetic reasons

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jebarker ◴[14 Oct 24 22:03 UTC] No.41842519[source]▶

>>41842434 #

My bugbear with dentists in the US (after living my first 30 years in the UK) is that they all continually hassle me to have my wisdom teeth removed. Said teeth have never caused me any problems and are all through the gums. I can only assume it's dogma or an opportunity to bill insurance for costly unnecessary surgery.

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1. nkrisc ◴[14 Oct 24 22:33 UTC] No.41842862[source]▶

>>41842519 #

Mine recommends the same, but it’s not because I need them out now, but because by the time I’m elderly I might be more likely to need them out, but by that time the surgery might be very difficult for me. As he pitched it to me, “get them out now while you’re young and it’s no big deal”.

I haven’t decided yet since they cause me no problems now and so far I’m to keep them relatively clean, but I have known several elderly family members who eventually needed molars removed because they hadn’t/couldn’t clean them well enough and it was a very difficult surgery for them.

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