I never went back. I found an older dentist and every patient in the office was a retiree, which made me feel confident they knew what they were doing (I'm sure they've got a lot of hard cases). I asked about the possible cavity and they said they saw nothing, everything is fine.
That's all just to say that the young dentists likely have a lot of debt between school and office build outs, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're up-selling services to try and get their practice out of it. I wouldn't trust them any more to be honest about practices just because they're young.
It's frustrating but I agree that new builds or expensive locales seem to amplify this effect. Established shops in less fancy areas tend to leave me feeling much better and are almost always quicker while being more thorough.
Another part of the problem, as it has been described to me, is that so many dentists are perfectionists, and they find minor non-issues to be glaring. Like if I have a discoloured filling in a molar... is replacing it really warranted just for cosmetic purposes?
I will also add that, a visit to most dentists where you clarify up-front that you have no insurance can be a very different experience.
It's not just the dentists that are perfectionists, but culturally perfect teeth is an expectation in a lot of the world now. I get it; a kid who's hesitant to smile because they're embarrassed with their teeth is heart-breaking, but it's also very expensive.