October 17, 2008

More specialization

Since when have general dentistry practitioners farmed out tooth extraction and root canals to specialists like oral surgeons and endodontists? And why?

Posted by Linkmeister at October 17, 2008 07:39 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I don't know the answer to your question but I've noticed that too...and it costs lots more.

Posted by: Karan at October 19, 2008 08:28 AM

cause then you get one(??) for the price of two....you now pay double for what used to be half. I go to my dentist who does what he does (and very well, I might add), he then sends me to an endodontist who does the extraction and then I go back to my dentist who does the crown-- (with all the crowns I have, I should really be running some third world country), and my bill is close to $4,000.

Posted by: cyn at October 19, 2008 08:36 AM

All of my root canals have been done by endodontists, back as far as the late 1970s. I didn't know that general dentists would do them.

Extractions are something different. I thought such brute-force procedures were right up the alley of general dentists. Though I must note that my only extraction since the wisdom-teeth days was done by a prosthodontist, removing a tooth so that an implant could go in in its place.

Posted by: N in Seattle at October 19, 2008 11:26 AM

actually I guess I said it wrong, cause for crowns, I think they just take out the root, leave the tooth so a crown can go on it. You would think I would know since I have at least 4 of them. Ahhh well....

Only extractions I ever had were wisdom teeth or some of them about 40 years ago.........and that was my dentist.

Posted by: cyn at October 19, 2008 04:00 PM

My dentist has done the two crowns I have, but he sent us off to an oral surgeon for a tooth extraction. It took 40 minutes to get to his office downtown, 15 minutes to have the tooth taken out, and 30 minutes to get home.

Posted by: Linkmeister at October 20, 2008 11:38 AM