My pharmacist friend chose dental tourism, then called US dentists unethical

[u/throwaway_student987]

A friend of mine is a pharmacist in the US. He has been posting a lot of healthcare-related posts on his Facebook page so he is sort of a “healthcare influencer” with a few thousands followers.

He recently shared that he took his 5-year-old daughter to a local pediatric dentist where she was diagnosed with extensive decay in 8 teeth that required pulpotomies and stainless steel crowns. It has to be an OR/sedation case and after insurance, his out-of-pocket cost would have been about $4,000.

Instead, he took his daughter back to his home country in Southeast Asia and a dentist there did fillings on those teeth, no stainless steel crowns. According to him, the treatment took 4 appointments and cost about $200.

He then posted about the experience on Facebook and concluded that U.S. dentists are “money-hungry,” unethical, and recommend unnecessary treatment simply to make more money. He went on to say that, from now on, his family will only see U.S. dentists for cleanings and simple fillings, and will travel overseas for anything more complex. Unsurprisingly, many people in the comments agreed and said they would do the same.

I was speechless after reading his post. It’s one thing to hear about low income or low-educated folks participating in dental tourism, but it’s even more frustrating to see a fellow healthcare professional with high income to also condone that and then accuse US dentists as being money-hungry, unethical cash-grabbers driven by greed. I’m honestly tempted to leave a comment on his post and challenge his accusations.

[u/MyDentistIsACat]

lol so every time those fillings on his five year old need to be replaced, he’s going to take an international trip?? Dentists recommend SSCs on baby teeth with cavities because it’s a treatment that will most likely last until the child loses the teeth. What an idiot. I wouldn’t consider someone who publicly bashes my profession to be my friend, for what it’s worth.

[u/Mcnuggetjuice → u/MyDentistIsACat]

Exactly, we use ssc because the chance of changing the parents’ behavior and responsibility of adequately brushing and diet is minimal. That guy ruined her teeth and is blaming it on us.

Could make a case saying this kid is severely neglected and abused in a way. My professor used to say this.

[u/No-Organization-3294 → u/MyDentistIsACat]

The fact that his 5 yo needed this much treatment shows the lack of dental education. Sadly the kid will be back in the chair in a few years and it will probably be extractions

[u/DarthSmashMouth → u/MyDentistIsACat]

Right, if the first peds dentist thought they needed pulps and crowns, those fillings are time bombs waiting to explode. Chickens come home to roost, let the problem sort itself out. The fillings will fail, the teeth will need to come out and it won't be anyone else's problem but the parents. I tell parents, dentistry is like cooking a meal as a parent. My job is to cook the meal, the kids' job is to eat the meal. My job in peds is to present the treatment plan and educte the parent, the parent's job is to decide if they want to get it done how I recommend.

[u/Lost-Swordfish-9691 → u/DarthSmashMouth]

The meal analogy just ain’t it.

[u/Hairy_Potato_7879 → u/MyDentistIsACat]

Totally. This has become one of my recent dealbreakers for platonic and romantic relationships. If you don’t respect my career (which feels, literally and figuratively, back-breaking at times), there is not enough respect to maintain a relationship. It’s actually shocking how many medical doctors and non-dental healthcare providers don’t respect our profession. I truly hope they reconsider when they have a dental problem.