Just been to see Dr Mengele, or it could be Dr Mangle....
4 extractions and a hefty bill for the privilege. Look after your teeth you younguns!!!!
The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.
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In a case of pure irony, the 'best' dentist I ever met, was he that was to remove all my teeth. That is to say, it was actually remarkable that he caused me no pain, to the point of asking him why was it so? Why were the words dentist and pain inextricably linked, and he was doing the same sort of oral surgery and not causing pain? He went on to expound he thought many (dental) surgeons didn't correctly interpret 'do no harm', and hurting a patient unnecessarily as part of a procedure was in fact doing that - causing harm. Turns out he was doing dentistry on the govt circuit as just a part of his vocation ; he was also a jedi master wrt nerves of the face, and often was called on for facial reconstruction surgery for the unfortunate who suffer such industry/vehicle accident injuries.
He explained to me, the 'trick' as it were, was him knowing exactly what nerves ran around the jaw and upper palette. He would select an injection point a long way from where the pain was coming from, because he knew of a nerve junction that could take out that part of the network, and having done that you didn't feel any further injections, nor him doing his craft. I had really thought I would go to my grave, forever holding a morbid fear of dentists, but this guy restored my faith in dental science ; he never hurt he, despite the severity of surgery. He summed it up best by saying in his mind, all dentists should complete the nerve study he did.
Not having teeth is not all it's cracked up to be, but the total removal of any possibility of ever feeling tooth related pain again... including dentists... has lotsa pros going for it =)
Last edited by wotnot; 22-10-21 at 08:18 PM.
My dentist was forever waking me up when I get into the chair. I just go to sleep on him.
I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
Definition: Dentist. One adept at removing tooth from the mouth and coin from your pocket at the same time. Neither painlessly.
Dentistry has it's roots in the church like modern medicine.
Modern medicine also started with faith healers in the church. As medicine progressed with more science it distanced itself but still had a lot of tradition.
Hospitals use a christian style cross as their logo. Nurses used to dress like the nuns they replaced and were even called sister.
Dentistry also started with the church. The Inquestion used to pull teeth from their victims, but unlike the faith healers, their victims got better.
It was not long before they realised that it was easier to extract a penny than a confession and modern dentistry was born.
They still enjoy inflicting horrible pain and terror upon their customers and they are still feared.
The way I deal with dentists these days is "don't pay the ferryman" and agree on a price before he gets his hooks into you.
I've also got a way to ensure they charge a fair price. Off shore labour.. If the cost of their work is more than the cost of an airfare and the job, then I win a free holiday to a country untouched by western bankers.
Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
After a painful experience as a young kid I have tried to avoid them my whole life. I have a genuine fear of them and only went to one 20 years ago when in agony.
Australia is probably the country with the most expensive dentists in the world. Also applies to vets and while Lawyers are expensive everywhere this does not apply so much to our doctors. At least you can see a GP for about $60.
And that is exactly what I do when I get an abscess with strong tooth ache:
I see a GP.
He prescribes me an antibiotic and then the magic happens, the abscess goes away and it generally stays that way. I might need an antibiotic every 2 years.
An abscess is nothing more than inflammation that puts pressure on the nerve.
You don't cut off your arm because of a bursitis either so why the rush to pull out teeth. I still eat so I need them.
Tooth bacteria also start dying at 45˚C, so I have developed a heat treatment that avoids antibiotics but I won't go into details as that requires certain skills and equipment to avoid injury.
As for fillings I have found the more a dentist drills the more they damage the tooth and modern filling material rarely stays in long. I assume that is deliberate so you have to keep coming again and again.
The only fillings I still have are all from my childhood and I still have not died from Mercury poisoning.
The only teeth pulled were those that were drilled and filled by dentists in the 1990's.
I since learnt my lesson not to visit dentists anymore and I am doing very well.
Last edited by Uncle Fester; 24-10-21 at 12:25 PM.
Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...
I think there is a bit of a misconception here, in that the doctor only appears cheap because Medicare pays a substantial part of the fee. A trip to the dentist doesn’t get any Medicare rebate. It shouldn’t be like this, but that’s why the dentist appears to charge more than a GP.
admin (25-10-21)
I have no fear of dentists. I enjoy going to the dentist. Like Bill Murray in little shop of horrors.
Dentists are afraid of me.
"Hello, what are we doing today?"
"I'm here for a checkup."
"Great, ok just lay back and open your mouth."
"Whoa there my new friend, you make it sound like we're in a brothel. I got some ground rules.:
"Ok, what are they?"
"Rule #1, we turn the nitrous Oxide on."
"You're a big boy, you don't need the nitrous."
"Hey, it's not for my benefit, it's for yours."
"What I should use the nitrous?"
"No, you give the nitrous to me. It's a matter of your personal safety."
"How so?"
"Well, my hand, your testicles and a lot of very sharp instruments are all in close proximity and I might have some outstanding court orders."
"GAS IT IS !"
The last two times I have been to the dentist. Second last was to have a wisdom tooth pulled. Start with the gas and a couple of locals and that sucker just pops right out and I'm my way and having a happy day.
The last time was a checkup and the nitrous was broken. At which point I normally cancel the appointment and walk out. The deal is I don't sit down unless they have nitrous.
The dentist convinced/tricked me continue. They haven't found his body.
The surgery called me 12 months later for a reminder. Sure, I'll make an appointment. Is your nitrous manifold working? "I'll check.... ah no it's not." Well call me back when it's fixed and not before.
Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
I had an extraction 2 weeks ago and had 2 teeth removed. I was in agony and had been putting it off due to the last extraction, one tooth 12 months ago.
12 months ago, in agony, I am not fixing teeth anymore, just pulling them. It is a losing battle due to medication rotting my teeth.
Anyway.......here is some advice to people. Those that have been around for years may remember I have been the victim of medical malpractice twice, one nearly killed me and one did. So I am a touch apprehensive these days....anyway....
When a Dentist says, quote, "I am not very good at this", this is an indicator that you should leave. I didn't, mainly because I took a shitload of Valium before I left home and I probably couldnt get out of the chair. I did say " Whaaat ? " and she repeated herself and said that the other dentist is really good at extractions and she isn't. Silly me.
Anyway, during the extraction there was a horrendous splintering noise. As I am sure you know, sounds seems to amplify with dentistry, however it was fkn loud. And she said "All done".
I was amazed, when I heard the noise I thought oh wow, how is she going to get all the splintered bits of tooth out of my gum ? But all done she says ???
A bit bewildered, I asked to see the tooth (a large upper tooth) and she said ok, I will just clean it up a bit. She brings it over and says " Unfortunately a bit of your jaw broke off with it".
#### ME ! The piece of jaw was twice the size of the tooth. Ripper. A piece of my jawbone with a tooth still embedded in it.
2 weeks ago when I had the double extraction ( at a DIFFERENT dentist ), they got me to read and sign a document prior to extraction. It said in the worst possible scenario, you could suffer a jaw fracture but it is extremely rare. They were gob smacked when I told them about my last visit to the dentist.
I will say though to those that still have hang-ups from dental pain in the 1970's etc, don't worry about it. It's very much a pain free experience these days and if anything they give you more than less. At the slightest complaint about pain, they give you more pain relief or anaesthetic. So if you do need to go and you are worried about pain, I wouldn't be.
I haven't paid to see a GP for 30 years. And I see one every 12 days, I am improving, it was every 7 days. You are correct of course, you get a Medicare Rebate on a GP visit if the GP does not bulk bill you. Most GP's will bulk bill ( ie, no charge, they lower their price to match the Medicare rebate) pensioners and the unemployed. It gets seriously expensive when you are sick or injured and not one of the former or latter. In 2010, my medication bill alone was $350-$400 a week and my wife's was a couple of hundred as well. Fortunately we do have a Medicare Safety Net where you get to a certain amount spent and after that PBS medicines are either at a set price or free.
It is unfortunate that Medicare doesn't apply in general to dentistry because far too many people are not going to the dentist due to the cost. There was a very good dental scheme around (puts thinking cap on to work out year......covid has made it real hard)...sometime after 2010? I was able to get $4000 worth of dental work done for free, but unfortunately the scammers found out about it, the system got rorted so was shut down. Extremely unfair, as you had to have a chronic health condition to qualify and they are the people that generally can't afford dental work.
Vets charge a reasonable price in my opinion and you generally find that prices get cheaper the more you go. Always see the same vet..... if you take your pet in for a general check up once or twice a year (usually not overly expensive), you will find that when your pet does need something major done that they will charge you a much better price because they know your face. I have 5 parrots and have to go to a Vet that only deals with exotic species and not cats and dogs. They are still pretty reasonable.
A Vet I used to see charged cheap prices and one time I went to see him only to find out he had gone broke.......because he didn't charge enough. Unfortunately you can't have it both ways.
Anyway, that's my post for the rest of the year
Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...
You must have an expensive Doctor or fees vary state to state and are more expensive where you are. I can only comment on Victoria.
My doctor's clinic fees for a standard consultation are below. It is a 3 doctor surgery and all charge the same rates :
As of the 1st of January 2021 our fee per consultation will be $70 (an increase of $5).
Your medicare rebate is $38.75.
Your out of pocket expense is $31.25.
Basically you see a doctor, you then pay $70 and almost immediately $38.75 goes in to your nominated bank account, so it has cost you $31.25 to see the doctor. As I mentioned, this is in Victoria and it could vary in other states.
It would be good if the rebate could be applied in advance so that people could just pay the out of pocket amount straight up, ie, see the Doctor and pay $31.25 instead of having to have $70 in your bank account which can be hard for some.
Having said that, there are plenty of Bulk Billing (free) clinics in Victoria and most GP's will bulk bill long term patients if they are on a Centrelink benefit.
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