Consumerist: Dentists

Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash Stain Your Teeth Brown? Crest Pays For Your Cleaning

Ben Popken — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:44:29 EDT

Here's relief for users of Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash finding that the product stains their teeth brown and destroys their sense of taste. Jeremy writes:

I had that happen to me and I went to my dentist to have them cleaned. Since I had gone only a month after my last cleaning (1 free per 6 months) I had to pay. I emailed Crest about it and they said they would pay for it.

So if Crest makes your mouth look like you've been chewing tobacco sine you were 13, and your insurance won't cover the cleaning, email them via this webform or call 1-800-285-9139 and see if Crest will pay for your teeth cleaning. No word on whether they'll be helping customers recover their ability to taste anything.

Lead Found In Dental Appliance

Chris Walters — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:27:37 EST

Finally! It's been so long since we've posted about anything tainted with lead that we were starting to wonder if all the world's trade problems had been resolved—but now comes a new study that found 210 parts per million (ppm) of lead in the porcelain veneer of a dental crown ordered from China. That's a lot less than the CPSC's current 600 ppm threshold, but a lot more than the international standard of only 90 ppm. The good news is it's highly unlikely developing children will need a mouth full of crowns and bridges. The bad news is it's yet another example of how hazardous material can slip undiscovered into the marketplace—and your mouth.

The Columbus Dispatch says that an estimated 7 million dental appliances in the U.S. come from foreign labs, and make up about one-fifth of the market. A Columbus television news station decided to test a few:

Working with a Columbus dentist, WBNS ordered eight supposedly identical dental crowns from four labs in China, the source of a growing number of dental implants used by U.S. dentists. The labs are regular advertisers in industry publications distributed in the United States.

A certified testing facility in Cleveland found that the porcelain veneer of one of the crowns contained lead — 210 parts per million.

In response, the ADA announced that it's alerted the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that "it has begun its own 'larger-scale investigation into the safety of both foreign and domestically produced dental crowns and other dental prostheses.'"

Until the results are available, the ADA says patients with concerns might want to ask their dentists these questions:

Do you make your own crowns, bridges, etc., or buy them from a dental laboratory?
Where is the lab located?
Does the lab outsource crowns or bridges to a foreign country?
If the lab is in a foreign country, does it provide written documentation that it is registered with the FDA?
Does the lab provide written documentation that it uses FDA-approved materials?
Have you noticed any problems with the crowns, bridges or other items produced by this lab?

We think the first three questions are good, and the last three questions are busywork from the ADA to make you feel like you're doing something to protect yourself. If you're really concerned about lead in foreign-made dental crowns, look for domestic or local labs.

Any dentists or dental lab techs lurking? Have you heard anything about this topic?

(Thanks to Cassandra!)

"Lead might be lurking in dental work" [Columbus Dispatch]
(Photo: greefus groinks)

Americans Saving Money By Getting Dental Work In Mexico

Chris Walters — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:15:56 EST

Americans already save money by purchasing prescription drugs from Canada and getting plastic surgery in South America. Now they're crossing over to Mexican border towns for high-quality dentistry, which can cost over 60% less than comparable work in the U.S. Reuters notes that "a dental crown in the United States costs upward of $600 per tooth, compared to $190 or less in Mexico."

"We've gone from a handful of patients when we started 2-1/2 years ago to 150 new patients a month," said Joe Andel, an American who owns the Rio Dental clinic in Ciudad Juarez with his Mexican dentist wife, Jessica.
Rio Dental, which uses U.S. labs to make its crowns, picks patients up at the airport in El Paso, Texas, across the border and has treated people from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii.

"The Internet makes this possible. It allows patients to find us and research us and shows we can do dental work of equal or superior quality to the United States," Andel said.

"Americans go to Mexico for a cheaper perfect smile" [Reuters]

Dancing Dentist Nearly Blinds Patient

Ben Popken — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:50:00 EST

A dentist, Dr. Trusty, was drilling on a patient and dancing to the tune "Car Wash" on the radio, when the drill bit snapped off and got caught near her eye. The doctor then tried to use a metal hook to get it out but only drove it further into the sinus and bone, according to the lawsuit. Trusty told the patient that she would probably sneeze the bit out. Doctors later said that if she had, she would have likely become blind in one eye. The patient is now suing Dr. Trusty for $600,000 in medical expenses, pain, and suffering.

Patient Says Dancing Dentist Misstepped [AP via Consumerama]
(Photo: DCvision2006)

Blogobitchin!

Ben Popken — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:45:54 EDT

• The FREE vacation also includes a FREE credit card scam! [Horkin Rambling] "For the Love of Joe"
• Buying the right toothbrush is softer than you think. [HealthBolt] "From the Other Side of the Drill #3"
• My dog ate my DS Lite. Luckily, Nintendo was more than happy to sneak the right answers. [Jacobian] "Bad dog!"
• When your MacBook is cooking, Apple prefers you sizzle blind. [Tuaw] "MacBook Pro heat problem heats up"