Opinions on dentists/ dental school

[Nascia]

I'm considering having some dental work completed at WVU's school of dentistry, but am a little apprehensive. We don't have dental insurance and could save a lot this way. However if it's going to be a bad experience or the work is substandard, well I'd rather pay more to have it done at the practice we usually use. I'd love to hear about any experiences you may have had, doesn't necessarily have to be about the one at WVU. TIA!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They aRent bad. A real dentist is overseeing everything. You aren't getting a dental student on their first day.

I had my wisdom teeth extracted at the UF Dental School.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I know a few people that have had their work done at the dental school. In every case their teeth looked 110% better than they ever did at their regular dentist. The only thing is that appointments do take longer. All of them said it was great and they were much more thorough than their own dentists. The price was also fantastic.

 

[MM27]

My dentist is a professor at UMDNJ (University of Medicine and Dentistry in NJ) and she always talks about how wonderful the services are there. They are always supervised by real dentists and most of the fees are greatly reduced. They also take insurance.

One of my coworkers uses them for all of the work that she and her children need, from cavities to braces.

 

[J3nn78]

Honestly, you will likely get better care at a dental school. Your dental students grade depends on it and they are not going to take shortcuts like a practicing dentist might.

I too have a good friend who is a professor at UMDNJ

 

[Hannathy]

The appointments take a lot of time! every step of the way has to be checked and the instructor doesn't always get there speedily so you may sit and wait a while for the instructor to get to your chair.

 

[rascalmom]

DH is a dentist and I will agree with previous posters that you will likely get very good care at a dental school. The student's grade depends on the quality of work he provides and each little thing will be carefully checked by the supervising professor.

The downside is that you will spend a lot more time getting the work done. Each appointment will be longer since the work has to be checked and there will likely be more visits to be made than there would be in a regular practice.

Depending on what work you need, it can take some waiting time to get appointments.....scheduling can take some time depending what particular procedure your assigned student needs to complete for his course of studies.

Standard of care and techniques should be very good. It is usually only junior and senior dental students.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

In the 1970's and early 80's I had all my dental work done at Georgetown University (until they closed the dental school).

In all my years there I only had one person who I felt was not competent (especially after a comment, on a Monday morning, that he did not do Mondays well). After he treated me that day, and it was his third "oops" in about three months, I went to the head of the clinic, explained all the incidents, and that I would not want that person as my personal dentist if he were in private practive. The department head let slip that I was not the first person to complain about that student and I had a feeling that he would not graduate.

For all other work I have had done there I was very satisfied. I still have several crowns that were put on in that school and they have already exceeded the normal useful life span of a crown.

I have had several dentists since then who have commented that the crown and bridge work looked very good.

I always would bring something to read as a normal appointment would take 2-3 hours, with the sudent having to get an instructor to sign off on each intermediate step.

The most intersting day I had was when the student working on me had a problem he was not sure of what to do. By the time a decision had been made, I had been examined by five other students and three instructors. So I knew the decision was correct.

The important thing, if you go to a dental school, is to be aware that you do have a responsibility to the school to make sure they only graduate qualified students.

 

[lucas]

Many years ago I worked at the LSU Dental School. As previous posters have said, it will take longer to get the work done. But, every step of the way has to be checked by the overseeing dentist to make sure everything is just right before the student can go on to the next step.

 

[Rumpus]

I know a few people that have had their work done at the dental school. In every case their teeth looked 110% better than they ever did at their regular dentist. The only thing is that appointments do take longer. All of them said it was great and they were much more thorough than their own dentists. The price was also fantastic.

I agree with everything you said. They work towards perfection. Its a grade.

 

[Nascia]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm going to set up the appointment today. We live in a pretty rural area and quality dentists are hard to find. The ones who are good can and do charge outrageous fees for service. Would gladly spend a few extra hours at the appointments to save a couple hundred/ thousand dollars depending on what they say needs done.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I'm going apoplectic reading this thread and how long those appointments last. I honestly don't know why I opened this thread. I guess I was being brave. LOL.

I am terrified of the dentist... and my main concern wouldn't be the dental work but the administration of the novacaine. My experience has been that more seasoned dentists are better with that. And if your appointment is going to be that long, how do they handle it wearing off? Do they have to redo it halfway through?

 

[Christine]

I know someone who had a TON of dental work done down in Richmond VA at the dental school there and was totally happy with it. It was very time consuming and he had to take a lot of time off work but it would have cost him something like $25,000 to have it done at his own dentist versus $3,000 he paid at the dental school. He was always supervised by a dentist.

 

[daughtersrus]

I'm agreeing with everyone.

I went to the U of I dental school in Chicago before it closed. A friend of the family was in school there and did most of my work. I had a lot of work that needed to be done. I had simple fillings, root canal, wisdom teeth pulled and two bridges all of the work was perfect. I still have one of the bridges in my mouth 27 years later. Had my current dentist not messed up, I would have the other one as well.

The only thing that I would add is that I actually got paid to have two teeth worked on. I sat for boards for 2 different dentists. Back in the early 80's they paid me $200 each and I got the gold fillings for free. Lucky me, I had prefect cavities.