Dentist called me ugly

[Seshat]

Changed it to a link direct to the image.

[Aethian]

Thank you. I can catalogue a whole bunch more 'flaws' in my appearance if you want. :P But as with my teeth, the only ones which matter are the ones which affect the functionality of my body.

Blas: I like the way your dentist thinks.


To me, this injured Monarch butterfly is no less beautiful than his uninjured fellows.


Edit to add: If I could have Barbie's house(s) and car(s) and apparent income .....

Clicked on your link and I had multiple warnings for it carrying a trojan, can you link the picture any other way?

Also, I have nothing to add what others have already said.

[Seshat]

Seshat, your most recent post is particularly encouraging and uplifting, and I appreciate it. You're so right; expecting uniformity and perfection causes a person to miss so much beauty and wonder in the world.

Thank you. I can catalogue a whole bunch more 'flaws' in my appearance if you want. :P But as with my teeth, the only ones which matter are the ones which affect the functionality of my body.

Blas: I like the way your dentist thinks.


To me, this injured Monarch butterfly is no less beautiful than his uninjured fellows.


Edit to add: If I could have Barbie's house(s) and car(s) and apparent income .....

[blas]

Wow. My dentist was showing me what I can have done to fix the gap in my teeth, and he said "You do know that you're the only person who thinks it's a big deal, right? It's not hurting your other teeth and you look fine with it. But if you absolutely want to have it filled, we can schedule it."

I'm so sorry some people are so unprofessional and only care about money. And so damn hurtful!

[MiloMorai]

Shop around, hon. What he did has no excuse. It's one thing to promote a service, but it's another thing entirely to force it on you. I don't even find it appropriate that he asked you in the first place.

I hope you can find a dentist that is more interested in helping you than in profiting from you. Ask your family. Ask your friends. Ask your coworkers. If your work has a dental plan, ask for references.

If you don't feel comfortable right away, don't go back. Try someone else.

It took me a long time to find my current dentist and he's just freaking awesome. I cannot say enough good things about him.

This^^. All of it, I finally found a great dentist a couple years ago. It is worth the search.

[dragon_wings]

though I wouldn't mind having her [barbie] car. I could pay for a lot of school, by selling it!

Clarification mine.
I like how you think.

[Catwoman2965]

Definitely find someone else. This guy sounds like he's trying to push the most expensive, and not always necessary procedures on you. That's one reason why I left my last dentist, not only was he was constantly trying to offer me all kinds of cosmetic services, but he told me I should ahve all my metal fililngs replaced as "they'd look better" Um no, I don't think so. They are far back and no one sees them. So I switched.

[Maria]

First, I really wish you could go to my dentists. They are the best.

Hey, I know this is a long shot, but sometimes I find resources in unexpected places. Would you be willing to ask if your office knows of anyone in the Phoenix, AZ area who would provide the kind of high-quality, non-pushy care you receive? And you're totally right about the esteem stuff -- you pretty well said, point for point, what my life coach has been telling me since even before this happened.

I wanted to say thanks again, to everyone, for the kind words that are helping me to get myself out of that negative place and back where I can be my best again. Couldn't ask for more! Seshat, your most recent post is particularly encouraging and uplifting, and I appreciate it. You're so right; expecting uniformity and perfection causes a person to miss so much beauty and wonder in the world. As my self-esteem improves, I find that society's definition of what's good enough, and what needs to be fixed/changed to be acceptable, seriously offends me. I finally figured out I'm actually not useless, I'm finally going to school, my sister's teaching me to fly, I'm even blowing her out of the water with my physics work... I'm pretty sure that even if it were risk-free and cost-free, looking like Barbie would be a detriment, not a benefit, to my life goals... though I wouldn't mind having her car. I could pay for a lot of school, by selling it!

[dalesys]

You don't want to be Barbie.

But that bitch has *everything*!

[Seshat]

Pfft on cosmetic 'flaws'.

Just in my teeth, I have .. let's see:

* Discolouration on one of the upper incisors (two different kinds of off-white on that tooth.)
* A black spot on the left upper canine
* Both canines have come in shaped and positioned 'funny'
* My upper teeth are jammed together, my lower incisors have sizeable gaps between them
* Many, many black spots on the back side of the teeth, and on the molars. (Apparently the enamel is strong, just discoloured.)
* An uneven gumline, especially the upper one.
* Other flaws mostly noticeable only to me and dentists.

Do they matter? Well, the funny-positioned canines do slightly because they have a small effect on my 'bite': on the efficiency with which I can use my teeth.
The discolourations matter in that the dentist makes sure to probe them for enamel strength every visit.
The jammed-together upper teeth do because I couldn't floss well enough, and both front upper incisors now need a filling.

Otherwise? Meh. Nope. Even the uneven gumline is uneven-but-healthy.


Like I said in my last pose: perfection looks plastic. You don't want to be Barbie.

[MoonCat]

Absolutely, postively look for another dentist! NO doctor who urges you to have a medical procedure that would cause you harm is worth your time and money, and in fact is doing the opposite of what he's supposed to do!

As for beauty--hell, everybody has their personal definition. Just because you don't fit this guy's--who cares? Who the heck is he to decide if you're attractive or not?! He's an asshole.

[42_42_42]

I asked my dentist about doing a whitening treatment and he won't do it because of my problem of already having extremely sensitive teeth. Most of the discoloration has come off since we switched to an electric toothbrush, though. But dentists and doctors both take oaths that they are supposed to look out for their patient's medical best interests, geez!

[Sapphire Silk]

Yeah. It was supposed to be a routine cleaning. He asked if I'd ever considered, then tried to schedule me for non-insured cosmetic treatment that, due to a rare genetic disorder, would cause significant permanent damage to my body. I realize it's a rare disorder, but he knows I have it, and he KNOWS that certain things, especially ANY non-essential dental or medical work, are off-limits because of the high risk involved. And even if he didn't know, I said no! I'm a freaking grown-up! Discussion closed!

Get another dentist. You can file a complaint, probably nothing will happen, but it might be worth it.

Dentists are like doctors; they are paid by the procedure. More procedures=more income.

My dentist asked me once about whitening my teeth. I told him I wasn't interested, and he dropped it. He's a great dentist. I didn't blame him for asking; they are a bit yellowed.

[Little Retail Rabbit]

I feel so bad for you! I had a really good experience with my dentist today, I wish you could see my one!

My teeth aren't perfect but are (now) healthy. I also do have a "flaw" that an NHS dentist had a bit of a go at me about when I was a teenager. See one of my milk teeth never fell out properly- the canine tooth that was supposed to push it out simply trapped it in place, so one of my canines looks very much like a vampire tooth. I am half vampire

(Which means if I ever want to splash out on custome-made snap-on fangs, I only really need one XD I am told my "flaw" is considered rather desirable by other goths)

However, this one guy totally kept insisting I "needed" braces because it looked wrong. But my (then) regular NHS dentist and my current private dentist disagreed. Both have said if I wanted to have braces there would be no reason not to, but it was also not necessary, and really didn't look all that bad anyway.

I hope you find a better dentist soon!

[Slayer]

If you don't trust him for the wisdom tooth, try to see anther dentist for a consultation. Yeah, it'll cost to do that, but it might be worth it

I don't have insurance. I told my current dentist that many times. I had my top two pulled out because they had cracked (jaw is small so no room). They would have spread infection and damaged my other teeth so I did it.

The guy could have easily said that I need my bottom ones out right away. And I would have done it which he knew. Instead he told me that I can wait until I have insurance or until it's necessary. They're mostly below the gum line and they're not affecting other teeth. I was so happy.

I hope you find someone that you can trust!