Lying to the dentist about how well you’ve been taking care of your teeth is a fool’s errand: they’re getting a way more up close and personal look into your mouth than you ever have. Brushing your teeth carefully for 10 minutes and finally taking the time to floss once or twice before your appointment isn’t going to fool your doctor into thinking that you’re a responsible oral hygiene practitioner.
However, there’s a real possibility that your dentist could be lying to you about the amount of work you need on your mouth—in order to upcharge you for services you might not need. Even if you aren’t the most proactive in taking care of your teeth, keep in mind that dental fraud is apparently a real thing.
Similar to another TikToker’s experience in March, a woman (@anxietyisi) claims she caught her dentist lying about her having 14 cavities. She shared her story in a now-viral clip that’s racked up nearly 30,000 likes on the platform.
The Hippocratic oath be damned, there are tons of online resources that offer helpful tips and pointers on how one can prevent themselves from being conned by dentists.
@anxietyisi Scammers be scammin 😒 #dentist #psa #scammers ♬ original sound – Anxiety-R-Us
“Today’s PSA: if your dentist tells you that you have 14 cavities and if you don’t take care of it as soon as possible your teeth are gonna fall out,” @anxietyisi begins the video, “get a second opinion. Cause guess who doesn’t have any cavities? Zero, zero cavities, yep. Mmm hmm, this girl.”
The TikToker didn’t name the dentist’s office she caught trying to finesse her into paying for treatment of 14 cavities she allegedly didn’t have. However, a number of commenters speculated that it was one popular company.
“Did you happen to go to aspen dental?” one person asked.
Another remarked, “Aspen dental right?”
One TikToker bluntly said, “just tell us you want to aspen lol.”
Someone else quipped, “what this comment section is telling me is that I should stop going to aspen dental.”
Another user who responded to the video said that they too narrowly avoided a con during a visit to their former dentist. “My last dentist told me it would take $5k to fix my mouth and fix my teeth. my new dentist says ‘just one cavity and a good cleaning and your good,'” they claimed.
Others shared their own experiences with alleged dental scammers.
“This happened to me. They said I had 8 and I got two fixed before I got a second opinion. Glad I did bc now I don’t have any,” one user wrote.
“This happened to me too… 6 years later. Still cavity free,” someone else said.
Others argued that the dentist may be trying to save their patient from greater pain or more intensive work down the line.
“I’ve also seen dentists check X-rays and completely miss decay,” one said. “Then a few years later then turn into root canals or extractions.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @anxietyisi via TikTok comment for further information.
