I feel a lot of shame at the dentist's office. (Former bulimic.) I dislike their suggestions to try a night guard, try an electric toothbrush, try this, try that, etc. But they are kind, and have alleviated a lot of anxiety, so I stick with them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dental hygienists are petty dictators. At my dentist's office, they take your BP after the cleaning and before the exam. The hygienist admonished me for having slightly elevated BP. I had to cut her off and explain that I was recovering from preeclampsia and was under the care of a cardiologist, who was competent to manage the condition.

Was she admonishing you or letting you know? Most people don’t know about their elevated bp until told. Also recommendations concerning elevated (vs “high”) bp have changed recently.

Admonishing. She told me it was high (it was something like 128/82, so just barely). I told her I was aware and was handling it with my physician, who felt those numbers were acceptable for me at the time. She insisted that those numbers were not acceptable and kept telling me that I needed to take the issue seriously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dental hygienists are petty dictators. At my dentist's office, they take your BP after the cleaning and before the exam. The hygienist admonished me for having slightly elevated BP. I had to cut her off and explain that I was recovering from preeclampsia and was under the care of a cardiologist, who was competent to manage the condition.

This is so unusual. Why do they do this? Are you on Medicare or something?

I'm going to ignore the fact that you think I could be recovering from preeclampsia and also on Medicare.

It is the standard practice of that office. I always found it weird, but not weird enough to do anything about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are taught in school and by the dentist to ask you these questions. It's nothing to get angry about. They see 7-8 patients a day and truthfully it's pretty boring and repetitive.
Some patients were never taught anything about dental hygiene so they must treat everyone the same. It does not matter how clean your teeth are. I'm married to the dentist and the hygienist treats me the same way.

"They see 7-8 patients a day"-what office is this? That's not a full schedule at all and if you were really married to a dentist you'd know this.

In this case, "they" is the hygienist, not the dentist.
Yes, dentists see more than that because the hygienist takes ~an hour cleaning and the dentist pops in at the end.

Hygienists see more than 7-8 patients a day too! Not just dentists!

I saw a new dentist once and he made a comment about flossing. I floss my teeth every night but yes, I did just have lunch. It was such a bizarre comment because people eat throughout the day, and the majority of people don’t brush and floss after every meal. Never saw him again.

Anonymous wrote:I just got back from my bi-yearly dental check up. I am fortunate to have pretty good teeth (only 2 cavities in my life 35+ years ago) and I do brush and floss regularly.

Does anyone feel like a scolded child when the dental hygenist talks to you about what you should be doing or asks about your flossing or what type of toothbrush you use or whatever? I get irrationally angry every time they talk to me about my routine. I have never had a dental hygenist that I didn't feel like she was a condescending scold.

Am I the only one who seethes in the dentist chair? I don't say anything back, I just silently fume.

Anyone else?

OMG YES.

Well, I don't fume. I usually take their advice like a chastised child. I even bought this dental floss that I HATE because the hygienist recommended it and then realized...I am 54 years old. My teeth are in good to really good condition. I brush twice a day and floss every day and I don't have to listen to this person. It was very freeing.

I love my hygienist. She asks the routine questions but not to lecture. She is just doing her job. She is such a kind person and puts me at ease when I am nervous (I have always had a fear of the dentist due to childhood experiences).

Anonymous wrote:They’re just doing their job.

It’s better than the pediatrician list.
That one backfires?
Do you eat fruit daily? Veg daily?

Kid comes back and says If he asked then it means lots of people don’t and that’s an option!

They can tell me whatever they want. I have zero cavities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are taught in school and by the dentist to ask you these questions. It's nothing to get angry about. They see 7-8 patients a day and truthfully it's pretty boring and repetitive.
Some patients were never taught anything about dental hygiene so they must treat everyone the same. It does not matter how clean your teeth are. I'm married to the dentist and the hygienist treats me the same way.

"They see 7-8 patients a day"-what office is this? That's not a full schedule at all and if you were really married to a dentist you'd know this.

In this case, "they" is the hygienist, not the dentist.
Yes, dentists see more than that because the hygienist takes ~an hour cleaning and the dentist pops in at the end.

My dh was told by a hygienist at his last cleaning that he needs to switch flosses. The reason. The "tape type floss doesn't remove plaque, it polishes it!" wtf? This was after she only scraped a couple of areas for 2 minutes, lol.

Anonymous wrote:I just got back from my bi-yearly dental check up. I am fortunate to have pretty good teeth (only 2 cavities in my life 35+ years ago) and I do brush and floss regularly.

Does anyone feel like a scolded child when the dental hygenist talks to you about what you should be doing or asks about your flossing or what type of toothbrush you use or whatever? I get irrationally angry every time they talk to me about my routine. I have never had a dental hygenist that I didn't feel like she was a condescending scold.

Am I the only one who seethes in the dentist chair? I don't say anything back, I just silently fume.

Anyone else?

Dental hygienists are the worst! You have good teeth. Just smile and nod. I have so many restorations, implants, etc and I dgaf what the hygienists say. I was abused and neglected as a child and all my problems stem from that. I won't be shamed by anyone. You should feel proud that you take great care of your teeth...I do now, too.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get why you’re getting angry. Smile and nod and if everything in your mouth is fine just keep doing what you’re doing.

No one likes being scolded like a child, but it's especially annoying when you haven't done anything "wrong".

Oh yes. I hate going to the dentist and this is why. I think a lot of people who become dental hygienists hate their jobs because many are like this. And yes, I brush and floss twice a day, go to the dentist regularly, etc. They are still scolds, and sometimes can be very rude.

I actually switched dentists recently because of the hygienist. He'd suggested during a prior appointment that I get a certain toothbrush (the iO). Even though he was rude about it, I looked into the toothbrush and thought it was a good investment, so I actually bought one. Continued to also floss daily and use a water pik a couple times a week just to be thorough.

At my next appointment, he was complaining again that I was doing a good job with my teeth. He brought up this toothbrush again and I told him that actually I had bought it and was using it. And then he accused me of lying! That was the last straw.

It's truly baffling. I've never encountered a field like this where the people are almost universally unpleasant. The odd rude nurse, sure. But dental hygienists as a group just seem like miserable people.

Anonymous wrote:I just got back from my bi-yearly dental check up. I am fortunate to have pretty good teeth (only 2 cavities in my life 35+ years ago) and I do brush and floss regularly.

Does anyone feel like a scolded child when the dental hygenist talks to you about what you should be doing or asks about your flossing or what type of toothbrush you use or whatever? I get irrationally angry every time they talk to me about my routine. I have never had a dental hygenist that I didn't feel like she was a condescending scold.

Am I the only one who seethes in the dentist chair? I don't say anything back, I just silently fume.

Anyone else?

They are doing their job and making dental small talk. They ask about your toothbrush sometimes certain offices promote certain type/company with whom they have a partnership or from where they get their products.