When did dentists stop doing extractions?

[RightSide]

Some years ago, I had moved to a new locale and found myself a new dentist.  I visited the dentist for a toothache.  He told me that the tooth needed a root canal.  I said "OK, let's do that."  He replied, "I don't do root canals."  I asked him if he did extractions instead.  He said no.   So I asked him, "Just what is it that you do here?"  He replied, "Fillings and cleanings."  I was stunned.

So I found myself a different dentist. This dentist did root canals. But on those occasions when he said I needed an extraction, he said he didn't do extractions, and referred me to an oral surgeon to do the extraction.

How and when did this practice of "fee splitting" between dentists and oral surgeons get started?  In my younger days, dentists did it all:  If a tooth needed a filling, the dentist did that.  If it needed a root canal, he did that.  And if it needed to be extracted, he would do that.

I can understand that a severely impacted wisdom tooth might require an oral surgeon, but not a front tooth.

[Zach]

Could it be because you're a person on hemodialysis?

[Stoday]

My dentist told me I should have a wisdom tooth extracted only last week. I chickened out and asked for a drill & fill instead. He said no guarantee I wouldn't have trouble in the future.

It did cross my mind "what future? I'm 70 and on dialysis" but I said nothing...

[BigSky]

Many of the dentists are like that around here.  Only a few still do extractions themselves.

Seems more and more of the medical field is like that.

[kitkatz]

My dentist will do it all.

[RichardMEL]

I must admit for some time over the past couple of years my dentist would tell me i have this baby tooth still in my mouth and it probably should come out "at some stage" but he wouildn't bother with it because it wasn't impacting on anything else. I nearly fell off the chair thinking "wow, this guy is resisting the urge to do an extraction and charge $$$$" - luckily I just said to him last year let's do it next time. It's getting wobbly and it's time to come out. So he did it in Oct (and charged like a wounded bull) but I think it was great timing givien that my transplant was a month later - much better to have that out and healed before something like that I reckon.

[jbeany]

Apparently, you don't have a Medicaid funded dentist - they just yank 'em all and fit everyone for dentures.

[RichardMEL]

My denstist is funded by me... and so is his Merc!! 

[KarenInWA]

I must admit for some time over the past couple of years my dentist would tell me i have this baby tooth still in my mouth and it probably should come out "at some stage" but he wouildn't bother with it because it wasn't impacting on anything else. I nearly fell off the chair thinking "wow, this guy is resisting the urge to do an extraction and charge $$$$" - luckily I just said to him last year let's do it next time. It's getting wobbly and it's time to come out. So he did it in Oct (and charged like a wounded bull) but I think it was great timing givien that my transplant was a month later - much better to have that out and healed before something like that I reckon.

Well, didn't he at least give you your baby tooth so you could put it under your pillow and get the tooth fairy to pay the bill?  Or, maybe you should have put the bill under your pillow....

[rsudock]

Apparently, you don't have a Medicaid funded dentist - they just yank 'em all and fit everyone for dentures.

This is hilarious!

xo,
R