Deep dental cleaning question?

Question

The dentist told me I needed a "deep" dental cleaning today which is covered by my insurance but the "most important part" is the antibiotic called Arestin which is not covered and will cost me $125 per tooth and I need 15 done of course. Anyway... the question is this; Is this Arestin mandatory to get a deep cleaning? This happens everytime I go to a dentist. It's more like a sales pitch where they try to jack as much money as they can out of me. This time, I honestly don't have the money to do this and I refuse to put it on credit. They try to push me on Care Credit as soon as I hesitated. Anyway...do I need this Arestin or is it just a sales pitch?

Answer 1

If this deep dental cleaning they are referring to is where they like water blast your teeth - than no they are lien to you.

I had it done and all they did was numb my mouth and they did one half at a time.

Answer 2

I would go for the deep cleaning...but the antibiotic is not covered because it doesn't have a predictable outcome...

I would do the cleaning then a follow up with the anitbiotic prescription mouth rinse Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral rinse 0.12% (brand name Peridex) for 3 months(30 sec. rinse 2X day) and then have an evaluation at that time to see how the gums responded.

I have found this is a good protocol and if you are under 40 will probably give a good result....over 40, when you re-eval, then see what happens.....

Answer 3

To get a cleaning...no I have never heard of that before! Unless you have health issues and require antibiotics prior to cleaning or you mean a root canal?  In either case find another dentist. We use bleach and water for disinfecting root canals (if thats what it is). I think its just another money maker for dentists really.