I went to 50 different dentists: almost all gave a different diagnosis (1997)
My son when 3 had a fall and a few teeth were bent. Went to our local dentist who mostly had a wait and see opinion. But then calls a day later and says they’ve decided they should just come out.  Two top front teeth. Would have no top front teeth for years.<p>I went into engineer mode and while I acknowledged I didn’t have domain expertise, I asked questions and probed the whole situation. Very unsatisfactory, meandering answers.<p>This was a deeply distressing experience. For the first time ever I did the “call in a personal favour” thing and asked my dad to reach out a family friend, a former cosmetic dentist and former head of the province’s dental association for a second opinion.<p>He saw my son a few hours later and he was just <i>livid</i> about the diagnosis. That it was possible they’d have to come out but it’s impossible to know this for at least a few more weeks or more.<p>In a few months the teeth returned 100% to normal and firmed right up as the ligaments healed.<p>I’m not a conspiracy nut. I believe in listening to experts (but ultimately making an informed decision). I believe in modern medicine. But that experience shook me and forever changed my trust in the dental industry.<p>My feeling is that the nature of dentistry leaves a lot of room for subjectivity and COVID left a lot of dental chairs empty.