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Comment by leoqa | Hacker News Reader

I had a similar experience, got up sold on more frequent cleanings and they always found something to iterate on. I took their offer once to fill a “potential infection” and then recognized the pattern. They probably legitimately think the tooth may decay further - it probably won’t and you probably don’t need pre-emptive correction but they make more money and “fix” the problem for you so they may not see the ethical issue.

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Frequent cleanings are nice though. As an avid tea drinker it's nice to have white teeth again once or twice a year. The insurance covers most of the cost, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

What? My dentist told me teeth whitening is not part of regular cleaning, and I'd pay extra for whitening.

I also drink a lot of tea and coffee, and unless I pay extra, I don't get any whitening.

They are referring to the fact that drinking tea often stains your teeth and pretty easily. Black teas are heavy in tannins which do all of the staining.

I found that getting the fluoride paste applied at the end of each cleaning actually helps reduce the tea staining. (My teeth used to stain pretty bad)

My hygienist recommended the Crest 3D White toothpaste to help with my staining. I’ve been using it for about nine months now . I didn’t solve things completely but my teeth definitely look better and my last visit was at least ten minutes shorter.

once or twice isn't "frequent" in the USA. I'd guess you're in another country? Most Dentists here say 2 times a year. I had one who suggested every 4 months and I refused. I go every 9 months now, to split the difference between 6 and 12

We go twice a year (NL). But we also lived in Germany for a while where it was once a year and they wouldn't do the extra polishing/whitening unless you paid a lot extra. But I think for a long time you also had to pay extra in Germany to get white composite filling, insurance would only cover amalgam fillings.

Wow. In Sweden, ”frequent” would be every second year.

well.. "twice a year".. but your insurance policy probably says 1 every 181 days.. just to rob you of the actual twice a year.. #america

There are 365.25 days in a year so insurance policy is quite generous in fact.

ehhhhh, close. Just watch out when we don't have a leap year in 2100

Ummm...a year is longer than 2 x 181 days...so what is being robbed exactly?

It is just another “gotcha”. Oh you wanted to do your visit the week before vacation rather than when you get back? Sorry, that was only 179 days between visits, so your coverage is denied.

The comment was actually a critique of the US education system :)

this worked on tea stains for me: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092SMPQQD

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