To Tell or Not to Tell...The Dentist

[adam12]

As I discussed in the "medical calamities" thread, I despise dentists. All of them, every single one of them, as Senator Geary told Michael Corleone, "you and your whole f-ing family". Every time you walk into a dentists' office, they hear the sweet "cha-ching" of the cash register in their head. They don't have the best interests of you and your health at heart - if anything, they'd prefer the entire planet had to have fillings and root canals until the entire global population has a mouthful of dental work while they book another water-skiing trip for themselves in Costa Rica. Makes me sick to my stomach even thinking abut being in a dentist chair. And don't even get me started about dental hygenists. They are sick, sadistic people who need to be rounded up and persecuted. Sitting their in their little cutesy Snoopy hygenists shirts, "may I turn on some soft-rock hits of the 70's for you while Dr. Axegrind drills the ever living shit out of your mouth? How about listening to Bread's Greatest Hits and Neil Diamond's "Love On the Rocks" while you stare at the watercolor beach scene I painted on the ceiling and I'll suction all your brain matter out through your nose." There's nothing like a dentist - they're bad enough. But a WANNA-BE dentist is flat-out horrifying.
Anyway, the question at hand... I'll agree with other posts that if a dentist takes your appointment as an opportunity to rattle off his nonsmoking agenda talking points, he is (1) somewhat out of line and (2) not very intelligent to equate all manners of smoking as one issue. That said, I take responsibility for my own health, I know that ever since I was a kid I had brittle teeth and lots of fillings which predisposed me against the entire dental profession, so the fact that I like pipes doesn't help. But I do think we should be forthright about our habits when asked, and his choice of how to process that information professionally and sensitively to you in terms of your dental health will demonstrate how good a dentist, or person, he is. And if he drops the ball and decides to lecture you, rip off your bib, tell him to pound sand, and show them your Toby Gerhart imitation.

 

[danno]

Adam12 makes a few good points. As soon as you say you smoke, there is a good chance they will attach some procedure to you that is "suggested" for smokers. I have seen this happen too many times. It is like a mechanics check list. Whether you need it or not, there is a good chance that they will insist you do. Most professionals have no incentive to let you go WITHOUT giving them some of your money. Most of them do have incentive to have you keep returning for as many visits as they can milk from you.

 

[ohin3]

They can insist all they want but if I hear them out and it doesn't sound necessary to me, I just say no. If they kept insisting I would politely tell them to fuck off and leave. I didn't have health insurance when I got those 2 cavities filled and I didn't want to pay for the Novocaine. The dentist told me he wouldn't do it unless I let him numb me. It seriously got to that point that I was out the door but he came after me and agreed to do it. I will say that I probably won't ever do that again, but it was quite an experience. Buddy was this kinda meek little guy from Pakistan and was looking at me like I was completely friggin' bonkers. He asked me if it hurt and I said hell yeah it hurt, it felt like you were jamming a live wire in my gums the whole time and now my whole face is sore as hell. He asked me what I would do for the pain and just shook his head when I told him I had a bottle of 16 year old single malt whisky that I had been meaning to crack into.

 

[cortezattic]

Doctors and dentists may feel ethically obligated to discourage smoking, or at least give you enough information to make an informed choice. They're just covering their asses from a potential lawsuit had they failed to provide medical advice.

 

[clanobucklin]

Interesting thread albeit I am not opposed to having my mouth checked routinely. Yeah I know the lecture and the oppinions are a drag...there is nothing like hearing the pull the string responses from one's medical or dental caregivers to make one indignant.
However, all I have to do is watch TV and see the "Baby Subjected to Cigarette 2nd Hand Smoke" Comercial to really piss me off.

 

[jeff59]

Recently had a little surgery. I told the anesthatist I smoked a pipe. He said "Really? I thought no one did that anymore." Made me think. Also my new dr said "So you smoke? Did anybody ever tell you to stop?" I answered "Of course" and he let it sit with that. You know you're getting old when your doctors are getting younger than you are. If you tell them you don't inhale, they just dismiss it. They really don't know the difference or are misinformed, in my opinion. Its all the same to them. I have a dentist appt coming up soon too. I will only tell if they ask.

 

[craigers07]

There’s no point in telling a dentist anything. It’s none of their business and they’re not going to tell you anything that is relevant to pipe smoking.

 

[mitchschaft]

They can't tell if it's tobacco, coffee or tea stains. But they try to guess. The lady told me pipe smokers usually have black teeth, yuck. She was surprised mine were so clean

 

[pipeguy93]

I heard a good point from Kel (SmokeRingsPipeDreams) on Youtube. He said that personally he wouldn't speak a word of it unless you are asked. His point was that you could be treated as a cigarette smoker and then be treated as such by your insurance. I don't know how valid this point actually is, but we pipe smokers don't deserve to be treated the same as a cig smoker. I personally am not going to tell my dentist, but I am in a sticky situation with my pipe smoking so that is the one of my reasons.
EDIT: I won't lie if my dentist mentions it, but I try to take all precautions to keep from my smoking being obvious as it is. I.E. brush teeth thoroughly after smoking and drink water while smoking to cut down on accumulation of substances in my mouth while smoking.

 

[billinsfl]

Don't ask don't tell. No good can come from your insurance company or others finding out you smoke a pipe, so they can use it against you. There is a growing crusade in the US to deny smokers, unhealthy and overweight people employment, all for the sake of lower insurance costs and liabilities. It is immoral, unethical, and un-American, and should be illegal. But it isn't. If it is a matter of life and death then it is your choice to tell your physician, but really when is it ever absolutely necessary to tell someone, for your own well-being, that you smoke a pipe? My latest employer "health questionnaire" no longer asks if I smoke; rather, if I have "ever used tobacco." What good can come of this for me? Nada. Not a damn thing. I again paraphrase a saying from Roger's Rangers: "It is not a sin to withold the truth from those who are not entitled to it."

 

[bobby46]

If you smoked on the way to the visit, the "aroma" on your shirt alone would likely give it away.

 

[ohin3]

We also are not as health insurance driven as the States up here in Canada. Our healthcare is provided and some of us are lucky enough to have dental insurance. So we don't have those same worries as I once did when living in the States. I like it much better this way because when I go to the doctor I feel completely at ease being 100% honest with him so that he knows exactly what he is dealing with and how to approach it. I do kind of remember having to think about who I was saying what to in the medical field down there for fear that my insurance provider would get wind of it and up my rates or cancel my insurance. When my doctor up here asks me if I smoke I tell him yes I smoke about of bowl of tobacco a day without and inhaling and I occasionally smoke marijuana with inhaling. The doctors up here don't judge or usually even raise an eyebrow they just say ok thats good to know and then start analyzing me in light of the reasons that I came to see them.