To be fair I don't really have any real problems with my teeth apart from having had an overeager/greedy childhood dentist who put in a ton of fillings, making for a lifetime of occasionally having to redo one and needing 2 crowns.
I switched to Apagard about 8 months ago. My hygienist seemed happy about it. I like the fact that it's not overwhelmingly minty like most American toothpastes and doesn't foam up too much. I think if I manage to avoid needing new fillings or a redo for 6-7 years (about the frequency at which I need one) I would consider it a good switch.
Knowing what I know now about dentistry, I would only ever let a dentist drill a tooth where I can actually see decay. If I can't see it, and the X-ray looks dubious, I'd just outright refuse. And then I'd see another dentist.
Exactly. One time I skipped out in 2-3 years of cleaning while dithering on finding a dentist in the new area I moved to. She presented me with an estimate involving about 8 fillings. (I had specifically asked her to keep to the necessary ones.) Shocked, I went back to my old dentist for a second opinion. He told me most of them must be just replacing amalgams with porcelain because he couldn't find any actual new decay.
I switched to Apagard about 8 months ago. My hygienist seemed happy about it. I like the fact that it's not overwhelmingly minty like most American toothpastes and doesn't foam up too much. I think if I manage to avoid needing new fillings or a redo for 6-7 years (about the frequency at which I need one) I would consider it a good switch.