Dental Invasion

 

I visited the dentist today for the first time in nearly four years mostly because I wanted to get my teeth cleaned for purely cosmetic reasons. I have been going to the same dental practice for nearly twenty years since I was eleven years old. The dental practice is a private sector practice which charges for services (not always the case in the UK) and was a small business and is now part of a larger franchise chain of dentists.

 

As soon as I sat down in the waiting room I was presented with a double A4 sided form to complete which requested all of my personal details and then asked a long list of questions about my general medical health such as am I on medication, have I had operations, has anyone in my family suffered from Mad Cow Disease and a myriad of other questions- 40 questions or so just to get a check up and clean of my teeth! There were some tooth related questions on page 2, but I never got that far with the form. I was there to get fillings in my teeth, and not fill in forms! I refused to complete the form citing the fact that I considered the level of detailed questions asked to be an invasion of my privacy that was irrelevant. I offered to sign a liability waiver if need be, although I presume the practice is insured against patient lawsuits. (I indeed signed the blank form at the end of my visit).

 

I explained to the dentist that I just wanted my mouth and teeth checked and nothing more and whilst I realized that the human body is an interconnected system, I did not feel that it was necessary to disclose my full medical history to my dentist. One of my friends had throat cancer and it was the dentist that first noticed this by observing his mouth not filling a form in since of course he had not known that he had a problem until that time. My general health is between my doctor and myself. When the dentist took x-rays of my teeth, I mentioned that I did not have a pacemaker or anything else that might be a factor!!!

 

When I went to see the hygienist to clean my teeth (the main aim of my visit), she told me that she was unable to remove the plaque that was under my gums since I refused to complete the form and could bleed to death, she could take no risks at all. I told her to do the best she could with what she had. This was despite the fact that I had been in several hygienist sessions with her predecessor who had taken a dislike to me since I had refused to floss my teeth since I has been called many things in the past but no-one has every called me a flosser and life is simply too short. I had had my teeth cleaned thoroughly in the same practice and could have done so again. The hygienist spent nearly as much time filling in the notes section on the computer about the situation as she did treating me. I asked her if it was necessary for me to wait around whilst she completed the notes and she said 'No'.

 

I realise that going to the dentist is a health issue and not like going shopping. But dentistry is a service industry too and I do not feel that they should have the right to ask me many unrelated (or only vaguely related) and irrelevant questions. I am the kind of person that when paying cash for foreign currency won't give my personal details to the travel agency- they don't need to know. I simply believe that I have the right to keep my own council and not have to disclose personal details. If I was a new patient then of course I could have understood the need to get a base level of information but I have been attending that clinic for twenty years. I paid '91 to gain what the practice called 'dental fitness' for a very unpleasant experience at the dentist when I went to a nice private sector clinic to get a service. Whether I will have the patience and willingness to fill in the forms at my next dental practice, we will have to see in what inevitably will be another one of these articles, but there will be another dental clinic, that much is sure, at least I still have that choice as a private individual paying for private sector services.

 

As usual I felt completely uncomfortable in a nice building due to the march of wrong-headed bureaucracy. Of course, going to a dentist is always an unpleasant experience, but I did not even need any treatments or fillings. Visiting the dentist is an unpleasant enough experience at the best of times without having my privacy invaded too. In such cases at least I retain the right to keep my mouth shut.

 

 

Author: Simon Buckingham

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