The Whole Tooth: How To Find A Good Dentist, Keep Healthy Teeth, And Avoid The Incompetents, Quacks, And Frauds

A user's manual for anyone who goes to the dentist.

Everyone who's ever sat in the dentist's chair knows it can be a daunting experience: Exactly what work needs to be done? Will it hurt? Are there risks? What are the alternatives? Is the dentist going to do the best job possible? Far too often, answers to these and other questions remain unexplored, and the patient settles for mediocre care, too much physical pain, and too high a bill.

Enter Drs. Schissel and Dodes, two veteran dentists who have earned a reputation as impassioned consumer advocates in a field that has become increasingly riddled with low-quality work, unnecessary or even bogus treatments, deceptive claims, and inflated costs for the patient.

In The Whole Tooth, they explain how to make truly informed decisions and take the best possible care of your teeth. Topics include:

* What you need to know in order to judge whether your dentist is doing good work
* The truth about your toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, and other oral hygiene products
* Clear, no-nonsense information about fillings, crowns, root canals, bridgework, dentures, and implants
* The facts about TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder), the safety of silver amalgam fillings, and risk of infection in the dentist's office
* The special needs of children's teeth
* How managed care affects your access to high-quality dental work.

Filled with the information every consumer and every dentist must know, this authoritative, straightforward book will help you and your family sort through the myths and misinformation in order to keep your teeth healthy and beautiful for a lifetime-- which, for the record, is how long they are supposed to last!

Marvin J. Schissel, D.D.S., and John E. Dodes, D.D.S., are recognized leaders in the fight against quackery and fraud in the field of dentistry. They have been in private practice together for more than eighteen years, and are vice president and president, respectively, of the New York Chapter of the National Council Against Health Fraud. Dr. Schissel's previous book is Dentistry and Its Victims.