Are we over-treating?
Radiographs aren't the most precise but neither are we.
Every office that I’ve worked may have different imaging systems but one thing is for sure, they’re not always diagnostic. So there I am, sitting in front of the computer, trying to decipher between this shadow and a cavity, playing with brightness and contrast to see if I can come to a conclusion. A lot of times, I find these restorations treatment planned but I don’t necessarily see anything worth drilling. Does that make me a bad dentist? Don’t answer that, I have a better question. If it’s treatment planned, do you still do it?
This is a question I ask you my dental friends because I know dentistry is subjective but when you are an associate do you or should you intervene with someone else’s treatment plan? What is the polite or appropriate way to handle the situation without compromising the patient? Does the patient really need a filling or is the patient benefiting from an E1/E2 filling?
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IMO if you can’t see it, you don’t treat it. If it could be a shadow cast by a normal concavity, or cervical burnout, where are you even drilling?
You don’t necessarily have to throw the other dentist under the ”greedy overtreater” bus, it can work to just tell the patient that you have a different philosophy of treatment, or that you’re inclined to watch and wait at this time. But I can’t justify doing something to a patient that isn’t called for to save the patient’s opinion of their other provider.