Dentist

So I went many many years without a dentist between being a kid on my parents insurance and getting this state job last year. In that time my teeth seemed okay. I didn't really have any problems.

I finally got dental insurance and saw a dentist last year. They said I have the beginnings of gum disease and that I'd need a deep cleaning. I said okay. They had poked me with their pointy stick in the gums and my gums were sore. So I paid like $500 out of my pocket (supposedly the insurance company paid most of it, but my experience with insurance companies and doctors as a personal injury attorney says that they aren't really paying that and chiropractors lie about pricing to get you to pay more).

My gums did feel healthier after the cleaning. I thought everything was good. I went back for a regular cleaning a few months later and my gums were healthy.


Then I move to Austin and get a new dentist, but I choose the same company down here. I go in and they say I need a deep cleaning for gum disease. Only this time I've been to the dentist recently and my gums are NOT sore or weak. They want another $500 for this deep cleaning. It hasn't even been a year. If I didn't go to a dentist at all I could probably go many years without problems again.


So anyone else have a similar experience? Does Castle dentist (it was Monarch in Dallas and I think it's called Brite or Bright in California) always try to get new patients to get this procedure though you don't need it? My gums were at like 3mm this time, not the 5 or 6mm some dentists say they need to see for the periodontal procedure. Should I change dentists or just try to get this one to only do regular cleanings and not these expensive procedures?