Less Is More

As a dentist and certified prosthodontist, I have been in private practice for twenty five years. So it is needless to say that I've diagnosed and treated many different dental conditions during my career. One thing I am sure of is that when in doubt, it is always better to be conservative with treatment provided. Not to say that when more aggressive treatment is obviously necessary one should wait. Certainly I've stressed timely treatment of pathologies in the past. However, sometimes a diagnosis may be inconclusive or the outcome of a certain type of treatment doubtful. In these situations a less experienced clinician may be pressured to do "something"! Experience has shown me that less can be more in the long run. Unfortunately I have witnessed overaggressive treatments that waste many resources and in the end leave the patient wanting more and/or regretting what was done. I feel all clinicians must exhaust all resources to come up with a definitive diagnosis first. This may include referrals to other specialists or palliative treatments and reevaluation later on.