Dentists have learned to play on this vanity and anxiety, encouraging dental care that is medically unnecessary but attractive to patients. A User's Manual . Tooth color is measured on a scale that starts at A1. My dentist showed me these disgusting color charts and told me, 'You're an A2 now, but by the time you want to get married you are going to be an A4. Other dentists sell the psychology of tooth appearance.
Many dentists claim, without scientific evidence, that the mercury in amalgam fillings is dangerous.
They urge patients to replace the excellent amalgam with plastic fillings at four times the price. Breath clinics have sprouted up all over the country and are heavily advertised on the Web. Armed with the halimeter proof, the dentist then dangles expensive mouthwashes and tongue scrapers in front of the patient. Never mind that you can get the same results for free with careful brushing and basic tongue-scraping. The machine makes the sale.