Mac C Garrison, DDS MAGD

RE: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!
If you like dentists, of whom there seem to be a great many, who are determined to find cavities, C Mac Garrison’s your guy. My previous dentist retired shortly after my regular check-​up (May 2012). As a patient for 6 years, I had no cavities. I selected Garrison because I thought his approach to dentistry would likewise be conservative (based, somewhat counter-​intuitively, upon a young lady’s negative review (i.e., his alleged persistent refusal to correct a crooked tooth)).
Boy, was I wrong. On my mere second visit (May 2013), BADA-​BING! — - Garrison found 3 cavities («decay») (in tooth #s 15, 16, 31). Oddly enough, he observed (to his assistant) that while the decay in 31 didn’t appear on the X-​ray, he could nevertheless see it with his own eyes (possibly reflecting Herculean dental prowess well beyond my poor power to comprehend).
Anyhow, for the fun of it, I decided to obtain multiple second opinions — three in all — re Garrison’s perspicacious efforts. The first such dentist, who was president of a dental association and whom as such I regarded rather warily as a politician, rubber-​stamped Garrison’s findings («He’s not blowin’ smoke at you, Russ»). (And maybe to show a flare of originality, added that I also needed «treatment» on tooth 18.) Another dentist couldn’t find any cavity in 31, but confirmed cavities in 15 & 16. And the third dentist couldn’t detect any cavity in 15 or 31, but concluded that I might have a cavity in 16, and that we should put it on what she called her «watch list.»
This latter dentist has been my dentist for the past couple of years; and has still been unable to discern any cavity in 16 (upper-​left wisdom tooth). On a subsequent visit (December 2014), I suggested she do another X-​ray and compare it with the one she took in May 2013. However, she demurred, telling me that X-​rays were not particularly helpful in correctly ascertaining a cavity on the side of a tooth facing the cheek (which this would be).
The moral of the story? First, as a layperson, none of this inspires confidence. Second, I don’t trust dentists, I just distrust some (folks like Garrison) more than others. And, finally, all this confusion as described would seem to militate mightily against the practice of aggressive dentistry, in favor of a more cautious, circumspect approach. It’s not just the money that’s involved; it’s the fact that a perfectly healthy tooth, due to a mistaken diagnosis, would be needlessly damaged through drilling to fill a nonexistent cavity. And as the long-​standing medical credo asserts: Above all, do no harm (primum non nocere).

Update:
In speaking with my orthodontist, she stressed that my crooked tooth was caused by crowding in my molars, which is a larger problem. She said crowding is easily identified by sight, and would have also shown up on my x-​rays. So, even if a dentist wants to brush off cosmetic concerns, this *wasn’t* just a cosmetic concern. This is a structural concern, that has become worse with time.
I wish I had never gone to this dentist!