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Notes from my dental appointment:
1. apparently I have recessed gums, and they recommend I get a scaling and root planing procedure, which is pretty expensive
2. apparently my tongue is big enough that there's a good chance I have (undiagnosed and asymptomatic) obstructive sleep apnea

Anyone have opinions about how seriously I should take this? For 1, I have a general sense that dentists sometimes upsell people, and for 2, I don't know if undiagnosed sleep apnea is actually a big deal (or what the cost/benefit of treating it would look like).

in reply to Daniel Filan

Daniel Filan
Daniel Filan
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Reading this I currently think that SRP has statistically significant effects, but it's very unclear to me how clinically significant these effects are.
in reply to Daniel Filan

Daniel Filan
Daniel Filan
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currently my solution is to get a second opinion and try to give the vibe that i wouldn't get the surgery from the second opinion person. this maybe won't work because the second opinion person is the dentist i used to go to before i switched insurance and mistakenly came to believe that they were probably out of network, and I might not actually say "BTW I definitely won't get the surgery with you" but who knows.
in reply to Daniel Filan

Daniel Filan
Daniel Filan
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OK from looking at sleep apnea stuff it seems like there's not much that can easily be done except for "try strengthening your tongue and soft palate so it doesn't block your airway when you sleep" so I guess I'll just do that.
in reply to Daniel Filan

Daniel Filan
Daniel Filan
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Got a second opinion which said not to bother so I guess I probably won't?
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