I used to not realize that all dentists aren't equal and had complete trust in my general dentist of more than 20 years. Then he messed up very badly by advising not to treat a developing root caries when detected 1.5 years ago, which became a deep caries touching the pulp 3 months ago. He said "now you need to get a rct and crown." I even went for checkup 8 months ago but he didn't mention anything about the caries. I turned into a research machine after that, and found a out-of-country dentist with lots of experience performing vital pulp therapy who performed direct pulp cap on my tooth. Now it's basically a wait-and-see game to see whether my tooth survives. I was so pissed off and angry at myself for blindly trusting him, convinced that "he knows what he is doing."

As patients, we need to arm ourselves with knowledge and learn to question dentists when their opinions seem off. A good dentist would clearly explain everything, present all options on the table, and involve the patient in the decision-making process. If you meet someone who simply dictates his diagnosis and prescribed treatment and doesn't care about your understanding and involvement, find someone else.