A friend of mine had dental insurance. He went to a new dentist, who told him that he had a bunch of cavities - like 7 or something.

Instead of fixing them all at once, or at least in one or two batches, the dentist had him come 7 separate times. That way the dental insurance could be billed for the absolute maximum possible.

I also doubt that he had all the cavities that the dentist claimed.

Another story - I went to my dentist for a regular checkup (back before I was cynical enough). She said that I needed a root canal. I said, "Oh, that's the tooth you just put a filling in last year, right?" The dentist checks her records, and says, "Oh, right. You don't need a root canal". That was decades ago, and that tooth hasn't bothered me. So, clearly, she would have given me a root canal, just to benefit her bottom line.

I think the MAJORITY of dentist are scam artists.