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Out of curiosity, were you pregnant or nursing during the past year? I ask because after I had my first child and nursed her for a year (on a dairy free elimination diet, with no calcium supplements because I'm an idiot), I ended up with 8 cavities at my next check-up. My father is my dentist and my aunt is my hygienist and I don't even pay them so obviously they weren't out to get me or anything.

Granted, I don't have the best teeth generally, but with so many dental professionals in my life (my mother was also a dentist before she died), I do take care of them as best as I can and I had never had more than 1-2 cavities at a time before.

One other thing, from your description I can't tell if you actually had a check-up a year ago, or just a cleaning. At a cleaning, the hygienist will not check for cavities, so it is entirely possible that your teeth look good but you still have cavities (this happens to me actually). Did you have a check-up with x-rays a year ago? If not, I'd be inclined to believe the new dentist.

Edited to add: Sorry just saw your note about TTC so I'm assuming you were not nursing, lol. So ignore my first comment.

6 cavities is one thing, but going from perfect teeth to extractions and implants would definitely make me get a second opinion!! That sounds extreme and there’s a lot of shadiness in the dental industry.

@Mrs. Museum: I don’t think you will ever regret getting a second opinion- even if you get the same recommendations, at least then you’ll feel more confident that it’s the truth. Also, maybe research a bit more so you have a clear set of questions to ask around other treatment options and such to advocate for yourself and your health and get a lot more information. Good luck!

I think getting a second opinion is smart - it's really just making sure the recommended treatment plan is one that a second dentist agrees on. It does sound scary with the extractions and implants, but it sounds like she's trying to take a phased approach. If your dentist hasn't taken x-rays in a while, the cavities very well could have been missed. When I switched from my childhood dentist to my current dentist, they found 8 cavities. I don't think my childhood dentist was very good as I was seen by a few different dentists in that practice and they all agreed based off of my X-rays.

But for peace of mind, go and see another dentist to see if it's something they agree with. Just note that most dental plans only pay for 2 cleanings/year and make you wait 6 months between cleanings. So you may have to pay out of pocket for the second opinion.

A few years ago, after skipping the dentist for several years I was told I had 4 cavities. They had found 2 in my husband’s and he wasn’t happy with his bite after they filled them so I decided to go to another dentist for the fillings. I didn’t look on it as a second opinion since I didn’t doubt that I had cavities after so many years. However, the new dentist only found 1! That was years ago and I haven’t had any since, so the first dentist was definitely wrong!

That being said, a second opinion can’t hurt!

I would definitely get a second opinion just for peace of mind.

Regarding the wisdom teeth /implant, I am also missing a molar and have two upper wisdom teeth that have never been removed (and are way up in my jaw). My dentist has just noted that eventually I will probably need the molar above the missing one extracted and then they’d probably just take out the wisdom teeth at the same time. But no rush on this bc nothing is bothering me. I can’t imagine getting a molar implant instead, that just seems like a huge expense for something that isn’t much of an issue.

I have always had cavity prone teeth, and have even had a root canal and a crown. I still get very overwhelmed by any news of anything like a cavity. I wouldn't be so concerned about some cavities. But the extractions and implants are serious enough that I would for sure go get a second opinion.

In my experience, some doctors are more conservative than others. I had an HMO insurance plan as a kid (not sure if that makes a difference) but I was constantly getting fillings and thats where the root canal and crown were done. When I graduated from college and got my own insurance, I paid for a PPO dentist plan. When I left my childhood dentist, I still have like 6 fillings planned for my next visit. When I went to my new PPO dentist, he said nothing needed to be done. Even now, if I get a small cavity, he says just hold off on it for a bit. So dentists really do have all different kinds of approaches. For implants and extractions, for sure get a second opinion. Best of luck. And FYI - the dentist can prescribe a Valium for you before any kind of serious procedure like extractions. I'd not a softie, but I for sure needed that Valium before my follow up root canal I had to have done because my childhood dentist didn't do it right. Ugh. Best of luck. I hope you have a great dentist!

There is no harm in getting a second opinion, especially when you've supposedly gone from no cavities to needing implants in two years. My cavities grow fast, but I've had bad teeth all my life. If you don't have this kind of history, definitely take this claim with a grain of salt. Also, implants are the most work-intensive and expensive intervention I know of, and it's a red flag they're going straight to that option rather than filings or root canals.

FWIW, I was told by one dentist that I need gum surgery. He did my cleanings for a couple of years, and kept asking if I want to go for it. I'm so glad I was too grossed out to take his recommendation - when someone recommended a new dentist to me, she fixed the problem with a change of toothpaste and a recipe for a herbal rinse.

I'd get a 2nd opinion.

I love my current dentist office, but I had my first-ever cavity a year ago, and it was so shallow and small that they didn't even need to use any pain-numbing medication during the filling..... so looking back, I question if that was a real / serious cavity. But maybe they wanted to be proactive and tackle it before it spread?

Also, my wisdom teeth never grew in, and I am missing a molar, and my 2 dentists have never mentioned extractions or implants.

@Mrs. Museum: Thats great!
This has actually made me question the dentist I used when I had the 8 fillings after college ... they also mentioned I had receding gums and bite issues. I never even thought to question it since insurance covered it.

Since then no dentist has mentioned a receding gum line, bite issues, and my current dentist says I'm fine only coming in once a year because I have good teeth!

ETA: whoops just saw that this was a few days old and you updated. Good for you!
I agree that it can’t hurt to get a second opinion. I know it seems like a pain in the ass to schedule another appointment when you have an already busy schedule, but it could save you multiple appointments! If you did all of the work at this dentist recommends. I also went to a new dentist several years ago and he recommended something called an overlay or an onlay? Basically he said that my one cavity was so large that he had to put almost like a cap or something on top of it. Well he did it but he did it incorrectly and I had to take an international trip with a messed up tooth. Additionally I switch dentist after that and when he saw the onlay he asked why I had it. I told him and he thought it was absolutely ridiculous. In that case I really wish I had gotten a second opinion. Oh! And I forgot that I didn’t have great dental insurance at the time so I ended up having to pay over thousand dollars out-of-pocket. For something that wasn’t necessary and ended up being done incorrectly! I was floored.