u/INTPowerhouse

tl;dr: Dentist I have never been seen by before looked at x-rays and said I need nine fillings, old dentist never mentioned tooth decay to me. I'm wanting to know which to prioritize first and if this is a case where a second opinion would be a good idea.

I went for a routine dental cleaning yesterday and they took bite wing x-rays. After the cleaning, the dentist came and looked at the x-rays and told me I have tooth decay all over, but he didn't look at my teeth. He wants to do fillings on nine of my teeth:

2 on lower right (First molar and premolar)

4 on upper right (First molar, both premolars, and canine)

3 on upper left (canine and both pre molars)

This was a big shock to me because I have been going to the same dentist office for years, getting cleanings every six months, and have never been warned about tooth decay before. My old dentist passed away shortly after putting braces on me last November (previously I had been in invisalign), so this is a new dentist that hasn't seen me before.

I am wanting to know if the tooth decay is advanced to the dentin or if it is enamel only (I can't get more information from the dentist, he just said I can prioritize any quadrant I want first). I only have preventative insurance, so I would like to only prioritize the worst ones for now until I can update my insurance at the beginning of next year. Would a second opinion be a good idea?

Thanks!

Edit: Typo