WAY, WAYYY off topic - cost of dental crowns

[Cd]

I had a really honest dentist that installed a temporary crown on my molar.
It just now chipped after over two years, and saved me $ 400 out of pocket.
I have had $ 500 'permanent' crowns last less time than that !
When I requested my new dentist ( the other one retired ) just install another temporary crown, he refused, saying he wouldn't do it because "it was not something he did."
I called three others, and no other dentists will install a temporary crown.

For those of you that have dentists in the family. or are perhaps dentist yourself, why am I being refused when i ask for a temporary crown ?

I realize that there is a risk of the temporary crown cracking within a very short time, but at a savings of $ 400, I'm willing to take that risk.
The temporary crown looked and felt the same as a permanent.

So what's the deal? Are dentists just B.S.ing me to get the extra $ 400 ?
It's not like I can just not come back for the permanent crown now that I have the temporary that they installed today, since they have me pay for the full crown before i even sit down.

I did look online for this question, and all i get is advice from dentists.
Of course a dentist will tell you that you NEED something that keeps them in business.

Now to keep this on topic ( cars ), but not stray too far from the main topic of this particular thread, here is a car with um...teeth :

That is my car, and I go in for inspection this month. I'm hoping to not have to remove the teeth ( air dam ) and wheel covers.

[UFO]

I've got a permanent crown that has lasted for 40 years now. And another that cost $700 is 10 years old now with no issues. Temporaries seem like false economy to me.

Love the teeth, I would like to do that to my Datsun 280Z.

[Cd]

I had a 280-Z myself.
I still love the look of those cars and have to shake my head when i see how bad that the drag is on such a beautiful design.

I would let off the gas and the car would slow so fast that I wondered if i had dragging brakes. The front end is a real parachute !
I'd love to see your car with teeth. Please post a pic if you ever do so !

As far as the crown, I wouldn't feel so bad if one lasted that long.My family is English.
Bad genes with the teeth you know ?

[user removed]

I had a few.

I replaced the roof panel and got rid of the drip rails. 82 flat top piston factory new short block (close out at $375 NOT REBUILT, brand new) under a N42 head, 200 psi compression compared to 160 stock. .75 overdrive 82 zx 5 speed tranny. Started out with a 3.54 diff, later a .3.90. NX buckets and welded in roll bar. 82 turbo wheels (OE covered by insurance if stolen). Adjustable mixture using the water temp circuit and a dash mounted rheostat. Increased spring tension in the air flow meter flap. The 76 came factory 49 state version with no catalytic converter and no egr circuit.
30-60-90-120-150 redline in the 5 gears. All new bearings in the tranny and a factory new propshaft. Converted the rear brakes to zx discs with the emergency brake cables reversed and calipers in front. Motorsport aero kit.
Tag was THE ZMAN.

regards
mech

[redpoint5]

What's this about inspections? Does TX require periodic vehicle inspections? I thought only the UK and Canada required those.

Anyhow, if I lived in Austin, I'd schedule a vacation in Mexico and get my dental taken care of with cash while I'm down there.

[Randy]

I sympathize: A decade ago I had a couple of baby teeth replaced with implants (no permanents there). At the time, they cost more than my car. Each. Not counting the crowns.

On the other hand, a friend of mine hasn't gone to the dentist in a couple of decades. He doesn't have perfect teeth, he just never gets them worked on: snapped incisor he's OK with, a molar breaking apart around an old root canal, etc. My takeaway is that dentists are TOTALLY worth the price.

I second the Mexico idea: there are lots of dentists that will do a good job for a fair price there. There are lots of dentists that crank out procedures to pay ridiculous debts here.

[Xist]

When I drove a school bus, at one point I worked enough hours to receive benefits, so I went to sign up for them. The lady showed me two folders for different dental plans. I asked if I could review them and get back to her. She gave me permission, but when I returned, she told me that I needed to decide when I was first there.

I was upset, which did not do any good.

Then I started having dental problems. I went to the local dental school and they found some issues, but told me that I needed to have my wisdom teeth removed first.

"Is that causing the pain?"
"No, but you need to do that first."

I requested time off for the procedure, but was told to schedule it after work, or on a weekend. When I could not find any orthodontist that worked that schedule, they agreed, but then I could not take any pain medications because I was driving a school bus. I never had the dental student do anything, the entire process took too long. I went to a normal dentist and paid for three root canals. However, after putting the wisdom teeth and three root canals on my credit card, I could only afford one crown, and I was not able to get the others in the couple of years before I joined the Army. I needed to wait a full month for that one crown, going through a couple temporaries, with one lasting just a few hours. I got tired of going back for replacements, so I just waited, and then the orthodontist needed to grind down the permanent one.

So, dentists used to always tell me that I ground my teeth. No, an oral surgeon ground one tooth.

At some point a dentist gave me "huge fillings," so at least I would not get food trapped there, but I could not chew on that side, which made Basic more interesting.

After boot camp, they kept calling me to fill in cavities. The dental instructor at the school told me repeatedly (during the same visit) to purchase a Sonicare and every time I said that I would, as soon as I left. I did and I used it three times a day. When I was in Germany, they filled in many more cavities, and we had three formations a day. I brushed my teeth with the Sonicare before every formation and again before going to bed.

However, every single dentist told me to stop eating candy, drinking soda, and start brushing my teeth. I was brushing my teeth three or four times a day and never drank soda, just water, rarely eating candy, but when I try to tell them this, they say "Don't lie to me, boy."

They would not give me crowns when I was in Germany and two months ago, my one remaining crown broke off. I am finally starting my "career" as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (speech therapist sidekick) and only have two clients so far, but I should eventually have enough work to fix up my mouth and my car.

I should be able to get Tricare dental and crowns are supposed to cost about five hundred dollars each, although going to Mexico is an interesting idea. I speak the language! The first result for "how much to have a crown done in mexico?" is Dentists Mexico - Find a better Dentist in Mexico. On the right there are links for Popular Locations in Mexico and Popular Treatments. It looks like most charge about four hundred dollars, although some were less than half of that.

[freebeard]

Dentistry is positively medieval. I've thought for a long time that implantable teeth grown from a stem cell deserves Moonshot funding for the social benefit that would ensue; but more lately I think it should be to grow a whole new set of teeth using genetic expression triggers.

[Xist]

I finally got Tricare and then dental. For some reason, the dentist insisted on taking care of other things first. Meanwhile, I had a hole in my head. It worked out, though. It was a while before I had enough clients to afford anything and meanwhile, the Army told me my teeth were out of regulations. They ordered me to fix it, but I still could not pay for it. They said they would normally pay to have the tooth pulled, but they were out of money, and three different dentists said it could not be fixed.

Then someone called saying money came in and they extracted my tooth two weeks ago. I went to see my dentist as soon as possible, only to be told I needed to wait three or four months for my bone to fill in.

I could not find much on-line about how much they cost. One local oral surgeon said $2,050 and I found some Groupons for about that price.

My dentist talked about rescheduling and I said I did not know when my coverage would end. She said she normally charged $2,000, but insurance only paid $1,500, and I would be responsible for half of that.

She said that if my coverage ran out, she would only charge me a thousand.

I doubt she will go hungry or otherwise suffer, but I greatly appreciate that. I feel the least I can do is send a card and leave five-star reviews.

I just wonder how much it costs her. If $2,000 is a fair price, do they accept 75% as much for an increase in volume, or because insurance would send patients elsewhere?

Also, I remember figuring out that dental insurance cost about as much as two cleanings a year. Does that sound right?

Have a great day everyone!

[redpoint5]

Can't you fix your own teeth, Miracle Max?

I used to think Dentists are overpaid, but now I believe they are worth every penny. You couldn't pay me enough to scratch at gingivitis teeth all day (or in the case of my dentist, 6hrs a day, 4 days per week).

2 weeks ago I decided to go looking for wayward frisbees at a disc golf course. Having only 2 discs myself, I figured it would be smart to look in the creek to expand my selection. Walking along barefoot, I found a broken bottle instead. My portion of the ER visit to get stitches and a tetanus shot is $200. I could have bought a lot of discs for $200. Later I was told that I probably could have gone to urgent care instead, which I always prefer since it's much cheaper. I was focused more on trying not to pass out and bleed all over my friend's new Charger than asking where he was taking me.