The Tag Team

I call my most recent medical sting The Tag Team. One of my crowns broke off and I went in to my dentist. He said that, although he could fix it, it probably would not last very long, and for the best results, I should have the stub to which the crown is glued extended. He said that he could not do this, and that I would need to go to a periodontist. He said that after the periodontist did his work, I would come back in to get the crown done. I have had several crowns done and at least one that needed to be fixed, and they seem to cost a bit more than $700 dollars each.

I made a rational, informed decision that I wanted the more permanent fix, and I went in to see the periodontist. He said that he could do the stub extension, but that I might want to consider an implant, which is basically a screw that goes into the bone with a post that eventually supports the crown. He told me EXACTLY what this would cost. He said that after the implant was all healed, I would go back to my own dentist for the crown.

I made a rational, informed decision to have the implant. It was quite expensive, but I decided it would be worth it for me, and at least I knew EXACTLY what it would cost me. So far, so good. I believed that I was making the choice that I wanted for my own care. What he quoted me was indeed EXACTLY what he charged me.

At some point during this whole implant procedure (it takes around six months), I even went in to my dentist for a cleaning, and we discussed how the implant process was going, and that I would make an appointment for the new crown as soon as the periodontist said it was time.

When the implant healed, I went back in to my dentist, and he took impressions for the crown and when it came in, he installed it. I like the result.

THE STING: I got a bit of a sticker shock when the bill for the crown came a few days after it was installed. It was almost $1000 MORE than the usual price that I have paid for a crown or a crown repair. The reason? Well, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I was NEVER told that the price of gluing a piece of porcelain on to a metal post is $1000 more than gluing the same piece of porcelain on to the stub of a tooth. Surprise!

And consider, how would I have resolved this? It turns out that the cost of the crown is dependent on what kind of implant the periodontist uses; my dentist had never done one of the brand that the periodontist used, so he probably didn't even know himself. Indeed, when I went in to get measured for the new crown, there were two marketing-types hovering around my dentist showing him how to take the impression. I just didn't know enough to realize that there are crowns and crowns, and they are not the same. They preyed on my ignorance.