Posted by writeradmin
I’d been going to a dentist who advertises as an affordable dentist in the state I used to live in. I thought everything was fine and was happy with the work. I recently moved to a new state and just had my first appointment with my new dentist just to get established and for him to get a baseline. I’d had a dental crown done at my old dentist about twelve years ago. The new dentist said that it is an absolute mess and needs to be replaced. Now I am worried that going to an affordable dentist was a mistake. Do you think my care was compromised? I did call the old dentist to ask for a refund and they said, they are not issuing a refund on a 12 year old crown. The new dentist didn’t say exactly what was wrong with the crown. Should I be worried if I don’t have the money to fix it right away?
Dana
Dear Dana,
I am glad that you wrote. I sometimes warn people who write in to the blog about the importance of distinguishing between an affordable dentist and a cheap dentist. For example if you go to a dentist that provides dental crowns that are much cheaper than any other dentist in the area, but the crown only lasts a couple of years, you won’t really be saving any money. By the time you replace it several times, you’ll have spent much more money than if you’d gone to the most expensive dentist in town who does quality work.
There are highly skilled dentists who are affordable. Just be wary of someone who is priced significantly lower than everyone else. There’s usually a reason for that, which does not work out for the patient.
I don’t think your case fits this. Your dental crown lasted twelve years. Plus, from what you said, it wasn’t bothering you. The appointment you had was just to get established and not because you felt there was a problem. This makes me wonder if anything was really wrong with your crown to begin with.
A second reason I question his diagnosis of your dental crown being “a mess” is how he described, or rather didn’t describe, the problem with your crown. He gave no specifics and he was overly harsh. While a dentist is ethically obligated to tell the truth about dental work done by one of their peers, they usually do their best to maintain the reputation of the dentist at the same time unless it is gross malpractice. Your crown would not have lasted as long as it did if that was the case. A dentist would be specific about what was wrong with the crown, not give generalities.
To give you perspective about this, Dental insurance expects a crown to last a minimum of five years. Yours far exceeded that. I’m concerned that your new dentist is the problem. He may be doing a money grab. Before you do anything, get a second opinion from another dentist without telling him or her what the dentist said. This way you can get an unbiased opinion.
This blog is brought to you by an ethical dentist in Baton Rouge, Dr. John Theriot. We’re located near the Baton Rouge Gallery – Center for Contemporary Arts.