*CLIFFS*
Went in for a crown prep on tooth #2, and possible onlay, but likely crown on #3
Dentist would try onlay to "save me some money"
I'm lead to believe (IMO) that if the onlay isn't sufficient, I'll just pay the difference for the crown
Dentist saw end of nerve ("two dots") when prepping #3 for onlay
Told me to come back in 2 weeks because she was skeptical that the tooth would remain viable
Less than a week I start having pain, viability test shows tooth #3 needs root canal
I get root canal, and #3 then needs crown
#3 which was previously prepped for onlay gets prepped for crown
I receive both final crowns
I'm told I need to pay full price for onlay ($335 - $100 discount (cuz they're nice like that) = $235) AND full price for crown ($475 + $100 special fee (some sort of core buildup or something "core") = $575)
End result = I pay $810 for crown, instead of $575 had she told me I needed a crown from beginning.
Some savings...
I go in tomorrow to discuss it.
Long version:
I had two very large fillings in my two back molars, on the right side, top row (no wisdom teeth) placed ~3 years ago. This procedure was done by a dentist I no longer see. My current dentist recently mentioned that x-rays revealed spots of decay beneath both of those fillings, and expressed confidence that the rearmost tooth (I think it's tooth #2) would need a crown for sure, and the other tooth (#3) would need at least an onlay, but it would likely need a crown as well (because it was so close to the root).
So anyway, on the day she was going to prep for the onlay or crown, and the crown, she basically said she would try to do an onlay, since that would save me money, and if that didn't work, we'd just do a crown on #3 as well as #2. So, once she was able to remove the filling from #3 (which was already very deep), she had to continued to drill to remove some decay, and she noticed she could actually see 2 little dots, which basically were the very end of the nerve, and she shook her head and basically expressed her doubts that the tooth wouldn't cause me issues (without a root canal). She said she would prep the tooth for an onlay, and wanted me to wait 2 weeks before finalizing the molds, just to see if I started experiencing pain in that tooth, and I was going to come back in for a vitality (I believe that's what it's called) test on that tooth (to test if the nerve was good). If the tooth ended up causing me pain, I would need a root canal, and then a crown, instead of an onlay.
Anyway, so less than a week went by, and I started experiencing pain in tooth #3 (the tooth that was "maybe" an onlay). So I called my dentist, came in early (before the 2 weeks were up) and they did the vitality test then. My tooth failed the vitality test, and they determined I should get a root canal, so I did. So, at this point I think all is well, and they will just carry on with the crown prep (which is a good bit more expensive than the onlay), which they did. So, finally, after a LONG time with my temporary crowns in (like 10-11 weeks, that's another story), I finally got my two permanent crowns in.
At that point (when I came in after the root canal, to change the onlay prep to a crown prep), they had charged me an additional $237.50 (I believe), and I was under the impression that that was the monetary difference between the cost of the onlay (which I had already paid for) and the crown (which they were trying to avoid at first, to save me money). So, thinking my balance was zero, when I finally received the perm crowns (the last time I was there), they informed me that I owed them an additional $237.50.
It turns out, they actually were going to charge me the FULL price for the onlay, which I never received, which they told me they would try in order to "save me money", AND the FULL price for the crown! So I argued with them a lot, telling them that the dentist had given me the impression that there would be no risk in trying the onlay, and that she'd try to go that route, to save me some money, and that if that didn't work, I'd just pay the difference between that and the crown (knowing the crown was a good bit more expensive).
Anyway, so they're saying they want to charge me the full price for the onlay prep now, which at the time the dentist prepped it saw the two nerves, and likely knew that the chances that the tooth wouldn't become symptomatic were very low if anything. In the end, I'm going to have to pay the $575 for the crown ($475 + $100, some core charge thing), AND $235 for the onlay prep (was originally $335, but they gave me a "discount" of $100, which coincidentally matches that extra "core" charge of $100 on the crown).
Anyway... this was long... for those who read it, any advice? I go in tomorrow to talk to the dentist and her finances lady (I've been speaking to the finance lady up to this point) about this issue.
Went in for a crown prep on tooth #2, and possible onlay, but likely crown on #3
Dentist would try onlay to "save me some money"
I'm lead to believe (IMO) that if the onlay isn't sufficient, I'll just pay the difference for the crown
Dentist saw end of nerve ("two dots") when prepping #3 for onlay
Told me to come back in 2 weeks because she was skeptical that the tooth would remain viable
Less than a week I start having pain, viability test shows tooth #3 needs root canal
I get root canal, and #3 then needs crown
#3 which was previously prepped for onlay gets prepped for crown
I receive both final crowns
I'm told I need to pay full price for onlay ($335 - $100 discount (cuz they're nice like that) = $235) AND full price for crown ($475 + $100 special fee (some sort of core buildup or something "core") = $575)
End result = I pay $810 for crown, instead of $575 had she told me I needed a crown from beginning.
Some savings...
I go in tomorrow to discuss it.
Long version:
I had two very large fillings in my two back molars, on the right side, top row (no wisdom teeth) placed ~3 years ago. This procedure was done by a dentist I no longer see. My current dentist recently mentioned that x-rays revealed spots of decay beneath both of those fillings, and expressed confidence that the rearmost tooth (I think it's tooth #2) would need a crown for sure, and the other tooth (#3) would need at least an onlay, but it would likely need a crown as well (because it was so close to the root).
So anyway, on the day she was going to prep for the onlay or crown, and the crown, she basically said she would try to do an onlay, since that would save me money, and if that didn't work, we'd just do a crown on #3 as well as #2. So, once she was able to remove the filling from #3 (which was already very deep), she had to continued to drill to remove some decay, and she noticed she could actually see 2 little dots, which basically were the very end of the nerve, and she shook her head and basically expressed her doubts that the tooth wouldn't cause me issues (without a root canal). She said she would prep the tooth for an onlay, and wanted me to wait 2 weeks before finalizing the molds, just to see if I started experiencing pain in that tooth, and I was going to come back in for a vitality (I believe that's what it's called) test on that tooth (to test if the nerve was good). If the tooth ended up causing me pain, I would need a root canal, and then a crown, instead of an onlay.
Anyway, so less than a week went by, and I started experiencing pain in tooth #3 (the tooth that was "maybe" an onlay). So I called my dentist, came in early (before the 2 weeks were up) and they did the vitality test then. My tooth failed the vitality test, and they determined I should get a root canal, so I did. So, at this point I think all is well, and they will just carry on with the crown prep (which is a good bit more expensive than the onlay), which they did. So, finally, after a LONG time with my temporary crowns in (like 10-11 weeks, that's another story), I finally got my two permanent crowns in.
At that point (when I came in after the root canal, to change the onlay prep to a crown prep), they had charged me an additional $237.50 (I believe), and I was under the impression that that was the monetary difference between the cost of the onlay (which I had already paid for) and the crown (which they were trying to avoid at first, to save me money). So, thinking my balance was zero, when I finally received the perm crowns (the last time I was there), they informed me that I owed them an additional $237.50.
It turns out, they actually were going to charge me the FULL price for the onlay, which I never received, which they told me they would try in order to "save me money", AND the FULL price for the crown! So I argued with them a lot, telling them that the dentist had given me the impression that there would be no risk in trying the onlay, and that she'd try to go that route, to save me some money, and that if that didn't work, I'd just pay the difference between that and the crown (knowing the crown was a good bit more expensive).
Anyway, so they're saying they want to charge me the full price for the onlay prep now, which at the time the dentist prepped it saw the two nerves, and likely knew that the chances that the tooth wouldn't become symptomatic were very low if anything. In the end, I'm going to have to pay the $575 for the crown ($475 + $100, some core charge thing), AND $235 for the onlay prep (was originally $335, but they gave me a "discount" of $100, which coincidentally matches that extra "core" charge of $100 on the crown).
Anyway... this was long... for those who read it, any advice? I go in tomorrow to talk to the dentist and her finances lady (I've been speaking to the finance lady up to this point) about this issue.
Last edited:
