I had a very large amalgam filling that needed to be replaced because it had started leaking. My dentist replaced it with a dental crown. The temporary crown fell off twice and the permanent crown has fallen off at least three times. On top of that, the crown does not match my teeth. When I asked him about that, he said he could make it match for another $300. I didn’t have that kind of money and I’d already paid for this crown so I told him just to get it to stay on. Then he did some more drilling and did some other things and when I left billed me another $300 for the work.  Can  he do this? I’m not even sure this one is going to stay on either.

Lindsey

Dear Lindsey,

I have to say I don’t think there is anyway your dentist can get away with this. There are three basic things you should expect when you get a dental crown. One is that it will fit. Two, that it will stay on. Three that it will blend in with your other teeth. To charge you extra for any of those is unethical. It would be like someone buying a stove and then the store telling them. For another $1,000 we’ll make it where it will actually cook your food.

Do not pay the extra $300 if you haven’t already. If you have, see if you can get the charges reversed. Your next step will be to find another dentist who can help you both repair this tooth and get your money back.  You didn’t mention if it was a front tooth or not. If it is a front tooth, you will want an expert cosmetic dentist. If it isn’t, any decent dentist should be able to do what you need.

You have a couple of other ways of getting your money back as well. Talking to the insurance company is a good idea. You were given subpar service for a dentist that is overcharging you for a crown he didn’t do well to begin with. While the best dentists will go above and beyond, this one is not even doing the minimum. Because of that, I think you have a responsibility to leave a review in order to warn other potential patients not to waste their time and money with this dentist.

By the way, removing the leaky filling was a good idea. The main ingredient in amalgam fillings is mercury. As a known toxin, this is not something you will want to be ingesting. if you have any other amalgam fillings, you may want to replace them with mercury-free composite before they become leaky as well. There is a special procedure required when removing an amalgam filling. This is to protect you from the mercury and  mercury vapors. Any holistic dentist will know how to do that, as well as a mercury-free dentist.

This blog is brought to you Sugar Land Dentist Dr. Siny Thomas.