How long should a dentist guarantee his work?
May 17, 2018 9:30 PM Subscribe
Trying to figure out if my expectations are calibrated correctly re: a failed crown.
Basically, a crown not quite nine months old came off while I was doing ordinary flossing. I paid nearly $2000 to have this crown installed. (An ordinary crown--NYC dentistry can just be very expensive.) I was at the same dentist's office only two months ago for a cleaning and X-ray and was told that everything was looking good.
I would expect that, if I could find the darned thing, my dentist would probably re-install it free of charge. But, despite crawling around on my blue-and-white-speckled tile bathroom floor for half-an-hour-plus with a flashlight, there is no sign of it. My insurance won't even make the tiny pitiful limited plan payment against the cost given how short a period of time it's been. Am I right in feeling that a crown, especially one so expensive, should NOT be failing under completely ordinary use (no trauma, no neglect) in less than a year, and so the dentist should be eating the costs of a replacement?
I have the sad feeling I'm going to be losing my dentist over this. I'd feel better if others thought this was reasonable. Or I guess good arguments to the contrary might change my mind about what I'll do tomorrow when (as I anticipate) he insists on charging.
Basically, a crown not quite nine months old came off while I was doing ordinary flossing. I paid nearly $2000 to have this crown installed. (An ordinary crown--NYC dentistry can just be very expensive.) I was at the same dentist's office only two months ago for a cleaning and X-ray and was told that everything was looking good.
I would expect that, if I could find the darned thing, my dentist would probably re-install it free of charge. But, despite crawling around on my blue-and-white-speckled tile bathroom floor for half-an-hour-plus with a flashlight, there is no sign of it. My insurance won't even make the tiny pitiful limited plan payment against the cost given how short a period of time it's been. Am I right in feeling that a crown, especially one so expensive, should NOT be failing under completely ordinary use (no trauma, no neglect) in less than a year, and so the dentist should be eating the costs of a replacement?
I have the sad feeling I'm going to be losing my dentist over this. I'd feel better if others thought this was reasonable. Or I guess good arguments to the contrary might change my mind about what I'll do tomorrow when (as I anticipate) he insists on charging.
Response by poster: (Most dental insurance won't cover a new crown on the same tooth within five or even ten years. My dentist is out of network, anyway; it paid only about 20% last time. I pay out of pocket because our coverage is lousy; I want quality, reliable dental work and got a fair amount of something else during my days at the storefront dentists that our insurance covers. So they won't pay anything on this.)
posted by praemunire at 10:10 PM on May 17, 2018
posted by praemunire at 10:10 PM on May 17, 2018
I had a crown come off after 3 years. I swallowed it. That was the most expensive Chicken McNugget in history.
I had already thought about going elsewhere because with my new insurance my dentist is now out of network, so I went to his office to see about getting my records sent elsewhere. While I was there talking to the receptionist, I let loose with all of my complaints to her about the practice. It's a small practice, and my dentist heard this exchange. As a result, he offered to install a new post and crown for me at a 50% discount. My preference would be that I get a new free crown, but 50% off was better than nothing.
Of course Cigna paid 0 toward this new crown because it's a crown on the same tooth within 5 years, but with half off, I ended up paying out of pocket what I would have paid anyway.
I won't go so far as to say you should get a free new crown because I don't know the circumstances surrounding your teeth and gums and post and yadda yadda, but I hope you would get a free replacement crown from your dentist.
I think though it would be reasonable for your dentist to at least offer you some kind of discount to you because you spent a lot of money on a crown that failed well before its expected lifetime, and you will potentially be spending more money on a replacement crown. So I would try and get some kind of discount on the replacement crown and if your dentist won't give you anything, go elsewhere.
posted by Rob Rockets at 10:32 PM on May 17, 2018
I had already thought about going elsewhere because with my new insurance my dentist is now out of network, so I went to his office to see about getting my records sent elsewhere. While I was there talking to the receptionist, I let loose with all of my complaints to her about the practice. It's a small practice, and my dentist heard this exchange. As a result, he offered to install a new post and crown for me at a 50% discount. My preference would be that I get a new free crown, but 50% off was better than nothing.
Of course Cigna paid 0 toward this new crown because it's a crown on the same tooth within 5 years, but with half off, I ended up paying out of pocket what I would have paid anyway.
I won't go so far as to say you should get a free new crown because I don't know the circumstances surrounding your teeth and gums and post and yadda yadda, but I hope you would get a free replacement crown from your dentist.
I think though it would be reasonable for your dentist to at least offer you some kind of discount to you because you spent a lot of money on a crown that failed well before its expected lifetime, and you will potentially be spending more money on a replacement crown. So I would try and get some kind of discount on the replacement crown and if your dentist won't give you anything, go elsewhere.
posted by Rob Rockets at 10:32 PM on May 17, 2018
Frankly I would do this if it were a cap, which is supposed to be far less durable. For a crown I would be raising hell.
posted by corb at 6:03 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 6:03 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
9 months? Any dentist worth her salt would replace it immediately and gratis. That’s ridiculous. (I have a crown on a front tooth that’s going on 25 years old)
posted by tristeza at 6:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by tristeza at 6:50 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Good news; my dentist was actually slightly offended at the implication that he wouldn't do the replacement for free ("this is not a one-week guarantee place!"). And rather than take a mold, he used his new technology, mouth scanning!
posted by praemunire at 9:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 9:24 AM on May 18, 2018 [16 favorites]
Glad it's worked out! For a future reader with a rogue crown (or earring, ring, etc.) -- double-layer nylon stockings over a vacuum hose, secure with rubber bands, and sweep the room section by section.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:27 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:27 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by fluttering hellfire at 9:43 PM on May 17, 2018 [1 favorite]