Pen Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Alas, nothing so juicy as a receptionist flirting with a husband :) But a sad situation because I really liked this dentist a lot and hate to have to find someone new and have some legal issue with him. But to me this is not looking good. In fall of 2015 a crown on a lower molar broke. My dentist replaced it with a new one. While working on me he was boasting about having dealt with a company that has defective material (or some such) in their crowns, and how he told them that what they have to do is make good on replacing their defective crowns for people who have trouble. But I was assured that I was getting a good type of crown not a defective one. (Cost of new crown, btw, between $1000-$1500, and I have no dental insurance.) In January-ish of 2016 the crown fell out. Dentist recemented / glued, whatever is operative word, it back in. (cost aprox $100) In February of 2016 the crown fell out again, after at first seeming to have shifted so that I could not bite down. A call to office had said that there was probably not a problem if it just popped back into place on its own. When it came out there was no apparent glue/cement present that I could see, and the smell was awful. I thought the glue/cement might be defective. When I went in dentist said he thought I'd gotten a good type of crown, but looked like I'd gotten a bad one that glue/cement wouldn't stick to, he said he was making me a new crown and had stuff ready before I even got there to take new impressions. Received phone message from his assistant saying that since the crown was almost 6 years old, they would charge me half price to replace it instead of full cost. I called and left more than one message back to say that it was not even a year old, let alone nearly 6 years old (probably only around 3 months old at time it first fell out) and that if defective I did not think either I or the dentist should be having to pay for it if it was a defective crown. I started looking things up on web and it looks like a lot of these new resin type crown materials have been having various troubles. I left a message to ask exactly what was the material of the crown that falls out, and what is the material of the proposed new one. And also raised that from what I am reading it looks like maybe gold would be better choice there on a major chewing surface because more durable and less harsh on opposing tooth. The name of material I think he may have said he planned to replace with seems to have even more problems than what I am guessing may have been the one being replaced--and it may even be that the one being replaced is not actually defective but perhaps was a bad fit and so does not hold. The one I think he may be talking about replacing it with has comments about leaving a bad taste and chemical sense in mouth, and I have chemical illness sensitivities, known by this dentist. I have not received any call back. This is a dentist I have had for some years and have recommended others to. I did have one person I recommended him to tell me she did not think he did a good job on her. I am thinking they may be going ahead and having a crown made in a material that will not be good for me and expecting me to pay for it. They do not seem to have an email address to write to, and the dentist seems to be in partial retirement so the office is often closed. I am thinking I need to send a letter and keep a copy. The bill for the January re-gluing just arrived in last couple of days so I could attach a letter to the payment and know that if the payment is cashed the letter will have been received. I have not kept perfect notes as to dates and what was done and said before this b/c I did not expect it to be a legal problem--though I do have the voice message of the receptionist telling me it would be half price b/c almost 6 years old saved. At this time, the perhaps defective resin crown is in my mouth with temporary cement. The appointment for getting the new crown put in is supposed to be next week, I believe. I can't actually find the reminder slip. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Ouch. Given that you think that they will expect you to pay for it, I would go ahead and look for another dentist, I think. Personally, I would not trust him anymore. Perhaps others will have better advice for you. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Does your dentist send out his crowns or are they made in office? (If sent out you usually need to wait at least a few days, if in office it's usually same day). My dh makes crowns (he works in a dedicated dental lab, which means they don't do anything else but make dental prosthetics) and he has run into the problem of dentists not using the correct bonding material for the type of crown requested (not saying this is the issue but might be). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I had an interesting conversation with 1ds's friend - who is now in dental school. the problem in material comes from the rate of expansion and contraction of the material vs the e &c of your tooth when they are exposed to hot and cold foods. the one material that will never have a problem ... (my dentist did a residency in florida and saw LOTS of 30 - 40+ year old crowns in pristine condition) - is gold. the rate of e & c vs is the tooth, is nearly identical. you pay for it up front, but should never need to have it replaced. all the other materials in use, eventually have to be replaced. good luck with this dentist/crown - and then I'd be looking for a new dentist. btw: the smell would make me wonder how much food was under the crown - and if there was any rot in the tooth . . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I don't know how to advise you but I had a thought. If your dentist has already ordered the crown and you don't show up to get it, he might bill you for it anyway so he doesn't have to cover it himself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Yep. I guess it is time to find a new dentist. Sigh. And I guess there are even more reasons why gold might be a good option. And I don't know that it would be more expensive than being expected to pay multiple times for replacements and recementing for a non-gold one in a short period of time. This seems to be ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Does your dentist send out his crowns or are they made in office? (If sent out you usually need to wait at least a few days, if in office it's usually same day). My dh makes crowns (he works in a dedicated dental lab, which means they don't do anything else but make dental prosthetics) and he has run into the problem of dentists not using the correct bonding material for the type of crown requested (not saying this is the issue but might be). He sends them out. Considering that he didn't even seem to be clear about what type of crown it was, that could certainly be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) The crowns in the back of my mouth are gold - my pirate teeth - while the visible ones are "porcelain" - or so I was told. Are porcelain crowns really that, or something else? Edited March 7, 2016 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 The crowns in the back of my mouth are gold - my pirate teeth - while the visible ones are "porcelain" - or so I was told. Are porcelain crowns really that, or something else? Should be porcelain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 The crowns in the back of my mouth are gold - my pirate teeth - while the visible ones are "porcelain" - or so I was told. Are porcelain crowns really that, or something else? I think some "porcelain" may actually be porcelain, but that a lot being referred to nowadays as porcelain, including the one I am having trouble with is actually a synthetic resin of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I don't know why your dentist would expect you to pay for fixing any of this! The crown shouldn't be falling out after such a short time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.