the Price of a Root Canal and Crown

The service included, over the course of a week, dental examination by a dentist of a broken molar including x-rays, a root canal and temporary crown by an oral surgeon, and construction of a gold crown by the first dentist. 100% of the cost was covered by catastrophic medical insurance and the stated cost is what I would have been billed had I not had insurance.

The dentist was exemplary. Polite, professional, confident in his work, as were his assistants. While I filled out paperwork as a new patient, the dentist's waiting room was well-appointed and always had a few people in it, but they were shown back quickly after they'd arrived. The dentist saw me almost immediately once I'd finished my initial paperwork and was shown back. Comfy chairs, good pain drugs liberally applied, good music, and fast, sure work made everything go smoothly on every occasion.

The oral surgeon and her staff were much the same in demeanor as the dentist and his -- though all the paperwork for that was handled through the dentist's office -- and the procedures were completed quickly and without pain. I didn't even need the Vicodin prescription I was provided.

One unexpected thing was the rather detailed survey I was asked to fill out with my initial paperwork for the dentist. It included not merely treatment preferences, but my preferences for the staff's demeanor and how detailed and technical I wanted the communications with the staff to be. It seemed odd at the time, but the effect was excellent, even though it added substantially to the time it took to fill out paperwork.

The thing that people usually use to choose their doctors/dentists is not by their qualifications, the quality of their continued education, or their success rate (which is entirely hidden per ADA doctrine, unfortunately), but rather on how nice the dentists were when they saw them. If at all possible look up the dentist's professional qualifications and history before visiting and seeing if they're nice. Having moved around a lot suggests failed practices, and officerships in professional organizations suggests more interest in politics than dentistry. A long and detailed list of continuing education and occasional sabbaticals from the practice to teach shows commitment to the trade.