Putting The Bite On Patients

Today I was chewing on a small pretzel and broke a cusp off of a molar. It was a rather large and sharp piece. I was fortunate to have my dentist provide a temporary fix that would hold until I get a temporary crown next week. I will then have to wait a couple more weeks to get the permanent crown.

Afterward, I spoke to the person in the dentist office, who does the scheduling and billing. I asked her what the final cost would be for the three visits and crown. I learned my insurance will probably pay for about half of the approximately $900 total cost for the crown. I also learned from other people that this is about the normal cost for a crown.

I then began wondering why the high cost for this procedure. After all, there are probably four hours of my dentist's time involved. Then there is the salary of the assistant,who held the saliva sucker and other tools, and who mixed up the stuff that was packed into my mouth and cured. Of course, the crown has to be made, but how expensive can that be in a day and age when we are so concerned with keeping prices low. It still doesn't add up to $900.

The answer to my curiousity is probably similiar to the punch line to that old joke about the surgeon who upon receiving a request for an itemized bill, wrote, "Surgery $1,000. Knowing where and how to surge, $5,000." Cost for repairing my broken tooth, $450. Knowing how to repair it, $450. Just another way to put the bite on my wallet. I guess you could say, I am in favor of putting a cap on dental charges.