I went to an Endodontist (root canal specialist) earlier this week and was wearing my Islander sweatshirt. My first impression of this dude was that he was the biggest shyster on the planet. My regular dentist recommended him and said he did his root canals. This guy looked like the Fonz on Happy Days, if you remember the TV program. The first thing he told me as I sat in the chair was that the procedure would cost $1460 and that would include everything. I was sort of in shock, but didn't say anything immediately. The dude took X-Rays, shot my mouth up with novacaine and started talking about Bobby Nystrom and the Islanders and how he was his neighbor in Dix Hills (neighborhood similar to Beverley Hills, CA). One of his assistants had me sign a paper saying I would pay right after the procedure. I then meekly said that is a lot of money for this procedure. The specialist said, "they charge $1900 for this in the next town over and you are in the major leagues now. If you want you can walk out now and it will cost you nothing." I then said, "I'm not funding your Dix Hills lifestyle, Fonzie, so find another sucker." As I left, the guy blushed and was in shock.
I shopped around and found an Endodontist at a Dental clinic in a lower middle income area who would charge me $650. He was an Orthodox Jew who comes in once a week. I'm not sure what league he is in, but he performed the procedure and everything appears to have turned out well. I'm in the process of ditching my regular dentist of 25 years and have these dudes (dentists) at the clinic do the post and crown. They say they keep prices low because people in the neighborhood can't afford the high prices. It was a crap shoot. But there was no guarantee that paying more than double the price would have turned out well either. |
