Dentist Dilemma

I wrote about breaking my tooth in Italy, and the Italian dentist who did such a beautiful job repairing it. He emphasized that it was only temporary and I should have it done when I got home. When I came home I consulted a cosmetic dentist, who told me I needed extensive work and gave me an estimate for $26,000. Yes, I have written about all of this before.

After the $26,000 estimate, I went looking for a less pricey dentist. My neighbor trusts her dentist 100% and he has treated her whole family for years. So, I took her recommendation and consulted him for a second opinion. He gave me a much more realistic treatment plan. I liked him. However, my husband reminded me that we have to use a dentist that is "in-network" for our insurance plan.

I looked up our insurance plan and found a list of dentists they cover. My neighbor's dentist was not on the list. I recognized the name of a lady dentist that I had seen a couple of times in the past, when she was with another practice. I went to her new office and got another reasonable treatment plan, one that our dental insurance would cover. So I let her do the work. I have had to go back a couple of times to have work redone. One filling came out, and another one was too rough and hurt my tongue. Now I have a tooth that she capped that has been hurting like crazy.

I told my husband last night about the pain I was having in the tooth she completed. (I mentioned it to her before and she said it should "calm down" with time. Well, it's only gotten worse.) He said "maybe she doesn't do such good work". Now I am worried. Should I go back to her and ask her to fix it, or should I go back to my neighbor's dentist and have him look at it and tell me what he thinks is going on?

I have already paid the lady dentist for my new veneers (for the tooth that broke and the one next to it) but they aren't ready yet. Now I am reluctant to have her proceed with them. I wonder if they will be okay. That's my dilemma.

Will this ever end?