Ya Grill, Ya Ya Ya Grill

Monday morning I broke one of my bi-cuspids completely in half. I had a root canal done on that tooth two years ago. I called my dentist, who made an emergency appointment for me to come in and have it looked at. I couldn't close my teeth together because that made the broken half of the tooth gouge the roof of my mouth. It was a very strange feeling.

After the dentist pulled the broken part out she told me I needed to have that tooth crowned and left to get me an estimate of the cost. I have dental insurance, which didn't help me at all on Monday. It doesn't cover emergency visits or tooth extractions, so that visit alone cost over $100. It pays 50% on most things and I have a $1000 a year limit.

She came back in the room with a sheet of paper and told me that having that tooth crowned would cost me $800!

I said through my Novocaine numbed mouth, "Damn Joni, for that much bling I could get a big enough grill to look like a Cadillac Escalade! $800 for one crown? That's outrageous!"




Needless to say I won't be getting that tooth crowned anytime soon unless a large bag of money falls from the sky and lands on me. Luckily the broken tooth isn't visible when I smile or talk so I will just live with it for the time being.

Why is dental work so expensive?