I went to the dentist because I had a toothache. It only cost $365.
Not that exorbitant, I thought, given the cost of modern dentistry.
But it turns out, that was just for the X-rays.
There was no further action taken at the time.
I had to come back in two weeks for the repair, but only after I took antibiotics. That new charge to repair a cavity was $2,300.
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But that was because I required a root-canal procedure.
But that was only for the one.
Turns out there would also be an additional $2,300 charge for yet another cavity and root canal.
So I had to make an appointment to repair both.
It took about an hour, for a total cost of $4,600, plus that $365 X-ray charge.
Plus antibiotics.
The problem is, I wasn’t done.
The doctor referred me to another dentist to remove the fillings the first doctor established, which, it turns out, were temporary.
It’s the new dentist who will remove those provisional fillings, so that he can install permanent ones.
Here’s a question that comes to mind.
Why didn’t the first doctor install permanent fillings in the first place?
So I made an appointment to see the second dentist in two weeks, who will remove the temporary fillings and install permanent ones, for an added charge I will only learn about once I get the bill.
I would have liked to inquire of the first dentist, why he couldn’t simply install permanent fillings, so that I wouldn’t have to go to a second doctor in order to remove those filings to install the permanent kind.
I would have asked, but I figured a doctor that is charging me almost $5,000 must have a good reason to send me to a second dentist.
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My wife explains it has to do with specialties doctors tend to practice.
That specialty surgeon I went to only does root canals. He doesn’t do fillings, unless, of course, they’re the temporary type.
Another dentist does the actual permanent fillings.
It makes me wonder, why the first doctor didn’t bother to get that extra education in order to be licensed to also do permanent fillings.
That’s why the first dentist, who has a specialty license to charge such an exorbitant fee, only does root canals and is apparently not licensed to fill that tooth unless it’s with a substance similar to what appears to be sawdust.
For a real filling, you have to go to another doctor.
So I have an appointment in two weeks to see a second dentist who will remove the temporary fillings that the more expensive specialist installed, and who will then replace them with the permanent ones.
It’s all about today’s world of specialization, a practice that has become a regular part of present-day practice.
I feel fortunate, that today, I can still go to a pizza shop and get cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms all at the same place.
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But who knows for how long?
Contact humor columnist Irv Erdos at [email protected].
