How to deal with dentist refusing to replace a bad crown?

[blackhound]

Open to suggestions. I'm in the USA.

Had a crown placed and it's not right. I can feel the margins at the back of the tooth and my dental floss catches along that edge. I can stick the tip of my nail back there and it will dip under the back margin. Clearly this crown doesn't fit.

I went back to the dentist who placed it and voiced my concerns. He refused to acknowledge that the crown was a poor fit and his only suggestion was that I carefully floss under the edge to avoid issues. I told him that was unacceptable just on its face and super unacceptable because I am a periodontal patient with a history of gum disease. So, just NO. But he wouldn't budge.

Adding insult to injury I paid $625 for the crown after insurance. So now I'm out the $$ and I have a crown that may be able to be adjusted but probably has to be replaced.

I'm seeing my perio tomorrow and a new dentist later in the week. Getting this solved medically is relatively easy. Have a new dentist fix the bad work. But I'm not game to pay twice for something that was the dentist's responsibility.

This whole thing just seems so totally unethical and makes me extremely angry.

After my consult with the new dentist I am going to call the insurance company and complain. Not sure if that does any good. And I have no idea how to get my $625 back from the unethical dentist. That may just be gone for good short of small claims lawsuit.

Has anyone gone down this road and have any wisdom they care to share?



BH

 

[FearfulInMA]

Your best bet in this case is probably to talk with the new dentist to see if s/he also believes there is a problem. If s/he can take an X-ray you can then send that to the insurance company. Unfortunately, they are likely to tell you that the original dentist needs to fix the work. But, depending on the insurance and how much you complain, they may agree to pay their portion to have it redone - they can't really help you get your $ back from the dentist.

Sorry that you're having to go through this!

 

[comfortdentist]

Based on what you have said you should state the same concern to the periodontist and to the new dentist. Hopefully the new dentist will take an x-ray, photo and I would also take a small impression of that spot. It would support your complaint. If the old dentist refuses to do the right thing like refund your money for a release from you which is reasonable then get a statement from your new dentist if they are willing and go to small claims court after complaining to the state dental board. I would give him one more chance because the state board is like going nuclear!

 

[blackhound]

Your best bet in this case is probably to talk with the new dentist to see if s/he also believes there is a problem. If s/he can take an X-ray you can then send that to the insurance company. Unfortunately, they are likely to tell you that the original dentist needs to fix the work. But, depending on the insurance and how much you complain, they may agree to pay their portion to have it redone - they can't really help you get your $ back from the dentist.

Sorry that you're having to go through this!

Thank you. This is so traumatic. It's hard enough to sit in the chair for these procedures and now all the added anxiety over having to fix or replace the crown and the $$ issues is really ..... awful.

BH

 

[blackhound]

Based on what you have said you should state the same concern to the periodontist and to the new dentist. Hopefully the new dentist will take an x-ray, photo and I would also take a small impression of that spot. It would support your complaint. If the old dentist refuses to do the right thing like refund your money for a release from you which is reasonable then get a statement from your new dentist if they are willing and go to small claims court after complaining to the state dental board. I would give him one more chance because the state board is like going nuclear!

Thanks for the advice. The perio said the crown needs to be replaced because there is an open margin. I hope it doesn't come down to a bunch of drama but quite possible since insurance won't provide a benefit to replace the crown even though there is a problem with it and the dentist is holding fast that there is no problem.

But thanks for the info about peer review. Also good to know all the options.

BH