IZZITME?                                                                                       ^ Click above to comment

I took a nap in 1995 after arriving home from getting a crown put on a bad tooth by my favorite dentist.  The shiny metal cap cost me all of $60 including numbing, grinding, root removal, filling, and ultimately capping.

I woke up in 2012 for my next visit. The identical procedure was now $ 1,000 !!  What in the hell happened here?  When did dentists become such greed mongers?  I perform the same type of function, doing automotive bodywork, only on a larger scale.  My rates went from $45 to $85 in those same years and people think I overcharge!

Let’s look at this closer:

The Numbing Shot: 45 cent needle and 75 cent numb stuff

The Grinding:           25 cents grit

The Root Canal:       A Free Yank

The Cap:                  3 dollars (in today’s silver)

Labor:                       Still no more than 3 hours

Simple fillings have gone from $30 to $250 or more!  In 1980 I had a pin put into my jaw to support a fake tooth where my real one broke off in a football game.  That Tucson dentist charged me all of $20 for the post and another $40 for the fake tooth.  I still have it to this day (albeit it’s been constantly infected).  The same dentist now wants to charge me $3000 each to replace some bad teeth!  Forget the fact that I was there with my family to support him when his practice was new?  By the way, it’s kind of funny.  Even though I won’t mention it here, his last name says it all!  Sound familiar Dr. …?  Another well meaning guy turned Gouger and Thief!

Try to find the rates they charge per procedure on line!  Go ahead;  Google it!  Guess what?  Not there!  I was able to find rates from clinics in Thailand, Mexico, and India.  But, you guessed, none from the United States!  Not even from so called ‘Discount Dentists’!  They’re too embarrassed to publish their usurious rates! Thank you, American Dental Association (ADA).

I’ve read that dentists have a high rate of suicide.  I wonder how many of them are found in their own chairs?  I say it’s time to retaliate! If you happen to know that customer in your place of business is a dentist, charge him or her 10 times a reasonable rate for your product or service! Maybe they’ll get a hint!

Now that I’ve reached that ‘Senior Citizen’ age I require dental assistance.  After studying my options, it looks like I’ll need to get them yanked and just go with dentures.  I’d really like snap in dentures but guess what?  $12,000 for that!

Forget it! I’ll just gnaw my way through life!  I’m going back to bed!  Maybe when I wake up the Democrats will force me to have dental insurance!

(A special thanks to Gabby)

Tell me what you think! IZZITME?

Don Holsten