i’d go for the repair for $420, there are many layers to improving our physical health that come with benefits.

it’s cool that your dental office had a meeting about you

Raino – Well, I don’t like to have teeth yanked out. It causes a lot of other issues with teeth shifting to fill in the space – which is why they want to put a false one in right away. If there was actually something wrong with the tooth aside from the chip, I’d seriously consider extraction, but it’s still functional. I’m totally with you on the 17-year-old cat, though. There comes a time when it’s just nuts to keep an animal lingering and suffering.

Nancy – Hi Nancy! Do you have a link to your blog? I’d like to visit people who comment here. And, yes – it never hurts to ask for a discount I guess. I never knew I could do that with a dentist, but I also knew I wasn’t going to pay almost 700 bucks for a tooth, so there you go.

Loth – “chip in” – good one! (Get it…chipped tooth… crown…ha ha). I wish you could come for coffee, too. Next time you’re in the country you’ll have to make a side-trip to Ottawa.

Noha – That’s my thinking too. Unfortunately the teeth saga never seems to be over. Just when you think you’ve got everything tickity-boo, you crack your tooth and end up needing a crown. Fingers crossed, though, eh?

Nat – You and Raino are all for the yanking. Did the Man get an implant or something to fill in the space? Are they not worried about all his other teeth shifting? They get you coming and going, they really do. And I’ve heard so many stories in the last few days about crowns cracking or falling out, I’m going to demand some sort of long-term warranty, so they’ll fix it for free if something like that happens.

Mama Zen – Insurance is in business to make money not to help anyone. They can’t make money if they pay for stuff willy-nilly.

Lesley – See above. All insurance is a racket. A big money-making business like every other big money making business. And yes, I did think you’d died and I was super-pissed that I wasn’t invited to the funeral.

Robyn – Nothing is forever. I’ve been around long enough to know that. That $1180 covered the crown and lab fees and something called “resorative services”. The crown itself is only $632.08. I could buy a real crown of gold bejeweled with precious gems for that, couldn’t I? Thanks for the comment Robyn.

I had a crown put on after a root canal last year. Did my insurance cover the root canal? Oh yes! Totally. Did they then say “Oh – we don’t cover crowns, sorry about that” when I tried to get the crown (that the root canal required) put on my tooth. Shifty.

My advice? Totally take the deal your dentist offered. Keep in mind – you *will* have to replace a crown eventually, though. They are not forever-investments (which for what they cost, they should be!).

For the record, my (porcelain) crown was $950.

Sorry I’m late to the party! Did you think I died? I. Suck.

The Man had an issue with a tooth. He wanted them to extract it. They refused. So we scrimped and save and sucked it up and paid the (insert expletive) load of money they asked for the crown and all that jazz. (Covered at the same level you are.)

It lasted about a year.

Then the crown cracked.

They wanted us to do it all over again — but this time through a specialist. Who said he could maybe “save the tooth.” The Man ended up getting it extracted.

My advice — if it’s nowhere you can see it get it yanked.