$1800 for a crown out of pocket?? That sounds terribly expensive. I have the same problem with my crown (3 weeks ago) I went back and the Dentist told me to not brush my gums so hard - did a free xray and said nothing else is problematic. I paid $400 out of pocket and thought that was high!
In addition to cold sensitive (extreme) I get throbbing pain when my heart rate is up, i.e. working out, getting very hot, etc. Hope it goes away - the cracked tooth hurt, but this SUCKS!
My dentist applied desensitizer on my natural tooth just before cementing my permanent crown in place, and I still experience sensitivity. So, I don't think your dentist failed to do anything. (Unless he didn't use desensitizer, but I think it is pretty common.) From what I've been reading, it appears that all porcelain crowns are more prone to sensitivity than the porcelain fused to metal. And I doubt your dentist installed that crown so it would fall out, because porcelain fused to metal crowns are stronger than all porcelain crowns. Also, the crown wouldn't fit correctly without the metal inside so he must have ordered a new all porcelain crown for you -- and they are more expensive. My insurance only covered porcelain fused to metal crowns, so when I opted for all porcelain I had to pay an extra $150. Some dentists are just after the money, so you should be careful. But then again, it's easy for us to assume that is the case when it may just be a problem that is not related to the quality of care.
If all you had done is one crown, and you paid $1800... I think you overpaid. Unless it was emergency service, like he came in on a Sunday or something. I had a crown put on about a month ago, and my research before that showed that crowns range from $700 up to just over a grand... I think 1100-1200. My dentists prices were reasonable, in the 800 range, and I paid a $150 premium for all porcelain since it was a front tooth. My insurance covered half of the base price.
When you say paying a full year of premiums -- do you mean you have a deductible, and you have to pay out of pocket until it is met? Or your insurance makes you carry them for a year before they pay anything? That sounds pretty odd. Any insurance I've ever had starts covering immediately. You might want to call and clarify with your insurance company, or check with some other companies to see what their policies are. My various employers have always had Delta Dental and I have no complaints.
I am sorry you all had such bad experiences, i am a dental hygienist, and i can say from working in the field so many years, each tooth and its response is as unique as each person, one person ma have no issues while others it can take up to 6 months for the pain and sensitivity to subside. i just had two crowns placed, one on a root canal tooth , the other on a tooth with prior filling, they are both senstive to pressure,air, and hot and extreme cold. it can be very uncomfortable and annoying, but if the pain does not reside or start letting up, go back and have the dentist check the tooth, if it has no root canal, after 6 months and no resolution ou may have to have one, if the pain starts residing, it is just the tooth trying to get used to the new crown and the nerve was propably very close to the enamel, ; when the dentist removes enamel there is the chance of sensitivity, this can be lessen if he places a conditioner on the tooth prior to cementing the crown permanently or even curing the tooth with a desensitizer. give it time. worse case scenario, go back and request a copy of your initial x-rays prior to the treatment aand get a second opinion. most dentist would not charge for consult if recent x-rays are brought, and the consults are usually free, but always ask up front.
im hoping mine goes away in the next few days, wish me luck, yes i did take x-rays before and after , an my dentist did a great job, but i hae always had very porous teeth, which makes them sensitive, even to whitening, plus crowns transfer cold and heat than the teeth woud naturally because of the materials used. it just takes time.
tooth might have to have root canal
My one top molar, last in the back, was broken. The tooth in front of it was capped. I had no pain or problems with either one. Then, flossing between them became slightly painful. I mentioned this to the dentist when getting my 6 month cleaning. She took an xray and determined that I should have the existing cap removed, drill out the decay now under the cap, and replace with a new cap. At the same time, she wanted to cap the broken molar and "save the tooth". While drilling, I experienced some severe pain and she gave me a stronger dose of novicane (spelling?). The temporary caps (2) were put in and I immediately had pain. A week later she said she saw no reason for the pain and said everything would be okay once the permanent caps are installed. The day the permanent caps were installed, she had to give me novicane because it was so painful. When the meds wore off, I had 4 hours of extreme pain. Ever since, I have had pain in my mouth from anything too cold or too hot. I have been forced to drink lukewarm water to take my daily meds. I avoided returning to her until yesterday and now she is sending me to a specialist because she believes I need a root canal, indicating that he needs to evaluate tooth #14 and #15. I am so upset as now this is going to not only cost me a bundle of money, but I have to endure more pain and dental work. I believe she screwed something up because I had NO pain until this work was done and now I am constantly suffering. Of course, she is not admitting responsibility and says that this "just happens sometimes". I never want to go to a dentist again!!! Any suggestions???
I have had 1 root canal done and a cap put on by a dentist several years ago. The dentist broke the drill bit off into my gum when doing the root canal. He tried to get it out, but could not so he went ahead and put my cap on. Believe it or not I have had no problems. Then a few years ago I went to a new dentist when I moved, who sent me to an endodontist to get another root canal. The dentist put my cap on after the endontist did the root canal and I had no problems. I went and had another root canal done by the endodontist, but instead of having my regular dentist put the cap on, I went to a dentist who was quite a bit cheaper for the cap. After he put the cap on I started having bad pain and hot and cold sensetivity. I waited a couple of weeks hoping it would go away on its own and it didn't. I went back to the dentist and he said my crown was probably to high or I was chewing to hard, so he drilled on it and sent me home. I am still in pain. I don't know whether to go back to my old dentist, or just hope in a few months it will stop hurting. I even thought about having it pulled, but its a main back molar.
Are you pain free with a new crown now? I had a crown replaced with a new one 4 weeks ago. I have the same problems as you had. Does the healing take a few month?
I had a gold cap put in almost two years ago and it is still very sensitive to cold. I believe that gold caps are more prone to this problem because gold is a great conductor of temperature. I will talk to the dentist about replacing the gold cap with a ceramic one as I believe the ceramic caps are less likely to cause this problem.