I understand where you're coming from, daylia. I've had some pretty horrific experiences at the hands of dentists... as recently as about 8 years ago. Some of them have been pretty blatant in the way they were ripping me off, too. And I think that probably more than half of dentists are, at least to some degree, not very ethical (at least more than half of the ones I've had any experiences with were). We're lucky to have some of the good ones here in the Mudcat.

Also, I have actually been successful at getting a refund from a dentist who put a gold crown on a tooth that came in contact with a silver almalgam filling, causing a small but persistant and very painful electrical charge in my mouth. He returned my money and removed the crown (putting a temporary one in its place). I got a new crown put in its place by a much more competent, caring, and less expensive dentist. So there's nothing wrong with being a good advocate for your mouth, and really, as a dental care consumer, it's your responsibility.

Anyway, good luck with whatever procedure you end up getting done.