then there are items that involve certain time & special skills, but STILL seem to be somewhat arbitrarily priced. I have a tooth that needs either extracted or a crown. My dentist says his part of it is about $300, based on his standard fees in order to run his office....but after making the mold and before installation, it goes to the specialists who create the new toothlet, and it seems they get about $800 for the little item. That makes a $1000 decision for me, at age 66, and with soft enamel anyway, to figger out whether I'm gonna get $1000 worth of good out of one tooth, or whether I'll need a whole set in a few years.

Now, I suspect that they could make a tooth for quite a bit less than $800, but work on an "I can make it and YOU can't" basis. I'm sure materials are not the issue, so it must be time and "expertise"....but all I would see is a tooth...and a VERY empty bank account. I know we have a dentist on Mudcat....I wonder if he is reading this. Any serious ideas on whether $800 is 'fair' for manufacturing one tooth?