Dentist Drilling Through My New Crown

OH MY GOSH!
I would be so upset! I don't think there is anything you can do about the bill, but I would definately tell her how upset you are, and ask her to explain this to you. Tell her you want to understand, why this problem has taken this many times to resolve. The office should have a business manager you can talk to. Just remember that you get alot further with honey than vinegar, and if you start the conversation angry, they will be less likely to negotiate with you. I would call in and ask for the office manager nicely, and then calmly explain what happened. Tell her that you want to be happy about the care you recieved, but you can't understand how you needed a filling, three root canals and a crown, and the problem is still not resolved. Tell her you are very frustrated and broke! See is they will negotiate a deal with you. They want you to be happy. An unhappy patient, causes alot of bad publicity!

I'd start with the insurance company and see what they recommend. Go ahead and complain to the dentist directly and I would write out a list of all of the procedures you have had done. List them by date and include the explanation of benefits and your out of pocket expenses. This may take some time, but I think the visual will be worth it. Give a copy to your dentist and have a talk.

Finally, if you don't get any satisfaction, I would go to the Better Business Bureau and the American Dental Association.

I am sorry you had to go through this. Root canals usually take a few visits to the dentist, so I am surprised when you said "she did it on the spot".

I am not sure if they can take the crown off first, do the work and put it back? I thought crowns were replaceable. If the crown needs to be there during the procedure for some reason (maybe to hold the tooth together) and they have to drill though it, they should replace the crown with a new one for you without charge! This is the least they can do.

I would also recommend talking with either your dentist or their customer relations or similar person (call them and ask who you can talk to), with a detailed list of previous work done, let them know you are unhappy and see what they will offer to make you happy. (I would expect them to offer you to do the 3rd root canal and replacement crown free of charge, for example). If you are not satisfied with the outcome, go ahead and file complaints with your insurance. The insurance company should be able to tell you where else you can file complaints.

If it's work that the insurance has already paid for, then you shouldn't be billed. I've had to go back 3 or 4 times for the same stinkin' tooth and they know it's their fault. If they had to make adjustments, then they didn't charge for it. You should definately talk to billing! And call your insurance and let them know. They might be trying to scam the insurance as well.

that's exactly what happened to me, work on a tooth including root, then put in a new crown even though i specifically said it still hurt (i was told it's still tender), 2 rounds of antibiotics, then had to drill through the new crown to work on root canal some more.
what i did is said i was unhappy with the hole now in new crown and that i wanted a new crown placed in, for which i wasn't going to pay. dentist agreed to it. it took, if i remember correctly, about 3 months to have that one tooth done.