Why are dental procedures so expensive?

And why do people assume that when other people have to were dentures or partials its because they don't take care of there teeth?
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I agree with you Anna. Why are they so expensive? Root canals are done at the drop of a dime. I went in to redo a cracked filling and I was told that I needed a root canal. The tooth was perfectly normal. I did not feel any weakness. But when I tried to tell the dentist he said I needed a root canal. So I did the root canal and all hell broke loose from there. I had nothing but pain. Could not stand up from the pain. Had to pay a specialist to redo the root canal which cost me twice as much. The pain continued. Then I was told I needed an apicoectomy. I was smart enough not to do that. When I went back to the dentist he said I should extract and have an implant. Let's go back to the beginning. The tooth was not a problem before all this. After, I have paid over $ 5000 so far. I went in for $200 filling. You would think that with all the money they charge on unnecessary procedures(experimental), the cost would be coming down. Instead we start off with hundreds and end up paying thousands. How many feel robbed? My teeth are perfectly straight. No decay. I do my cleaning every six months. Ask all the right questions when I go in. So what went wrong? I don't smoke. I am not on any medication that would be affecting my teeth. Drink milk and take a multi-vitamin.
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