Hello folks,

I am a male in my late 40's in good general health.  I have about a
half-dozen fillings and an old crown on a lower molar.  Recently a
corner broke off another molar.

I had the crown prep about a week ago, and the crown is supposed to be
ready early next week.  I am not very familiar with the dentist,
and I worry that I might be getting a sloppy job.

I'm trying to include the relevant facts--sorry if this is long-winded.

The broken tooth had a big filling for about 30 years.  It has given
some pain in the past several years, mostly when chewing.  I was chewing
a steak some months ago when the inner front corner broke off.  The
dentinal surface of the shard is an ovoid about 4.5mm high and 5.5mm
wide.  The shard is about 2.5mm at its thickest.  The exposed dentinal
surface of the tooth extended about 1mm to 2mm below the gum line.

Before the prep, the dentist said my gums were healthy.  He showed me
the X-rays, which seem to be of good quality, and he said he didn't see
anything wrong with the root.  I pressed him a bit to mention any
possible complications.  He only mentioned that the fracture surface was
partly below the gum line but acted like that wasn't much of a problem.
 We determined to use a porcelain-covered metal crown.

Maybe it's not justified, but I'm having some worry related to the
doctor's demeanor, the appearance of the plastic impression, and the fit
of the temporary.

Making small talk while waiting for the novocaine to work, he seemed
something like depressed or apathetic.  Really it seemed like he didn't
put much care into prepping the tooth.  It seemed like he was working at
arm's length, as if he was barely looking.  He was about to go in again
when I stopped him to spit.  Then he didn't go in again after all, as if
he didn't want to go to the trouble.

He showed me the impressions when they were done.  When he held them up,
I could see light through the plastic where the prepped molar had almost
touched the opposing tooth.  He pointed that out and said he would have
to adjust the opposing tooth (which has a medium-size filling in the
center).  He also mentioned that the impression showed the fracture
line.  I am thinking he didn't remove enough dentin.

With a penlight and a pair of strong reading glasses I see two irregular
4mm holes in the anodized surface of the aluminum temporary.  In the
holes I see white material, presumably either dentin or cement.  The
white areas are each about 2mm in diameter.  I can't get floss between
the temporary and its neighbor.  Maybe the question is whether there is
just a poor temporary fit or not enough dentin was removed.

I was thinking I might tell the dentist I am uneasy and take the crown
and the models to another dentist to check before setting the crown.

I would be very thankful for any advice that addresses the specifics of
this situation.

Patrick