My crown problem has re-surfaced again!

I posted a message about a month ago about a crown on the #14 tooth which was
done in 1999 (it was actually 2000) and how it had been painful on and off
ever since then.  I was in the midst of another bout of pain around the
posting of the message and then noticed a crack in the porcelain part of the
crown.  

I made an appt. to see my dentist and he said, “It could be a bad fit and
let’s just take the crown off for about a month and see how you feel.  The
crown is cracked, so it needs to be replaced anyway.”  He said he would be
fair to me and only charge half of what he had charged me several years ago.
The crown needed to be done and since my dental plan did not give discounts
for any visits to any other dentist, I said okay.  He took the cracked crown
off and refused to put any cover on it until a month later.  So I came home
on that day with a naked post.  

I went back today since it had been about a month and asked the assistant if
they were going to take an impress, but was told, “No, we are doing a temp.”
I asked why are we doing a temp when the tooth already has a root canal and
it doesn’t bother me at all to just leave it naked for two more weeks or so
until the crown arrives.  They told me that “It’s not just the tooth; we’ve
got to protect the gum, too.”  That made sense, and I also didn't want my
teeth to move, or the gum to collapse, so I said okay.  

Since I’m scared of the injections, when the dentist came into the office, I
reiterated why we were doing a temp when there already was root canal, blah,
blah… He brushed me off and said “Yeah, yeah” and gave me shots in that area
as I was talking.  

When anesthesia took effect, he drilled out the core that was in the core of
the #14.  Then he shocked me by telling the assistant to show him my chart.
He looked at it and then told the assistant to do an x-ray.  He looked at the
x-ray and told me “I didn’t know there was a root canal.  You have to pay a
little more, but I guess we didn’t tell you last time.  So don’t be surprised
when my office manager gives you a bill for it.”  He talked a little bit more
(he was stuffing the core the whole time and I didn’t have the chance to say
anything back).  By the way, the core work took 2 minutes (my invoice says
“prefab post and core”).  He’s the one that did the root canal 5 years ago!
As he was leaving, I was able to ask “But didn’t you say you would charge me
only half of what you had charged me 5 years ago?” He said, “Yeah, but that
was the crown.  That was done 5 years ago and to be fair to you we said we
would charge only half of what you had paid back then.  But we didn’t know
you had a root canal in that tooth, although we did the root canal.”  He did
an x-ray last time, too, so he knew back then there was a root canal.  He
just forgot this time.  Also, isn't a crown supposed to last longer than 5
years?

The impression I got was that when he took the original core out, he then
noticed that he had done a root canal on that tooth.  I also got the
impression that it was “not necessary” to take the original core out, but he
also said that he would have to connect the root canal to the crown anyway
(this connection part doesn’t make sense to be simply because I don’t know
what it is, so I would be grateful for any clarification).  They charged me
for the core work and sent me on my way.  There was no temp done today and an
impression will be done next time I come in.  I basically left the same way I
had walked into that office.  The core had been changed, but that was it.  

I want to know if I misunderstood him.  Was it necessary to take the original
core out?  Is that how it is done whenever a crown is being put on a tooth
that had a root canal?  This would be the third time he would be putting a
crown on it (1st time was when the crown was first done and the 2nd time was
when the root canal was done and the crown had to be put back on it).  Do you
have to do the core each time a crown is done?  I really thought he would be
doing an impression today.  

I went back 15 minutes later to talk to him about why he did what did today.
I have been having misgivings about his handiwork for the past two years or
so and what he did today (and the way I wasn’t given enough explanation) just
didn’t sit well with me.  The office was locked even though it was before 5 p.
m., which is their closure time.  The receptionists came out and told me that
the dentist and billing manager were both gone.  Then I noticed the office
manager walk into an office and she never came out (I think there is a good
chance the dentist was in the inner office”).  The receptionists were
sympathetic and told me to call the billing manager tomorrow morning.  

I have been seeing this dentist for 7 years and there was a time when I was
happy with his services (even with the on-going painful saga with this tooth),
but all that has changed in the recent years.  He has become a lot more
arrogant and snooty since the office made a move to a much bigger and nicer
place.  All the office people who had known me by my first name (and I knew
their first names, too) are gone now.  His wife and another dentist used to
be around, too, but I haven’t seen them for the past 2.5 years, although
their names are still posted in the office.  He was having a 20-minute
argument with a receptionist today because she apparently wanted to do a
personal errand (that was around 4 p.m.) and he was telling her to "go on
[her] time, but not on his time.”  That’s why my treatment began at 4 even
though I got there at 2:50 for a 3 p.m. appt.  

When I went in last time, he gave me the price to re-do the crown and made me
initial it.  Am I beholden to doing a crown with them?  Can I ask to get my
money back?  What about getting a refund on this core work?  Should it be
covered under the crown charge?  It would have been nice to know ahead of
time that he would be doing something other than an impression today.  Also,
I distinctly heard him say “not necessary.”  

My husband is seeing an implant specialist for two implants and a deep
cleaning and he says that his doctor is awesome with injections.  They barely
hurt at all.  He even told my husband that the injections to upper side of
the mouth hurt more because of nerves, etc.  I was getting two injections
today and asked my dentist why the upper part hurt so much more (and his
injections are very painful) and my dentist said, “Yeah? Some people have
problems with the bottom.  In your case, it’s the top.”  

I apologize for the very long post.  Help me, please!