It's too late now I'm already committed. I've got a severe case of buyers
remorse. I had the root canal and build up yesterday  and am waiting for the
permanent crown to be made.

He did show me the x-ray and said that the cavity went to the pulp but honestly
I could not see it.  To my eyes it stopped before the pulp but  I know that
x-rays are hard to read so I took his word for it.  I just wanted that hole out
of my tooth so I could eat.  My time (for sitting in dental chairs) is really
limited since I'm a SAHM with two kids and no babysitter or day care to turn to.

One thing though the hole left behind by the filling did reach to the gum line.
Dentist said a cavity had undermined the filling.

Ah so you want respect but you in turn have no repect for people who need your
services.  I guess that explains you high prices.

I agree with most everything you said, except the above. Maybe the
dentists YOU know are honest, but believe me, there are plenty of
dishonest dentists out there. I have run into several who tried to
sell me things I did not need, and overcharged me for things I did.
(This based on other dentists' testimoies re said procedures.)

As a dentist you probably do not want to be confronted with the fact
of the matter, which is that there are MANY dentists, especially in
the Big Cities, who are no more honest than the local used car dealer,
and will take patients for their money using similar devious devices
such as bait and switch, etc..

Yes, there are people who do not take care of their teeth and then get
mad at the dentists for charging too much to fix the problems. And
yes, many dentists are honest, fair people who just charge the going
rate in their area based on cost of rent, insurance, assistants,
materials, etc...

And then there are dentists who try to scam people into deep cleanings
they don't need, use bait and switch techniques that amount to basic
false advertising to extract money out of patients' pockets...

So don't assume that just because the dentists YOU know are all
honest, fair people, that the rest of your brethren are. It just ain't
so and I have the experiences to prove it.

Right!

But it IS shocking, these days, to go in for what you think is just a
filling, maybe a couple hundred dollars , and get socked with a bill
that could pay for a new (used) car! And have NO WAY of really knowing
if you are being scammed or not. And yes, some dishonest dentists scam
patients just like dishonest car mechanics are known to do!

This is why I highly recommend going to only dentists that are
recommended by people you have talked to and who have used the dentist
for years and found him to do good work and be honest. This is hard to
find in a big city, as often the dentist recommended is too far away
from where you live or the people you meet have also just arrived here
and do not really know the dentists. Particularly if you work with
mostly younger people who don't have much real dental work done.

OR, go to a good dental school and use their graduate program, where
you are pretty sure things are done on the up and up, and the dentist
will have supervision. I have opted for the latter because I have yet
to find ONE good honest dentist out of the 8 or so I have tried. I am
happy with the work I've had done at the dental school, so far. (Knock
on wood.) The price really is not THAT much cheaper for some
procedures. It's the supervising that, for me, makes it worth it, and
the fact that a school presumably is not teaching their students to
scam the patients as a car mechanic might do.