I'm not a big fan of alcohol. Ginger can't have grapefruit because of a medication she's on (I realize it's not a large amount but she would be consuming some, I'd think). And grapefruit seed extract is a very weak disinfectant at best. I've done research on it when looking for a cleaner for my parrots' stuff. Thanks Mazer. She hates the taste of baking soda, I don't blame her. It's so salty. I may go with Drsfosterandsmith baking soda toothpaste because the ingredients are so limited, with no alcohol, artificial sweeteners, or alcohol. I hate paying more for s&h than for the actual toothpaste though. Seems odd.

guess it depends a lot on where the practice is and how good a job they do on dentals. My wife is a dental tech at a pretty upscale practice in Encino California and $2000 for a full dental with multiple extractions is not unheard of. $1000 for a dental would be pretty typical. Getting a dental at her work for under $650 would literally be impossible. They do a LOT of dentals, though and have a very good reputation (my wife is anal about doing a perfect job). On your estimate I see things missing that would be on one of her dentals: after extractions, they close all defects so a gingival flap would be charged per extraction ($50). Extraction of a molar would be $80, not $40. They have a super high tech monitoring machine that is constantly monitoring blood pressure, end tidal CO2, temperature, heart rate, respiration, pulse Ox and ecg... so they also charge $70 for anesthetic monitoring equipment. Preanesthetic blood work is minimum $100, but can up to $200 if patients are old or infirm; you left out antibiotic injection, and preop x-rays for any older patients or ones with heart murmurs; analgesia is divided into preop, post op and during op (local anesthetic nerve blocks)- these are non-negotiable, but no one turns down pain meds... anyway, you can see how costs can go up much higher than what you have there. It's perceived as well as real costs, too... many of her clients go to that practice because it is expensive, knowing (and in this case they may right) they are going to get the best job done just about anywhere. Only the dental specialists would cost more, and in some instances, they are comparable. We have multiple dental specialists in the area and they are super busy as well. Average dental by one of them is $1500.

I have had and am now having major dental work. The dentist that I went to for years and really liked retired about 7 years ago. I was switched to another dentist who practiced in the same office. I have had some major work done by this dentist and almost every time I leave his office, I am black and blue and in severe pain. One time I ended up with over $800 in medical bills. The dentist gave me a hematoma which ended up getting infected, I had major swelling of my glands and a lot of pain. I went to a medical doctor and got penicillin and they referred me to a cardiologist who did an echocardiogram. I have a heart murmur and have to take antibiotics before having any work done on my teeth. Because of the severe infection, I was referred to a cardiologist to make sure no damage had been done. I am now having a bridge replaced and had a tooth pulled this week. I am having problems and the dentist looked at it again today and said I have a severe bruise on my gum and it is swollen but it should heal without further antibiotics. Last summer I had a crown done on a molar and ended up with two weeks of severe pain and had to exist on a pain reliever. My point in all of this is that I have always been afraid to go to a dental school and have students working on me since I have had so many problems with an experienced dentist working on me. If he can't do it without me ending up in severe pain and bruises, hematomas, and other problems, would a student do a better job?

From my experience in working at a dentist clinic for years, here's my thought. A tooth crown involves 2 people, the dentist that preps it (taking impression) and the fabricator that the dentist uses. Thus, the dentist may be good but not the fabricator that s/he uses or vice versa. Both needs to be reliable. It's also important for the fabricator to know what or how the dentist wants. Not all dentists fit a crown the same way and the fabricator needs to understand this. Crown fabricators usually are not in the same location as the dentist is. They have their own lab and normally work for several dentist clinics. Thus, it may not always be the dentist's fault. However, a good dentist will take responsibility and should make it right for his/her patients. As for your question of which is best, porcelain fused to metal is more durable. The porcelain coat crown will still match your teeth but not as well as an all-porcelain crown would. Sometime, the metal fused crown tends to turn darker in time. Whereas, the all-porcelain crown will not but it tends to chip as Kudzu9 already mentioned. If the crown was toward the front, I'd recommend the all-porcelain. But since it's a molar, the metal fused is a better choice for chewing since it can take the pressure more.