Why is a crown between $1500 and $2000 or more?

Q: I just don’t get it. How cans a little piece of porcelain to cap a tooth made in a lab cost close to two grand?

A: Why is a face-lift thousands of dollars? Are sutures and gauze pads that expensive? Why are diamonds thousands of dollars when they are just clear pieces of carbon found below ground? Why was a piece of fish and a thimble full of cheese grits and an Iced Tea for lunch the other day at Henry’s $85.00?! I think I made my point; granted, with some sarcasm.

Lets do some math. In order for your doctor to make just one crown on your tooth, here is the investment required:

1. Undergraduate four- year college education: $120,000-$280,000.
2. Dental School: four years: $400,000
3. Post graduate education (specialists): two to three years at close to $100,000 per year
4. Buying or starting a dental practice $400,000 to over $1,000,000.
5. You only see the fees being charged; dental practices have office overhead expenses such as lab fees, equipment, leases, supplies and staff salaries. In some practices overhead can reach 80% of collected revenue. Profit is extremely limited.
6. Student loans with interest average about $250,000 to $500,000
7. Time to get married, have kids, buy a house, and two cars to get to his job like most of you.
8. Need to save money for his children to embark on numbers 1. To 7. Above.

As of 2023 the cost of a child becoming a dentist can easily hit $1,000,000.

That’s a lot of crowns.