It dawned on my today while taking my child to the dentist how messed up the whole thing is. Here is this place that charges an arm and a leg to "clean" your teeth several times a year, but they only really make real money if you need fillings, crowns, root canals and all sorts of other shit.
Today we got there and in spite of just having X rays done last week at a different place, this new place wanted their "own" set of x rays... of course at an additional cost of $400 and increased radiation exposure for my child. Then, they came up with a 4 stage plan over $5000 to fix four small cavities she has, including crowns and sedation and the whole 9 yards. Not to mention the manipulation they use on young kids. All their favourite disney shows playing, all the free toys and they even told her they were going to maybe put a "sparkly elsa tooth" in her mouth like WTF....
I declined the extra xrays, which they were shocked about. And left saying I would think about it. But as I left I realized that none of these 20 or 30 staff members at the clinic would have jobs if they weren't bringing in this kind of revenue.
But what a scam the whole thing is! If they were truly cleaning teeth properly they should have worked themselves out of a job long ago. Same thing with doctors and the relationship to pharmaceutical companies. The whole thing is a big scam!
Los Algodones is right across the border from Yuma, Arizona (The border crossing is actually in California). Their dental work is about 1/3 the price in the U.S. They are very good at what they do. I went with SANI, https://sanidentalgroup.com/. Los Algodones has approximately 300 dental clinics, pharmacies, liquor stores, and optometrists in a maybe 10 square block area. It is right across the border. Park on the American side and walk over less than 100 yards. SANI had a deal to put patients up for free in their hotel if enough money is spent on dental services.
I'm in Canada.