answer to your question about how do you shop around, i have definitely called up dentists and told them what my current dentist was recommending and asked how much they would charge for that same service. i had a bad experience during a regular cleaning, which was my first time seeing a new dentist -- i believed her that i needed a filling but there was no way i was going back to that dentist for any procedure. so anyway, i called to some dentists that friends recommended and asked for an estimate. i told them which tooth and they gave me a range, from "small cavity" to "large cavity" 