Part is insurance companies, I know several drs getting under 700 for crowns.
Then they should not participate in those insurance plans. THAT my friend is a cop-out, and exactly the way dentists who use Chinese labs justify this to you and their colleagues.
"Well, what can I do? After all, I only get $700 for a crown. I HAD to use the Chinese lab!"
No, you have the right to say that you will not participate in managed care plans that do not pay a decent fee for the work you do. May dentists choose to participate in capitaion plans that pay them a fixed amount per month. They take the cash and hope that NO patients come in. Then they get bent when they don't get paid for a crown.
It's just like labs who accept crappy products from manufacturers or who use off label, unapproved materials. It erodes the infrastructure of everything we do, and give us an easy scapegoat when we need to justify our bad behaviors.
Don't let them fool you Al! The erosion of prices is primarily driven by cheap off shore work, counterfeit products and lab owners who peddle the stuff.
We made our own beds.