Why some people agonize over the choice of a dentist

This is a commentary on an e-mail exchange with a patient I am calling “D”, as he agonizing over choosing a cosmetic dentist. Here are links to the first four e-mails:
Agonizing over the choice of a dentist.
Agonizing over the choice of a dentist, part 2.
Agonizing over the choice of a dentist, part 3.
These first three were a back-and-forth while I tried to guide him through his case and picking a cosmetic dentist. Then, I heard from him again a year later, when he still hadn’t picked the dentist. Here is that last exchange. Read: Agonizing over the choice of a dentist, part 4.

Here’s a little analysis of what has happened with D and why he can’t seem to pick a dentist. He had these two front crowns from a dentist, Dr. Bill Dorfman, who was supposed to be fantastic. But they didn’t turn out that way. Now I know Dr. Dorfman and have seen some beautiful work he has done. But we have had two cosmetic dentists look at his work here and agree that it should be done over. It was just two crowns in the front, and maybe he didn’t take the case seriously enough or spend enough time listening to the patient. Whatever happened, it seemed the result was below his usual standards.

But now, D, having been burned, is trying to second-guess everything he is told. He wants to pick the ceramist and he questions every recommendation the dentist makes. So we had this comment he made at the end of his last e-mail: “It’s all very confusing!!!” Of course it’s confusing. The problem is that he simply doesn’t know enough to make all of these decisions. He has to just pick a great cosmetic dentist and trust him or her to make the right decisions for him. Even if he did have a dental school education and post-graduate training in cosmetic dentistry, you can’t micro-manage the dentist, looking over their shoulder and questioning everything. The pathway to a great result is trusting the cosmetic dentist.