Dental Work

A year ago I went to the dentist because I was in a lot of pain. I thought I might have an infected tooth. Turns out it was the TMJ in my jaw that had been aggravated. I knew I had a LOT of cavities since I had not been to a dentist in a long time and am prone to them. I also knew that 2 teeth were sensitive and really needed the work done. Skip ahead a year.... I have now spent about $3300 on dental work. Both problem teeth had cavities filled and one had a pin put in. Both of them are still bothering me. And the one that had a pin put in is now disintegrating, literally. There is a crevice in the back of the tooth and it is getting worse all the time. I am waiting for the tooth to split in half.

I know I need to go back to the dentist but it is so expensive... I do have 100% coverage through work (50% for major work... like crowns) but it's not always 100% that is covered. And I feel like it should've been right the first time. Now I am paying for it again... or will be. There is also a lot of pain, even up into my sinuses as a result. I am really scared that they are going to need to crown the tooth since that will cost me about $400. I don't have $400 at the moment... especially with the government hassling me over my student loan.

I truly believe that dental work should be considered part of health care and should have more coverage. After all a lot of people prolong getting work done until it becomes an emergency and then it ends up costing more and they are worse off. Of course I would also like to see dental implants become a viable option... but right now they are considered cosmetic and cost something like $8000 a tooth. Because I am prone to cavities and my teeth didn't really form properly I would gladly have all my teeth taken out and new teeth be surgically implanted (we're not talking dentures here... we're talking grafted in). Then I wouldn't have to worry about them any more and would only have to pay once.... not constantly be putting out more money. Of course I would have to be really rich in order to afford it... but I can dream.