I'm 23 years old. Never really though my teeth were bad. They are straight, white, not extremely sensitive to hot/cold. The thing is I started getting some pain in a tooth that I had a mercury filling put in when I was younger. I went to the dentist and he said I'm going to need 3 crowns (upper right side where the mercury filling and pain is) another crown on the upper left, I'm assuming since I have another mercury filling on that side too. No pain there though. I need two inlays, I'm assuming bottom molars. And 4 fillings throughout other teeth. I suppose that's what happens when you drink a lot of soda and sugar and don't go to the dentist for 5 years. My concern is that my insurance isn't going to cover much of the cost at all. I'm looking at $6600 out of pocket to fix everything after my insurance. I think I can qualify to get the fillings done for free through a local dental clinic. But just to fix the area causing me pain is going to cost $2700 out of pocket which I can't afford. Would it be wise to get that main tooth on that side pulled and get a bridge or implant later given my age?

Have you gone and gotten a second opinion on all this dental work? Possibly you don't need all of it. Did the dentist take a panorama (full mouth) X-ray of your teeth to actually show you where this work is needed? If not, then have one done for about $75 and you can see with a dentist's help of course what work needs to be done NOW. I am not a huge fan of teeth crowns or the like. I only had one crown and it hasn't come off in 15 years now. And I've had root canals where I should have just had the blessed tooth out and be done with it.

It all depends on how far down the caries have gone into your teeth. If they went down to the root, then you are in trouble as the tooth will probably have to come out. If it's just fillable, then just get them filled.

Again, get that full mouth X-ray and consult with another dentist before investing that kind of money when You don't have to.

To give you an idea, last year my son was having a lot of pain and I took him to a trusted dentist. He did the full mouth X-ray and it turned out that my son was still getting in his wisdom teeth in 3 areas of his mouth all at once (at age 27 no less) and THAT was the cause of all his dental problems. The man was an honest dentist who took the time to show me that his other teeth that my son thought needed filled or pulled were perfectly okay. Sonny was ready to take a pair of plires and yank about 5 different teeth out the pain was that bad. Glad I took him to the dentist and he did the full mouth x-ray. My son hasn't been to the dentist regularly either. More like 15 years since he went before and he eats a lot of sweets but no soda.

Please come back and tell us your outcome.

99% of responses are going to be yes, get the crown. I refuse to get any more crowns myself, although I am 64. Were I to go back in time I would not have had the ones I had, which were nothing but trouble. Same with most people I know, yet they keep getting them. There is no guarantee that the tooth under the crown won't crack as mine did, causing infection below the gumline, unseen. I was sick for months. It didn't show on an X-ray. I had chronic bronchitis and couldn't even go up a flight of stairs. No antibiotics worked. I happened to live 1/2 block from a periodontist who diagnosed the problem immediately when my regular dentist didn't. Good luck. I know plenty of people who keep throwing money at crowns that failed.

If you get another opinion that agrees this is all necessary you may be able to postpone some work until the new insurance calender year starts. Most dental insurance only covers about a $1000 per year. Has this dentist submitted his proposal for a preapproval to your insurance yet?

Often it is a matter of what you can afford, I had to make some of those choices myself, I did not have 1200 dollars for this one tooth, or 3000 for those two teeth,

I opted to have some pulled over the years since there was no dental insurance and I just don't have the money to pay for the work to be done.

It is not always what is best, but what is best that you can really afford.

Definitely you need a second opinion. Some dentists just like to get in there and replace anything that they haven't done themselves.

Address the tooth that is bothering you. Unless you have cavities in the other teeth there is no rush to deal with them at this time. There is nothing wrong with the silver (amalgam) filling material. They do expand and contract with the foods you eat and drink and over time the margins can become weak allowing bacteria to seep underneath the filling and cause decay.

As your friends who they see for their dental needs and go see someone who is truly trusted by a friend or family member.

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Originally Posted by flossie

Definitely you need a second opinion. Some dentists just like to get in there and replace anything that they haven't done themselves.

Address the tooth that is bothering you. Unless you have cavities in the other teeth there is no rush to deal with them at this time. There is nothing wrong with the silver (amalgam) filling material. They do expand and contract with the foods you eat and drink and over time the margins can become weak allowing bacteria to seep underneath the filling and cause decay.

As your friends who they see for their dental needs and go see someone who is truly trusted by a friend or family member.

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Sometimes getting a second opinion WILL save you lots of money for unnecessary dental work. One time my son had a particular upper tooth that was bothering him. We were in Missouri at the time and I took him to a local dentist who took X-rays of the tooth in question and was happily putting black marks on the X-rays giving my son instant cavities.. Yes, I know this was an extreme case, but oddly enough that dental office was run out of this little town shortly thereafter. Wonder how many other made up cavities that dentist filled before everyone got hip.