my bite is worse than my bark

I hate my teeth. And one of my biggest gripes about dental insurance is that I really feel it should be a part of our medical coverage. Think about it - if your teeth have problems, doesn't it effect your entire body? You can get sick from a dental infection, you can be in some serious pain from it, and it can even keep you from eating properly if you have certain dental issues. The problem with dental insurance is that even if you have "good" coverage, you still have to shell out so much money out of pocket for any services. It stinks.

Part of me wishes I could just get 'em all pulled out & have dentures put in. That would seem so much easier in the long run. But I know, people say they want to save the teeth. Well, at what cost? Weeks of pain and dental torture as you work to save one tooth - not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds (if not thousands, like some people I know had to recently do) of dollars you pay out of pocket, just for that tooth to have to eventually be pulled one day. Or for the one next to it to start acting up a few months later. Seriously? Is it really worth it? My parents both had full sets of dentures by the time they turned 22 yrs. I know that's young, but that's also back in the early 50's, before they started doing all they have to do today to save teeth.

The argument I hear from many people is that "you don't want that." Well, that's not very convincing to me. I have bad teeth. I've always had bad teeth. They get cavities often, regardless of my brushing habits. I get pain in my teeth. They get sensitive. It seems it's been years since I've been without some type of issue in my mouth - at least since high school. I'm just tired of shelling out so much money to save what seems to want to crumble away anyway.

What do you think? Please chime in - I'd honestly love to hear some thoughts about teeth!

P.S. I think another thing adding to my thoughts is my severe anxiety when I go to the dentist. Maybe that's why I keep switching dentists - I'm looking for that magical one where I won't be afraid! :)