wht do you do if you cannot afford to go to the dentist?

You may want to see if there is a plan through your government for people with no dental insurance. Here in the US there are plans you can buy that are cheap (like $75/family) that give you discounts on dental work.

Usually every college has a dental school where people who don't have insurance can go and get there teeth taken care of at low cost. My husband's cousin's wife is in dental school and they have this in her college. You should look into it...

Someone mentioned the dental school already but I think that is a good idea. Other than that some areas have clinics that are for low income people. Some dentists will also work out a payment plan. One I went to held a post dated check for me. We use to do that when I worked at an optometrist office.

If you live within driving distance of Mexico go across the border and get your teeth fixed for almost nothing. I just had my teeth cleaned for $15.00 a filling is $25.00 and a cap is $65. These dentists are trained in the States and do good work. There are thousands of Canadians and Americans takeing advantage of these cheap dentist rates every year!

this is interesting because I am going through this now! I have a bad toothache but I have decided to wait it out a while to see if it goes away...LOL not a good idea I guess but it's very expensive to see a dentist and I dont ahve insurance either...I know some dentists have payment plans and I plan to find one that does in the near future and take advantage of that if the pain becomes unbearable!

If i cannot go to the dentist and the pain is mild i will apply some mouth gel on the painful areas.if the pain is severe i will pop a pain killer and go to sleep.

If you live near a major hospital or university, you might see if they have a teaching clinic. Here in the states, it's possible to get free treatment if you are under a certain income (it's fairly high)and fortunate enough to live in the vicinity of one of those places. I knew a girl once who had terrible work done by an expensive dentist and had to go to a free university clinic to get it straitened out. They did a good job. If you are in pain, they'll take you right away to clear up what's causing the pain but to have regular work done, it's usually necessary to sign up and wait several months. A lot of people who live near me sign up for the University of Pennsylvania clinic and get cutting edge treatment. If I ever needed implants or anything really expensive like that, I'd probably try to go there too. They use lazer surgery and you don't have to spend five hours in a dentist chair.

I'm answering this from my e-mail, so perhaps someone has already answered, but I'll go ahead and suggest this anyway. Dental schools will do the work for a much lower price than regular dentists. I know, you're thinking no way am I letting a dental student practice on me! However, they are supervised by full fledged dentists, and of the people I've talked to who have gone, they have had no complaints.

here in Norway we have excellent public health care but dental work is not included. my man is currently fixing some teeth that the school dentist did a poor job on 25 years ago. Now hiss bill will be more than 10000 dollars. We had some savings. Thankfully. I know people need a downpayment plan, or some even need to take a mortgage on their home. You cannoy just wait either - it just becomes more expencive the longer you wait

I know how you feel. I need loads of dental work done, some by an oral surgeon and I don't have the insurance coverage for it either. Nor do I have the cash to pay for it. It can be very depressing. If you do find a carrier that covers it, its usually only the cost of basic dentistry and not cosmetic. Its pretty dumb considering you need your teeth.

What I have done is nothing but go around with four teeth needing help as I do not have six hundred dollars in a lump sum to pay out. and others are having the same problems I hate having misssing crowns and cannot smile fully because I am embarrassed of all the holes in my mouth.

You might be able to get some work done for free or low cost at a dental school. If you have alot of work to be done, it might be worth it even if you have to travel a little. I know Baylor School of Dentistry is one. I think all Dental Schools have a program. They need patients. You might search around?

Apparently some people in the UK have resorted to pliers and pollyfiller! Read this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7045143.stm Outrageous!!