Hi all. In college, I developed a severe case of bruxism/teeth grinding. I already had weak enamel..so now my teeth are experiencing now major wear and tear. I've had some crowns placed, but it looks like the majority of my teeth will now need crowns (fortunately I've been able to avoid a lot of root canals) because of my night guard. My dentist has created a treatment plan, but it is way more than what I can afford. We belong to a dental HMO and it turns out that she will not use the dental materials approved by the insurance company. She wants to use all porcelain crowns, veneers, inlays and onlays. I know a lot of this is cosmetic. I would like to have a smile that is nice looking, yet functional, and can withstand my grinding. I'm only 22 and would like to save my teeth while I still can. I was thinkng of making an appointment at the local dental school and seeking a second opinion there. Does anyone have advice on some less expensive alternatives? Should I be seeing a specialist such as a prosthodontist?

Hi... I am going through something very similar, yet unlike you, I was only about 20 when all of this occurred and my parents just took me to a regular dentist who offered me the world. Well, now after 5 bridges and 18 crowns, I am having to get it all redone, by a prostheodontist, oral surgeon, etc. Basically now, I need implants, jaw surgery, bone grafts, etc. Soooo... needless to say, prostheodontist's can be expensive, but truly truly go to one.... Some dentists are not qualified enough. I have been told that connecting more than two bridges together is not good so please, get a second opinion on your mouth... Trust me... by the time I am done, I will have pretty much paid my house off (in my mouth)!!!!!!!!!!

Your best bet is to go to a dental school. It's relatively inexpensive but they require a lot of your time and patience. But it will be worth it because those dental students do a darn good job because their grades depend on it. At this point I don't think you need to see a prosthodontist. Any good general dentist will be able to treat you fine.

Ummm my experience with the dental school was a nightmare. I went to the one in New Orleans. Sure I thought I was going to get the best treatment because the students were being graded by the professors. This is just not the case. The student that pulled out my wisdom teeth was wonderful. I had no problems with him and I healed pretty well. The skin where my wisdom teeth were, now and then peels. Not sure if that is normal but it's not a problem atm so it can continue to do that. The main reason I went to the LSUMD school was to get braces. They told me I needed out my wisdom teeth. Ok They had been impacted for 15 years werer starting to get a cavitiy in one so I agreed. Rule #1 I learned is : "If its not hurting leave it alone".
They pulled them out healed then toldme it would be a 6 month wait till I got my braces on so if I wanted to change out my fillings that I had gotten when I was a kid with the white ones I could. I did. *Stupid me!* I was given 2 hematomas one sent me to the ER She filled teeth that had nothing wrong with them but they do now. She cut me with the polishing tool and then put stictches in which fell out before I even made it back home. All this and the professor said she past with flying colors!
I go for braces thinking that I will have a better experience with teh next person and low and behold it was the same student, SHe tells me that this is really what she is in this school for and can't wait to start the braces on me I was her first case. >8 (
The professor came over after pictures and molds were made of my teeth and they both tell me that they have to pull out my bottom tooth to put braces on cause it didn't match the others. So it was a little wider than the others no need to pull it out. I do know that you can reshape teeth. I told them I wanted my money back and I was out of there. It cost $1850 for the braces and after 4 months of calls and letters I finially got a check for $1700. They said I used up their film ..mind you it was digital camera.... plus the cost of the mold.

2 years later the fillings that she supposively fixed are fallig out and and the ones that had nothing wrong with them that she said I had chipped and fixed with fillings are doing the same thing. It is like the fillings are shrinking. They keep getting thinnner nad thinner. I went to a longtime practicing dentisit and sadly he supposively fixed them but no. I quit my job and have no insurance so to fix the ones that the students did cost between $150-$200 each. She ground out more of each tooth than she needed to so a whole that was super small is now the whole size of my tooth.

That school has been in the news alot. There is no sueing either. You sign your life away as a lab rat to the school. What happens happens. If they break it mess up other teeth or what ever they will fix it but youhave to go on a list for the problem that you are having fixed. SO if they mess up your tooth next to the one that they were fixing you go back to the end of the list and wait. The waiting list is long.

My mother dropped out before I did they really screwed up her teeth too. I hung in there, I had heard so many good thinsg about the school that I did not wanna drop out. I should of cause the 15 bucks per filling that the school charged me is costing me thousands now to fix. All this pain and money for the soul reason to fix my bottom teeth that were a bit crooked.
My lesson I learned and live by now is "If it don't hurt leave it alone! " :nono: yes the students grade depends on their work but just because it looks pretty does not mean it was done right! The filling color was a perfect match to my tooth color but it was not done correctly. I sould have researched the school before going. I found out so many horrible cases that the students messsed on people. To the fact that a couple died. Research, research, research!

Jenteal

If you belong to a dental hmo they should be able to refer you to other dentists that would probably be more sympathetic to your financial concerns then the one you saw. A good general dentist is probably all you need at this time. Good luck to you!

Toothfairy, would using fluoride treatmens for another year help prevent any more deterioration? I have some fluorodex toothpaste that my dentist said would hold me over until I made any decisions concerning major dental work. She said using this toothpaste and my night guard should be ok until I'm able to figure out my financial situation.

Thanks everyone for replying. I appreciate your help. I'll take those ideas into consideration and let you know how my story turns out. All the best in the new year! :)

Jenteal, I'm sorry to hear about your case of misfortune. I know many ppl who have had wonderful dental treatments at various dental schools.

Fluoride is a prevention. If you already have decay it will not help. If you have some demineralizations or weak spots then fluoride will help to calcified those areas and make them hard again. I'm not sure of your situation. But if you have decay then you should get it treated as soon as you can before the decay spreads and gets bigger. Worst yet if it reaches the nerve of the tooth it will need a root canal.