Reply to Why Do High Earners Let Their Teeth Fall Apart?

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[quote=Anonymous]A few things:

You are conflating cosmetic dental issues with actual health issues related to teeth. There can be some overlap in them, but they arent' the same thing.

People who just have crowding or yellow teeth don't actually have a medical problem. Sometimes crowding can be bad enough to cause issues, but often not. Yellow teeth are just genetic (or due to staining, but most people with yellow teeth just have high levels of dentin in their teeth and can only achieve white teeth with a lot of whitening). Some people don't care about this stuff. 50 years ago most people had both of these, even wealthy people. It's like baldness. Sure, some people will go to great lengths to address baldness. But it's not a health problem and plenty of people who can afford hair plugs or other treatments just don't bother. So that's part of it.

For people who do have serious health issues with their teeth, it's more complicated than you think. I have a lifelong problem with teeth grinding that has caused serious problems with my teeth. I've had multiple root canals and one tooth will likely need to be pulled and replaced with an implant in the next 10-15 years because the second root canal is not doing as well as I'd hoped. Insurance rarely covers these procedures. Each root canal is between $1500-$3000. Crowns cost a few hundred each time, on top of the cost of the RC. An implant will be even more and take months. I am financially comfortable but I don't have a bottomless pit of money to spend on my teeth. I fully understand why people often put off this work or try something temporary to see how it goes.

4. In addition to the money, it's depressing and frustrating. If you've never had serious issues with teeth you might not get this. The reason my teeth are so bad is (1) genetic, and (2) I had an abusive childhood which is how I became a teeth grinder and why the damage is so bad -- it's been going on so long. Dentists will yell at me about the grinding like it's something I want to do and not really get that I'd do anything to stop grinding my teeth. I've had mouth guards but I grind through them, and then I developed sleep apnea that is made worse by the guards so I stopped using them. It sucks. I recently heard that botox might disrupt grinding so I'm looking into trying that. People treat me like my teeth problems are a moral failing but they aren't, they are an unfortunate circumstance I've actually put a lot of work into addressing (and a ton of money) but I still have issues.

If you've never had major problems with your teeth, you don't get this. You probably think people with crooked, missing, or yellow teeth are just bad at flossing or something. Your tooth problems could be addressed with regular cleanings and a few treatments at a cosmetic dentist, while my teeth issues will wind up costing me tens of thousands of dollars, involve hours of time with various specialists, and I'll still probably never have great teeth. [/quote]

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