I haven’t seen a dentist since 2013, even tho I have insurance. Half my teeth have been capped and the other half are an accident waiting to happen. I think I’ll just have them pulled if they’re molars rather than go through the invariable root-canal-and-crown routine. Dentists have made so much money off my teeth in my 69 years on this planet, it’s not funny.
Back when I was working, and did have dental insurance, my dentist, whose practice I still use, told me I had an abscess on my bottom right molar. He told me he could do a root canal, but that there wasn't any guarantee that I wouldn't lose the tooth eventually. I decided to have him pull the tooth instead. He did say that I may end up losing the tooth behind it (the last tooth in the back), but I haven't yet. It's fallen forward slightly, and there is a small space between it and the next tooth, but I've never had any issues other than food periodically getting stuck there. This same dentist put in two permanent bridges about 2-3 years before I retired. He told me I might as well get them done while I still had the insurance instead of waiting, and having to pay for it out of my own pocket. I just turned 75 in August. Never smoked, although everyone else in my family did, and all either had dentures, or no teeth at all. I've outlived them all, and have lived the longest of any of them.