Dillema- Fixing Teeth vs House

I would ask my dentist for his/her opinion on what, in detail, will happen with the tooth over the next few years. If this has been 8 years already, will a few more matter?

I have a dentist who is very honest and will give me the facts and let me make my own decision. I needed a crown, but he gave me a $100 temporary option that he said would last a year. It ended up lasting three years. I was able to put off a $1000 expense for three years.

I have to admit, I can't imagine spending $7k on myself, in any way. I'd do the basement.

Millions of people have bad teeth, rotting away, and they use any money they get to do stuff for the family instead. I am one of those. I wish I could get my broken teeth fixed, seriously. I am tired of sharp edges cutting the inside of my mouth.

If I had $10K I wouldn't even do my teeth. I'd pay bills in advance, buy at least 3 months food supply, fix some issues with my sub floors in my house......

If I have $50K I would make an appointment with a doc and get my teeth fixed this week. But chances are I would call and cancel it. I would go get a good program vehicle for the family. We just sold the car that the motor blew up in. We are down to one car that has severe water damage inside, the mold smell makes me gag, plus it has diesel fumes coming in and choking us as we go down the street. So for me, any amount of money that could be spent on the house or making life better would go for that.

If I were you...I would call around to nearby medical schools and find one that has a dental school. They have programs where individuals can apply for a scholarship to receive assistance to pay for dental procedures. You may not qualify for any monetary assistance but you can make an appointment to see how much it would cost for them to fix this issue.

You can eat, you can talk, you don't have infection growing all around a decayed and broken tooth. It's not needed. It's wanted. Millions of people do not get braces or their teeth fixed. If there is no medical health issue then do the other stuff first.

If the dentist and the orthodontist said it "might" cause problems then I would hold off a little longer and finish off your basement. If they said there is a problem "right now" or if you are in pain and cannot eat or function then that would be something to get done right away.

If you and hubby are handy and can finish your basement DIY then you could save money and be able to get both done.

Hmmm...a "cross bite" is a very general term. It can range from one tooth being out of alignment - which hardly seems like a major problem - or total misalignment of the upper and lower palates, which obviously should be treated. I don't really understand the "problems" that might occur from a single tooth out of alignment, but I'm not a dentist or orthodontist. I did have a complete misalignment of my upper and lower jaws that was fixed in high school (with thousands of dollars in orthodontics and surgery) but my mom had the same thing, never treated it and it was never an issue - she just has an underbite.

Of course an orthodontist is going to recommend $7K in treatment. I would ask around for a referral to an ortho who one of your friends knows personally and try to get the opinion of someone who might be less motivated to have you buy treatment that may not be totally necessary. Find out specifically what the worst-case scenario is with leaving the wayward tooth where it is and what the minimal treatment is. $7K seems outrageously high to me - even upper and lower braces for one of my older kids for 18-24 months of treatment was lower than that, with an estimate of $5K. The orthos in my area have varied wildly on their recommendations for my older kids but were pretty consistent with my 7-year-old, whose cross bit involves all of his teeth. So...seek at least another opinion.

If it comes back that you still really may need $7K to treat, I would still go with the basement now and put off the orthodontics until you have more money or actually have a problem. We did a partial finish in my basement a couple of years ago for about $3K and it's made a HUGE difference in quality of life in my house. With our basement, we spent about $800 on carpeting (we bought a roll on craigslist and hired someone to install it), painted the concrete walls and the ceiling - pipes, beams, wires and all - with a sprayer that I rented from Home Depot (about $500 for the rental, supplies, primer and paint), and spent about $1000 having more electrical outlets installed as well as overhead lights, and the rest was small stuff like accordion doors, lumber to build a fort, some storage units etc. We have some seating that friends and relatives were getting rid of. The paint, carpeting and lighting totally transformed the space even without installing walls and a ceiling and now the kids have a place to hang out and play that's out of our way and it's heaven! I'm kind of glad that we didn't bother with the walls - those are a huge project, are the biggest expense, and if you have any kind of moisture, that's where you run into problems with mold and having to remove and replace drywall. At least with the carpet, if that gets wet it's relatively easy to rip it out and install a new piece.

its been 8 years so far and it "might" cause problems in the future... you need the space right now for the family.

I say fix the basement and then save up for your teeth.

I know you are far but our local college Stonybrook has a dental program (students learning to be denists I think may do the work not sure) where there perform the work at 50% - 75% off regular dentists I know the wait is long but maybe a college by you. It sounds like a lot of work and if you aren't in pain I would wait. Also look into a secondary dental insurance plan - maybe that would cut the cost as well.

I think what you need to do is weigh the NEED vs the WANT - what happens if you do not fix the cross bite - what sorts of problems will that cause.....dental issues left untreated can cause many illnesses. Or, is it simply a cosmetic issue? Does the orthodontist feel this can cause illness down the road or is it just cosmetic?

If this is a need in order to care for your health I say make the orthodontics your priority....

I would fix the house because that is something the entire family can benefit from. I have a wonky situation in my own mouth but I wouldn't take money from the family to fix it because it's not causing any problems for me. It could down the road, but it's not urgent. I stay at home right now, so when I go back to work I'll think about it then. Finish the basement.

Scale back the basement plans to create something functional that's less expensive. Then see if the orthodontist has a payment plan for something that takes a long time to resolve - most do. Otherwise I would say that teeth are more important.

Your long time health is always the priority. You will always have your mouth.

The worst this condition continues, the more damage it is going to cost. in the long run.

I agree to revisit the basement and figure out how to either scale back the repairs or how to pay for one ofr the other with a small loan.

I was in a similar situation two years ago. I got a quote to have a tooth replaced (molar, in the back) for $4K and insurance wasn't going to pay any of it, BUT we had been beginning to plan a vacation (cruise, Universal studios). It really was an either/or, so I decided to go on vacation. I have not regretted my decision - the vacation was amazing! The memories we created together will last forever. Good luck with your decision.

I would do the basement since the tooth doesn't seem to be causing any immediate issues. I would also get a second opinion on the tooth -- $7K sounds like an awful lot. I had one dentist tell me I needed to get a laser-cut replacement for a filling that was getting too old ($500), so I went to a different dentist and she said there were no issues with the old filling at all and it would be silly to replace it so early.

I agree with others too -- try a dental school in your area. They will have drastically reduced rates.

I know plenty of people with teeth alignment problems and none have developed anything further from them. Surely the dentist could explain to you what he's concerned about happening. Unless I felt like there were a significant risk of me developing a health problem (not cosmetic issue) from this tooth, I would definitely do the basement. I have an obviously misaligned tooth and just cannot bring myself to spend thousands to straighten the ONE tooth since it's cosmetic.

7k? Are you sure? I got a full mouth of braces (like 10 years ago, but still) for 4k and the only reason it was that high is because I got the clear ones. Are you sure you couldnt shop around for cheaper?

That is a tough decision.

Crossbite...been there, done that. Not fun when it starts causing problems. My cause jaw pain so bad, that I could eat much due to all the clicking and pain. Fix the teeth. It will cost more if they have to wire your jaw joint due the the wearing down of the jaw.