

My wife got an estimate on fixing her teeth: $12k post-insurance. Is there any alternative? - ph0rque

Sorry if this is not hacker news, but my wife just went to the dentist, and the estimate for fixing her teeth came out to $12k after insurance. About 8 of the teeth need post&#38;core followed by crown/porcelain. I can explain the background of the situation if need be, but in short, she has bad teeth despite your normal prophylactic measures.<p>I would think that there should be research into implanting some kind of stem cell that would grow into a new tooth. Is anyone familiar with anything like this? If not, are there alternatives to this (expensive) procedure?<p>FWIW, we're both Russian; we're looking into the costs/benefits of traveling to Russia to do this. We're currently in US.
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robg
Friends in similar situations have used dental schools to get the work done.
If you have a university dental school nearby that could be an option.

Another, as you mention, is travel. The problem with cheaper fillings though
is that they can leech heavy metals into the blood stream. If you're planning
on having babies any time soon, you need to be extra careful.

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gravitycop
_The problem with cheaper fillings though is that they can leech heavy metals
into the blood stream._

Urban legend. <http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fillings.asp#amalgam>

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Paul_Morgan
Not an urban legend. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy>

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rms
<http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/12/20/121018/65>

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pclark
I've got a $20k bill for my teeth coming up soon (implants)

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cperciva
How many implants is that?

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pclark
3\. I need a bone graft, too.

