Hey all. I’m 33/m, and I’ve never had a great experience with my teeth. My dad and my grandfather also have bad teeth, and I just assumed that’s what happens to us. It just turns out that none of us were taught the importance of going the dentist and properly taking care of oral health. That beig said, pretty much the only times I’ve been to the dentist have been for extractions when in extreme pain for a toothache.

I can’t take it anymore. I’m about to take a loan for restorative dental work, but… I’m super confused on where to start. I naturally want the simplest, fastest, best-looking, most-durable, and most effective treatment options I can afford. But what falls under “restorative” or “cosmetic”? Is it situational? I have several teeth missing/broken/chipped/rotted, and the last time I went to the dentist to talk about having work done, she was super rude and said, “Did you even plan on keeping ANY of these teeth?” And I fired back, “yeah of course, I planned on keeping all of them, but that didn’t work out and that’s why you’re getting paid.” They’re bad, but not bad enough for someone to talk to me that way.

Long story short – I know I want to restore my smile SOMEHOW- I just don’t know where to start or what my best options are. Do I just go to any old dentist and then get a referral, or do I need nan oral surgeon? Does all-on-4 fall under being “medically necessary” (and if there’s a line, where does it fall)?

Just don’t know where to start! Too many questions!