Got 99 problems but a bridge ain't one

So I've been seeing my dentist. Not in the racy, extramarital kind of way, but the paying a lot of money to meet my deductible and getting talked into lots of dental work that I may or may not need kind of way.

I'll admit, genetics did not grace me with the best of teeth. In fact, I'm missing a permanent tooth. It's never been there, so I've never missed it. It's not a big deal, it doesn't hurt and it's in the back, you can't really see it unless I crack my mouth open very wide. And the only time I ever think about missing it is when a dentist brings it up. They all want me to get an implant. Well, tough luck.

I had braces forever, and when I got them off, the plan was to get an implant. This was in high school. They took me to two surgeons and they both said my jaw bone was too narrow and they'd have to do an extra surgery to get bone from my chin and implant it, let it grow, then they could put the metal stud in my jaw, then the tooth. Three procedures in all.

The clincher for me was when they said the missing tooth was right above a nerve that, if not done absolutely perfect, the surgery could very well tweak and paralyze half of my face. Thanks, but no thanks. I can do without.

The next step was a bridge. To do this, they would need to grind down the healthy teeth on either side of my missing tooth and put caps on them with the fake tooth between 'em. Not being one to mess with perfectly healthy teeth, I declined this dance as well.

On a recent trip to my dentist for a needed crown, I was again approached about an implant. After explaining why I didn't have/want one, he didn't seem to believe me. On the second visit, I think he saw my resolve and felt the jaw bone himself and decreed that the other surgeons were probably right. So on to the bridge attack, again.

This time, he almost had me convinced. "Insurance will help pay for it, it will be the thing to do, I'd do it if it were me..." and so on. Then I got the estimate from my insurance, it would cost me over $800 for said bridge. For that much, I'd rather make a nice down payment on new leather couches, or pay off our supercool TV that we had to have. So no, I won't be getting a bridge, I knew you all would be concerned, so I thought I'd let you know.