More dental work

This is where I recommend that if you grind your teeth, and you don't already have one, get a mouth guard.

I have been doing the jaw clenching thing at night for years. The past 3 years or so I added teeth grinding to the mix. I looked at mouth guards before but at $20-$50 I kept putting it off.

During my last dental cleaning, they found 5 teeth with cavities, all in the front. I had worn the enamel off the backs of my front teeth. I now have a mouth guard to wear at night but it's a little late. Today I had 3 teeth filled. I ended up paying the $20 for the mouth guard anyway (and plan on spending $30 more since the one I have is not comfortable at all) plus I had to spend $72.40 today with another $40 bill coming to cover my deductable. That doesn't include the 2 left to be filled on the 23rd. Not using a mouthguard cost me way more money in the long run.

Cavities are not pleasant either. My dentist is very good about making sure I am completely numb so besides the initial first shot (and I needed 3 shots of that crap total) it didn't hurt, but the sound of the drill is awful. Sitting for 40 minutes with my mouth open is far from comfortable, and now my nose is numb along with my top lip which is just really weird. I only had one cavity growing up and I don't recall getting it filled at all so this was a new experience for me.

And can I just say how much I appreciate dental insurance once again? $72.40 is a much better deal than paying the $362 it would have cost without it.