You can't avoid your teeth. If you don't care for them, eventually your gums will recede, you will get pockets of germs, and experience mineral loss.

Floss, toothpaste and toothbrushes are cheap at drugstores with coupons, (or free, if you beg your dentist for lots of samples). Committed tooth care can help, but you still need dentistry.

Cheap options? Not a whole lot out there in the first world. Here are some ideas:

- Cross the border to Mexico (from the states) - this happens a LOT, mostly in places like San Diego, Tuscon, Yuma...there is an entire Mexican industry servicing teeth in border towns.
- Get tooth care at a dentistry school (i've had xrays and cleanings for very little at the Flagstaff NAU dental school). Students are not the most gentle at this point in this career, but they are watched like a hawk by their mentors, an your teeth WILL be properly cleaned.
- Try alternative care, as in this preventative dentistry page on WiseBread.

What else? Ideas to share? DO yo ignore your teeth, set aside money each year for dentist care, or do something completely different?

Preventive care is key to keeping your dental costs down. We are examples of that. My husband neglected his dental care for years, except for very rare visits now and then. Oy, now he needs extensive reconstruction!

The dental school is a great idea, Jilly. But they only handle cleanings. Do they do fillings or extractions?

We've found a dentist who will work piecemeal for cash patients.

Hi Lori! I don't think they do anything but cleanings and xrays at dental schools. If anyone knows more, please update us here!

Piecemeal for cash is good - anything to help people pay for their teeth is a good thing. The best thing about living in the modern day is good dental care. It's probably the biggest reason why our life expectancies can potentially rise much higher than in prior generations.

Although according to this year's Biggest Loser, this is the first generation we've had where children are not expected to live longer than their parents have. They blame obesity.

All things being equal, we do have better teeth.

Yesterday I went to get a deep teeth cleaning, and that was NOT cheap. Maybe cheaper than losing my teeth and dealing with getting replacements...but you know what is the cheapest form of dental care?

Brushing and flossing! And now I know to add fluoride rinse to this list.

Be smart! Smart equals fugal. Make good habits now. Go floss.

You are *so* right about this, Jilly. And getting regular cleanings at the dentist.

I brush and floss!

Good girl, Lori! And yes, cleaning visits, while not cheap, are less expensive than the more involved dental work later.

It's all about setting out money for preventative items.

Like the Fluoride rinse. I've been very good at using it daily since the deep cleaning. I don't want another deep cleaning again!

I've been doing really good with my fluoride rinse (i even set my timer for 30 minutes after I rinse, so i can get the full benenfit from it by not eating or drinking). However, I'm not as good about flossing every day.

I have my little roll of floss here in front of me, ready to go.

Are other people good at flossing daily?

So i did floss last night...and i should do it again now...

And, done! Did my rinse too.

Are you guys flossing?

I did my rinse, but for some reason it is like pulling teeth to get me to floss.

hehe...see what I did there?

That is actually a little scary. Okay, flossing now!

I've been really good about flossing and using my rinses since I got back home to AZ. Mt goal is to loss once a day, every day.

I know there will be some days I miss that, but it is good to have a goal.

Update: i've been pretty good about flossing - sometimes I miss a day, but if the goal is once a day then i can be happy if i get it done five times a week. I've been also good at using my rinse, as ordered.

I have another dental checkup coming next month, to follow up on my deep cleaning this spring. I am hoping my dentist will be nicely surprised at how well i am caring for my teeth.

Has everyone been working on their daily dental health?

I've been hugely distracted and logistically occupied, so my dental health has been suffering.I haven't been flossing or using my rinse. Now that i am stable (in one spot for awhile), I am excited to get back into good habits.

Did you floss today?

My dentist kept bringing up sonic toothbrushes as a good thing. I finally broke down and bought one a few years ago, it was the cheapest one I found that met the standards he mentioned. I didn't buy one of the ones he had for sale in his office.

The next time I got my teeth cleaned, the hygienist actually noticed the difference. Then when I got pregnant with my second child I had to get some deep cleanings. It was expensive and a little painful I use that sonic toothbrush a lot now, and consider it frugal compared to the dental bills without it.

My dentist kept bringing up sonic toothbrushes as a good thing. I finally broke down and bought one a few years ago, it was the cheapest one I found that met the standards he mentioned. I didn't buy one of the ones he had for sale in his office.

The next time I got my teeth cleaned, the hygienist actually noticed the difference. Then when I got pregnant with my second child I had to get some deep cleanings. It was expensive and a little painful I use that sonic toothbrush a lot now, and consider it frugal compared to the dental bills without it.

My dentist kept bringing up sonic toothbrushes as a good thing. I finally broke down and bought one a few years ago, it was the cheapest one I found that met the standards he mentioned. I didn't buy one of the ones he had for sale in his office.

The next time I got my teeth cleaned, the hygienist actually noticed the difference. Then when I got pregnant with my second child I had to get some deep cleanings. It was expensive and a little painful I use that sonic toothbrush a lot now, and consider it frugal compared to the dental bills without it.

My dentist kept bringing up sonic toothbrushes as a good thing. I finally broke down and bought one a few years ago, it was the cheapest one I found that met the standards he mentioned. I didn't buy one of the ones he had for sale in his office.

The next time I got my teeth cleaned, the hygienist actually noticed the difference. Then when I got pregnant with my second child I had to get some deep cleanings. It was expensive and a little painful I use that sonic toothbrush a lot now, and consider it frugal compared to the dental bills without it.

I've set an alarm to remind myself to floss daily, but it's still only happening some of the time.

Does anyone floss every day? Do you do it once or twice a day, and how do you remember?

I got my floss in today! Did you?

I flossed yesterday and just got in my flossing today. It is super easy to forget to floss if I don't feel accountable. And I want to keep all my teeth!

So this thread is a super big help to me.

Go floss, everyone!

I've been having mixed success with remembering to floss this week. I even have a reminder text coming in each day. Sometimes i just ignore it.

I just flossed!

Your turn.

... But do I have to use the same floss thread you used? ... hahaha

Lisa, that is really cool about the sonic toothbrush. I have a battery powered toothbrush, and I have no idea if it makes a difference with my gums. What things did your dentist say met his standards?

I've been terrible about flossing lately, as in not flossing at all. So I just flossed now.

All the moving over the last few months makes it hard to establish healthy habits.

I didn't floss yesterday, but I did floss today.

I put a floss chart on my wall to put a checkmark by on the days I floss. It's been helping a lot so far. I really would like to keep all my teeth.

My floss chart is working! I flossed every day this week. That's a first for me.

I've been bad this week, now that i am traveling. Haven't flossed since before my flight. Change is not good for forming habits.

Been flossing daily since I got back home.

Since I got back, I've been using my Chore Chart (got a stack of them from the Dollar Tree)...and I've flossed every day this week! I get a red star for that.

I also have a check section for doing something extra for my teeth - either using a fluoride rinse, a water pick, or a teeth whitener.

I need to write up an article on how I've used this chore chart. It's something I personalized from the children's section to fit my own needs. It's really one of the best things I've ever found to help get me from my current life to my dream life.