Just for starters, Google around and you will find reports, however inconclusive and anecdotal, that lithium wrecks your teeth over the long haul. I seem to remember hearing this from a dentist a while ago, but I haven't taken lithium since it plugged up my kidneys during the Bush administration. Other psychotropic meds that cause dry mouth could conceivably result in the same damage to your teeth and gums as that caused by the dry mouth damage from crystal meth.

Medicare, on which I necessarily rely, will never cover dental expenses. Obamacare, for all its good intentions, was poorly engineered and is approaching collapse, Medicare is not a sustainable program given our federal deficit and unfunded obligations, and the $130/month HMSA Medicare supplemental policy that I pay for only slightly discounts dental maintenance and procedures performed by a very small group of selected mediocre dentists in my city. I still have to pay $100 out-of-pocket for semi-annual cleaning and x-rays and $150 for a straightforward cavity filling. I had to have a $94,000 cardiac procedure in December, and my medical expenses above and beyond insurance coverage driving me and my family to the poorhouse is a major anxiety.