When I was a teenager, I had a cavity in one of my back teeth.

My family couldn't afford to save it. So the dentist pulled it out. That felt like the end of the story. But it wasn't.

For the next 23 years, I lived with that gap.

It didn't hurt. I couldn't see it. So I didn't think about it. Life kept moving, and fixing that missing tooth kept getting pushed to later.

But, I started losing the jawbone over the years. The teeth next to the gap had shifted.

Finally, after about 2 decades later, I decided to fix it.

However, my tooth replacement journey was not straightforward. I had to wear braces for 2 years, go through implant surgery, and get the abutment, crown and aligners to get that tooth finally replaced.

The treatment journey lasted for about 3 years, with a total cost of $8,800.

All to replace a tooth that could have been saved for less than $100 back in 2002.

That experience taught me two things.

First: the dental system fails patients at the moment they need guidance most. I visited multiple offices and was quoted anywhere from $2,000 to $12,000 to get that tooth replaced including a combination of treatments. Nobody explained what was included in each quote or why they were so different.

The second thing I learned is harder to admit: I was part of my own problem. Not because I was careless, but because nobody ever told me that ignoring a tooth doesn't make it go away. It makes it worse. A small problem at 13 becomes a big, expensive problem later in life, if its not addressed.

That's what low dental IQ costs. And most people have it, through no fault of their own.