I had to make a choice between getting a tooth extracted or restored. I had once heard that the less teeth you had the better banjo player you were. So I went on the forum here looking for smiles on banjo players. The only one that really stood out was @Mark_Rocka and it would appear that the saying is true, however, @BanjoBen appears to have pretty good teeth so I had to make the decision on my own. I opted to restore the tooth as it was a molar needed for chewing. The worst part was it took $1100.00 away from a Lexington.
Extract or restore
1 Like
Ouch!
This is the first I’ve heard about any sort of inverse correlation between number of teeth in a banjo players head and the skills under his fingers! Sounds like bad press or sour grapes to me…
All kidding aside, dental work can be expensive and banjos can be expensive too! We feel your pain. Opted for a dental implant myself, so a new banjo will just have to wait. Guess there’s a certain balance that has to be struck in order to do a good job at both pickin’ and grinin’! 
At 71 I have very few teeth left, I don’t play the banjo all that well so that shatters that myth and finally thanks for reminding me I have a dental appointment tomorrow at 10.30
PS. If your headin to Ben’s inaugural camp I should keep a low profile if I was you coz @Mark_Rocka will be there with his shotgun 
Sadly, they don’t allow shotguns as carry-ons when flying Southwest.
I’m not familiar with a restoration. What’s involved in that process? I just watched an eye open documentary on Netflix called The Root Cause about the incredible health implications of root canals and extractions. I highly recommend it to everyone even if you haven’t had either procedure yet. You may need to some day or you probably know someone who has.
Doug will be breathing a sigh of relief at that news.
Ha ha ha! All was meant in fun so please no shotguns. My restoration involved a root canal with a post and crown. The $1100 is my out-of-pocket after insurance. I’m kind of afraid to watch the documentary now @Mark_Rocka and I was counting on your sense of humour. Remember your dental appointment today @Archie and you play a fine banjo. Haha @xmark looks like sour grapes! @banjoboyk the “ouch” was definitely the $1100 as the procedure was pretty painless thanks to being numb.
1 Like
My treatment is just a clean and polish aprox $35.00 I visit every 3 months. Our NHS covers all medical treatment including medicines, xrays etc but some dental charges we have to pay.
However we do pay National Insurance, some of this funds medical treatment but I think most ends up in policing and defence. This is on top of income tax. So not entirely free.