Q. Hi dr moore, i am in a situation i cannot really see a way out off. i am 21 years old and my teeth are rottern, i have fillings in almost all off my teeth, when i was younger i never looked after them properly, but even though i have been brushing them properly for the last 5 years they just seem to go from bad to worse. i have recently discovered a lump above my front tooth right at the top of the gum, this tooth has never had any work done on it. i gave up smoking around three weeks ago, and smoked for 4 years. i imagine it is either a mouth ulcer or mouth cancer. at this moment in time i dont know which i would say i’d prefere. now i have explained the state of my mouth, my question is: i have a life savings of £10,000 that i was saving to be spent on something else, but, due to the worries associated with poor oral hygiene, such as other health risks, and the fact i dont really go out anymore as my teeth are too embarrising (even going to the dentist is traumatic when they always comment on how bad things are). i have decided to use my savings to pay for treatment. i obviously want the asthetics of my teeth to be improved along with their health. however, i do not really want to have crowns and bridges as i am worried the teeth the crowns are covering would continue to rot away underneat them and cause the crowns too fail, and i wouldn’t have the money to pay for them to be fixed. therefore ultimately i would prefer implants. from you site i see prices can star from £1200 to £2500 per tooth. i am wondering if it is not unheard of for dentists totake into consideration that i would be asking for at least 14 implants and offer a discout? or is it a case of keep saving – which is hard to do when you cannot go to work or an interview due to embarrisment? also would this treatment be possible, bearing in mind i have my teeth still in my mouth, in that they would not remove them to simply to imlant new ones? do you think i am right that it is likely the teeth will continue to rot underneath the crowns if i had to have them instead of implants if i couldn’t afford them? i just want them fixed so i can go out again, and get on with my life, but i dont really know how to go about it. i hope you can help as i dont know what else to do, thank you for time and assistance.