I got a quote at the dentist that my mouth would cost like 20k to fix (it's really bad, every generation of my family before me has no teeth). I really just want to not look like the way I do when I smile, as I'm missing a front tooth. I also have a recurring infection that I keep delaying at the ER because Medicaid covers the antibiotics but I can't actually afford the dentist. I've tried looking for dental schools but in my area there isn't a program that offers the free thing if you're a test dummy for a student. I'm not sure what to do and my worry is that if the infection gets bad enough I'll just have to accept early death due to lack of care. In the USA if it's not obvious enough already.
You could try looking for dental clinics near you, some offer limited things like fillings, cleanings, extractions, if your abscess ever gets really, really bad and you manage to make it into an ER before your demise they'll pull it then, like 100-500 to pull a tooth (in most places) but 500k+ to save someone with a brain infection and potentially needing assistance for life, the whole thing is cruelty not 'saving money' bullshit.
Could try getting the abscessed tooth pulled, when I lived in CA I got it done at a low income dental clinic for about that including xrays and the numbing shots. You'll be on your own for follow up care though depending the place. For pain alternate ibuprofen and Tylenol is good, along with some drops of oil of eugenol. Oil of eugenol I want to say is like 10 dollars but one bottle lasts years.
Afaik there's no free dental school programs for patients in the US, best they do is about 30-50pct of private practice prices,, they're also really selective on who they choose for a patient and some places have restrictions. When I lived in CA you had to live within 60mi of the clinic and be over 55 for the one nearest to me, like 300mi away at the time, and where I live now they used to exclude patients with certain health conditions, but now they simply aren't accepting patients at all. They also take longer, the appointments are longer and split up, they're booked out further in advanced (not vs my rural area where I'd be waiting years on end for a private practice appt I will never be able to afford), for example I started back in January to deal with an abscess, the root canal itself won't be done until May, and everything else probably not June.