Stop being so cheap scaredy. The more you try to skimp on dentistry the more you’re going to pay in dollars and in pain later for going cheap up front. You need to go find an old dentist that’s been in practice in your area for a long time, someone roughly your age.
My experience is these old dentist baby boomers tend to be the most honest and reasonably priced in the services they charge and don’t skimp on materials. They’ve done well through the years,.aren’t saddled with college student loan debt , and don’t try to rip people off by selling services they don’t need. They have integrity. If you are in San Diego , I strongly recommend Dr Belnap in Rancho Penesquito.
I found that often times going to a younger dentist of my generation , they tend to be the ones with the fancy offices that charge for every little thing.
Read their yelp and Google reviews. Partcularly reviews about their billing dept. Even if the dentist is good but the billing dept sucks, stay away.