Irony and the tooth hits Home

I weep for white teeth, you know I do. I've created a new 'dentist' label incase you don't.

The year before last I bought a white filling to replace the mercury one on a molar which had to be removed.
That year I didn't buy a white onlay for another molar which had its second filling removed so I was given an NHS gold one.
The root canal work has meant that the white filling I bought has had to be removed to access the decay beneath it. The tooth will need a reconstructive onlay on it afterwards, the same as its gold neighbour behind it.

I'm quite vain. I think white molars look nice. One gold tooth - I'm a piratess - I can just about handle it, it's quite far back, but two?

"How much would a white onlay cost?" I asked my dentist yesterday.
"£300."
"What? Oh my God..."
£300.
£300.
It's alot of money. £300.

"Could I pay in installments?" My mind is whirring in the dream field.
"We don't do installments for that sum," he replied.
"What? It's too low?"

You can be symbolically punched so hard sometimes.
I am telling you that £300 is an obscene amount of money.
Just this week I wrote that £50 million was a crumb. And I laughed as I did so.

I am lucky I am on benefits. The root canal alone, not including the onlay, costs £350.
How do the working poor afford that?
I wish I were wealthy.

Tell me, have I missed something? Is £300 really "cheap" these days?

In El Salvador a white tooth apparently costs $20. No I haven't been, sadly. The guy who runs the coffee shop has.

So yes, is £300 cheap?