Dental Expenses and the Elderly-A Travesty

With our volatile economy, things are bad enough, but it is so much worse for those on limited and fixed incomes, and the real travesty is that there is very little help available for those in need of serious dental care. Medical care is much easier to obtain. Dental treatment is quickly becoming one of the most costly of all areas in the medical industry. Basic restorative treatment is becoming a thing of the past, with dentists and dental specialists opting for the higher end products and procedures. Root canals, crowns and implants are exorbitantly high priced, as are dentures and prosthetic devices. The elderly are literally forced to spend money they don't have and are finding that there are limited resources to help with the funding of these treatments and procedures, as government based organizations (on both federal and state levels) generally will not cover anything other than extractions for adults. Does anyone out there have an elderly family member or friend that has had this problem, and were any of you able to find resources for financial aid for the elderly? I searched this morning and came up empty handed. I welcome your suggestions.......