Right.  Medicare doesn't over dental, and neither does the VA.  The assumption is that it isn't "life threatening," but that isn't necessarily true.  Bad teeth can lead to a lot of other health problems.

The VA wouldn't pay for routine dental care for my late dad, and ended up paying for a set of false teeth after removing all of his decayed teeth.  Not sure if that was the most cost-effective approach, but government tends to do the most expedient thing in the short run.

I've been putting off some dental work for a few years, but I'm having a pretty good year and should be able to get the work done soon.  At "market prices" influenced upwardly by group dental insurance, what I need done would probably run $10,000, but I'm going to go to several dental groups and get the best bid.  Bet I can get it done for $5-6k cash up front.  No wait, no claims filing, no discount cut by the insurance company to the provider.  And if they don't want to report the income, not my problem.