If you talk to the older folks and learn from their lessons of
life, many of them will tell you that as you get older, your teeth
will shift, creating many gaps inbetween. Those who I spoke to say
that they regret not having taken better care of their teeth. Which
is why after 30 years of having a missing molar, I've decided to
get it done. Like MG says, the bill will come to about US$3000 of
which my insurance will only cover like $300. 
At my initial consultation, my dentist told me that I'm the lucky
5% who hasn't had severe bone loss in that area. Heng ah. What he
has to do is do a bone graft which is made of cattle bone and human
cadaver bone which the body readily accepts. He'll drill a hole
through the jaw bone and insert a titatium post and we'll wait 3-4
months for the body to accept the post and the graft. During which
time a molar will be made and placed on the titanium post. Once
that's done, a crown will have to be made to protect the new
tooth.
Sounds scary man.
