Bracing myself

Yikes! I clearly don't belong in the front of the line for braces, but still I am considering them. Seems that over the past few months my right siekacz boczny tooth (God, I love Google images!) has been shying behind my right siekacz srodkowy tooth, causing a slight cross bite, and contributing to an oft' bit upper lip, which, when bitten, swells up as if to say "Bite me again, baby!" It's far less funny than that when it happens though.So my dentist says "Huh. Only way to fix that is with braces, and oh by the way [the evil bastards who write up] insurance plans generally don't cover that.

So, here I am with a bloody lip and teeth that (cosmetically-speaking) are far from bad, considering braces. Funny world. But the question is: what's it worth to me to stop biting my lip? $1800? $5500? (that's what they say the going rate is, although if I drive to Milwaukee, I might be able to get a Marquette University dental student to do it cheaper). Hmm...