... and nothing but the tooth

OK, I give in. Yes, I've got toothache. I've tried denial, meditation and medication, but finally I've had to go and see the dentist. She's very nice, but she's still a dentist. Anyhoo, after a bit of prodding (her) and wincing (me), we have decided that Something Must Be Done. Options are (a) root canal treatment, which is protracted, painful and  might not work or (b) have the damn thing out.
Option b is preferable, but throws up further choices: a teeny denture, probably not worth it for one tooth; a bridge, which involves drilling into the two adjacent teeth, which seems rather invasive; (iii) an implant, which is going to cost upwards of £2,000 and is therefore definitely not going to happen.

The alternative, of course, is to leave a gap. The dentist has assured me this will be fine 'functionally': but will it make me look even stranger than I already do?  Should I stick a piece of black tape over the offending tooth to see what a space would look like?

The one option I don't have is to do nothing, so a further appointment has been made for three weeks' time (three weeks!) to do whatever I have decided by then.

I hate getting old.