Without insurance you can often get reasonably priced dental care at dental universities if you have one local.
At least for anything students can work on (fillings, extractions, etc). If you need a root canal, ortho, jaw surgery, or etc then I doubt it'll be a great option.
I strongly urge people to avoid regular dentists for serious work that there are specialists for. They don't have the tools or expertise, and often leave people with broken jaws and infections that lead to more surgeries. Pay the extra; you'll wish you did when your jaw is wired shut, or you have to pay again to re-do a root canal, or go to emergency due to infection.
At least for anything students can work on (fillings, extractions, etc). If you need a root canal, ortho, jaw surgery, or etc then I doubt it'll be a great option.