(no subject)
This community looks fairly dead, but...I couldn't find anything more active.
So, a quick introduction. I'm 23 years old, and I hate my teeth.
Yeah, I know this is a community for loving teeth...and I'll tell you what. I'd sure looove to get them all taken out!
To fix them would cost about $50,000, according to not only dentists, but oral surgeons and some people at ClearChoice. (That's a temporary fix, as my teeth would decay from the inside for things like caps/veneers and go back anyway.) To get dental implants would cost $44,000. To get dentures is much cheaper, but...being 23, I'd rather die than have dentures.
Don't get me wrong, I know...a lot of people use them. But my self-confidence would never be able to handle it.
Believe me when I say I have no option but to pull them. (People argue but, in the end, when they see my teeth, they realize I'm right. Most of my teeth are broken in at least one place, and the edges of some are so sharp they've cut the inside of my mouth or rubbed until they created canker sores.)
According to one doctor, I have what they call Rapid Decay. I have pretty much no enamel to protect my teeth, and with three impacted wisdom teeth that have pushed my teeth together crookedly, leaving spaces for food and/or soda to linger for even an hour at a time, things just kind of...went their course.
So my question is this: how the hell can anyone afford to get things like dental implants? I want them badly. They won't be like having real teeth, but...at least I won't have to take them out at night. I work full-time, but I have no college education and can't get a job that pays a whole lot. (Currently doing factory work as a temporary.) I tried for things like MedLife and CareCredit, but could only come up with $9,000 total. (And the interest is ridiculous.)
My teeth are at the point where I'm in pain all the time. And if my teeth don't hurt too terribly? Well, canker sores from the sharp edges rubbing the inside of my mouth do. Eating is now something I don't even like doing. I love food, but I'm stuck eating slowly and on timed breaks/lunches at work. I've lost weight (I'm down to about 96lbs) and I can't gain it back. (I don't particularly want to. I'm just saying.) When faced with the choice to eat or not eat, even if I'm hungry, if I'm not hungry enough, I won't feel it's worth it, and I won't eat at all. Basically, I've been eating to stay alive and that's it.
So what do I do? I know what I want to do, but I don't know how to come up with that kind of money. I can't save very much right now. I have a car payment. I have car insurance. Rent. Phone. You know? I hardly have any money at the end of the month to save. And with $44k needed, how can I possibly save up enough fast enough? They've gotten much worse in the last year, and I don't know if I can go another year without getting something done.
I'm really torn. I don't want to be in pain all of the time. But by the same token, I'm going through depression, and taking my teeth out every night and spending time getting them in in the morning...is not going to help.
Just as a note, I don't have any medical or dental insurance at all, but I doubt they'd even make a dent in the $44k for dental implants.
So, a quick introduction. I'm 23 years old, and I hate my teeth.
Yeah, I know this is a community for loving teeth...and I'll tell you what. I'd sure looove to get them all taken out!
To fix them would cost about $50,000, according to not only dentists, but oral surgeons and some people at ClearChoice. (That's a temporary fix, as my teeth would decay from the inside for things like caps/veneers and go back anyway.) To get dental implants would cost $44,000. To get dentures is much cheaper, but...being 23, I'd rather die than have dentures.
Don't get me wrong, I know...a lot of people use them. But my self-confidence would never be able to handle it.
Believe me when I say I have no option but to pull them. (People argue but, in the end, when they see my teeth, they realize I'm right. Most of my teeth are broken in at least one place, and the edges of some are so sharp they've cut the inside of my mouth or rubbed until they created canker sores.)
According to one doctor, I have what they call Rapid Decay. I have pretty much no enamel to protect my teeth, and with three impacted wisdom teeth that have pushed my teeth together crookedly, leaving spaces for food and/or soda to linger for even an hour at a time, things just kind of...went their course.
So my question is this: how the hell can anyone afford to get things like dental implants? I want them badly. They won't be like having real teeth, but...at least I won't have to take them out at night. I work full-time, but I have no college education and can't get a job that pays a whole lot. (Currently doing factory work as a temporary.) I tried for things like MedLife and CareCredit, but could only come up with $9,000 total. (And the interest is ridiculous.)
My teeth are at the point where I'm in pain all the time. And if my teeth don't hurt too terribly? Well, canker sores from the sharp edges rubbing the inside of my mouth do. Eating is now something I don't even like doing. I love food, but I'm stuck eating slowly and on timed breaks/lunches at work. I've lost weight (I'm down to about 96lbs) and I can't gain it back. (I don't particularly want to. I'm just saying.) When faced with the choice to eat or not eat, even if I'm hungry, if I'm not hungry enough, I won't feel it's worth it, and I won't eat at all. Basically, I've been eating to stay alive and that's it.
So what do I do? I know what I want to do, but I don't know how to come up with that kind of money. I can't save very much right now. I have a car payment. I have car insurance. Rent. Phone. You know? I hardly have any money at the end of the month to save. And with $44k needed, how can I possibly save up enough fast enough? They've gotten much worse in the last year, and I don't know if I can go another year without getting something done.
I'm really torn. I don't want to be in pain all of the time. But by the same token, I'm going through depression, and taking my teeth out every night and spending time getting them in in the morning...is not going to help.
Just as a note, I don't have any medical or dental insurance at all, but I doubt they'd even make a dent in the $44k for dental implants.