I Almost Feel Like Me Again!

i feel like the clouds have lifted. after 2 years of being horribly self-conscious of my smile, things are finally going to turn around.

i’ve been to like 5 different dentists in NC and SC since i started this adventure. i didn’t like any of them. they were either mean or just uncooperative, and unwilling to help me. at least not to the extent that i needed. they’d do some fillings here and there, which have ended up looking like a patchwork on my teeth. half of the fillings from the first dentist failed or fell out because they were done incorrectly. this i learned just today from my new dentist. go figure.

what i’ve really wanted this entire time is either veneers or crowns. everyplace i’ve gone has quoted me at around $1500/tooth. that is just not something i can afford. especially not with all the money i’ve had to spend on loki in the last 4 months. and with a baby on the way, it’s even more insane. one dentist even tried to make sense of this ridiculous dollar amount by comparing less expensive/expensive veneers to a saturn and a ferrari… really? REALLY?

so i kept looking, unwilling to settle for someplace that made me anything less than comfortable. the place i went today… well, i didn’t expect much because i found it on google maps. no website, just a phone number and a dentist’s name. so i called and made an appointment, and crossed my fingers.

best decision i ever made.

during my appointment, the dentist told me that she feels too old fashioned to have a website, and that her work, her team, and recommendations should stand out enough to keep them in business. and i guess that’s worked wonders because this is THE fanciest, cleanest, KINDEST, most awesome dentist office i’ve ever visited in my life. i couldn’t believe it. the receptionists were doting on me, the dental assistants were just the most fun people to be around and talked about all kinds of random stuff, everyone shook my hand, and the dentist was the first dentist that i’ve had that didn’t talk down to me like i was a 12 year old. to top it off, they all kept telling me that i’m pretty. i mean, you have your hands all in my mouth and my face is contorted. but still… they appreciate their patients. phenomenal.

after all was said and done, they took videos and molds of my mouth. i’m going to get 3 veneers and 3 crowns on my 6 front teeth. they’re going to do it all in my next 2 visits. prep work and temporary veneers/crowns will stay in for 3 weeks, and then the real ones go on. i opened up a care credit program to help finance half of what it’s going to cost. it’s going to be expensive (like i knew it would be), but far less than what i had calculated (almost half) with the other dentists i’d gotten quotes from. it ends up being around $840 a tooth after all is said and done, and they’re doing free whitening on the rest of my teeth (another $850 that i won’t have to pay for).

this time around, i have more money saved up for it, and have been busy paying off loki bills and doing a lot of refinancing (car, credit card) because i KNEW i wanted to get this done, and soon. it’s been killing me. i barely smiled in our wedding photos, which makes me HATE myself for not doing this sooner. but it just wasn’t in the cards back then.

i can already feel my confidence slowly coming back. this is actually going to happen this time.