Let Laura Chew
Donation protected
See that smile?
It's gone. The two front teeth are stubs, two more are just blank spaces. I can only grind on one side of my mouth, so I'm not only a walking ad for preventative dental care, the state of my teeth is endangering my long term health.
The good news is I found a dentist who worked with me to find every discount and edge to cut and took what has been estimated to be $12-15,000 of work down to the low, low bargain price of $5000. That includes the extractions necessary, gum treatments, a root canal, an appliance for the top of my mouth, and three implants. In the US, that really is a bargain.
I can use a medical expense credit card with no-interest that lasts for a year. We worked things out and figured if we cut down on some things like cable TV, cancel a planned trip or two and put off things like new glasses for me until next year, we can make the payments.
But sadly, that will be on top of paying the IRS $500/ month AND my new PT bills which total $360/ month. We have been dipping into the emergency fund money for some of that, but I felt like we could work it out.
Then I took inventory of my book stock because it's conference season, and realized I don't have enough to buy copies of my own books, or order new wristbands and pins. If I can't buy them, I'll have fewer to sell, which makes every event into an almost guaranteed loss, even if I get a speaking fee.
Fine. I am swallowing my pride. (It can join the crown I once swallowed at MSC. My teeth have a long history of being rubbish, and waiting until I am on the road to pop out.)
If I can at least reduce this dental debt, I can afford to put some resale items on a credit card as well, and spread the payments out. If I have stuff to sell, that will help make larger payments during my busiest travel time. Ideally, I'd like to pay the medical card off within the no-interest period because they slam you hard on month 13.
I absolutely, and to the depth of my heart appreciate the dear friends who gently prodded me to do this. I hate it. I hate knowing that fixing my damn teeth is such a burden to our household. But it would be nice to smile like that again. I'll just need some new teeth to do so.
It's gone. The two front teeth are stubs, two more are just blank spaces. I can only grind on one side of my mouth, so I'm not only a walking ad for preventative dental care, the state of my teeth is endangering my long term health.
The good news is I found a dentist who worked with me to find every discount and edge to cut and took what has been estimated to be $12-15,000 of work down to the low, low bargain price of $5000. That includes the extractions necessary, gum treatments, a root canal, an appliance for the top of my mouth, and three implants. In the US, that really is a bargain.
I can use a medical expense credit card with no-interest that lasts for a year. We worked things out and figured if we cut down on some things like cable TV, cancel a planned trip or two and put off things like new glasses for me until next year, we can make the payments.
But sadly, that will be on top of paying the IRS $500/ month AND my new PT bills which total $360/ month. We have been dipping into the emergency fund money for some of that, but I felt like we could work it out.
Then I took inventory of my book stock because it's conference season, and realized I don't have enough to buy copies of my own books, or order new wristbands and pins. If I can't buy them, I'll have fewer to sell, which makes every event into an almost guaranteed loss, even if I get a speaking fee.
Fine. I am swallowing my pride. (It can join the crown I once swallowed at MSC. My teeth have a long history of being rubbish, and waiting until I am on the road to pop out.)
If I can at least reduce this dental debt, I can afford to put some resale items on a credit card as well, and spread the payments out. If I have stuff to sell, that will help make larger payments during my busiest travel time. Ideally, I'd like to pay the medical card off within the no-interest period because they slam you hard on month 13.
I absolutely, and to the depth of my heart appreciate the dear friends who gently prodded me to do this. I hate it. I hate knowing that fixing my damn teeth is such a burden to our household. But it would be nice to smile like that again. I'll just need some new teeth to do so.
Organizer
Laura Antoniou
Organizer
New York, NY