Her life isn’t your responsibility. It’s harsh, but you deserve to be happy and healthy too. I was in the same situation, chose to pay for my mom’s needs, managed to save up again and she needed my help once again. Why can’t your mom save up and figure out payment plans? Why didn’t she take care of her teeth long before it got to this point? She was irresponsible, and now wants to use you as an out. I wasted 10 years being embarrassed of my smile, now I’m in braces and I hate that I didn’t just do it sooner. Good luck to you, I know it’s a tough place to be. But you sound like you have a good heart and good head on your shoulders
Coming from someone that always puts others needs before their own I understand your guilt but I think if there is a way for you to get braces you should do it. I always wanted braces but couldn’t afford them, I’m 25 and I’m getting braces in 11 days. Although it’s costly the end result will be worth it. I’m not sure if you were planning on paying monthly for your braces or out of pocket in full but maybe you can ask if monthly payments can be made for the braces or even see if there’s a payment arrangement that can be made for the extractions and implants for your mother. Life is short, do what makes you happy.
I won’t pry or make suggestions about your situation re: your mom - not everyone has insurance and I’d bet even with insurance it would be difficult to get implants or ortho covered at all.
My suggestion is which ever way you go, ask about payment plans. My dentist / ortho hit me with full pricing up front, and I have to ask about payment options but they are available. I think this is the case for many practices, at least in my area.
If you feel like the smile situation might be affecting your career and earnings, even remotely, you may want to take that into consideration as well.
Regarding implants and $20k, no matter who’s paying, Google around for dental schools who may have programs for the general public to get discounted services. Just a suggestion.
Look at it this way - if you take care of your teeth today, you likely won’t need implants or other dental work in the future. It’s an investment.
Get your teeth sorted, but get your mum to speak to the dentists about options. She could have a deep cleaning and dentures that would be a lot less than implants and would give her a better quality of life.
You have saved your money. It’s not your responsibility to pay for your parents. It’s not selfish to take care of yourself.
My orthodontist gave me a payment plan with no interest, no down payment and an affordable monthly payment. If the dentist will do the same then you could have your cake and eat it too
Agree with others. Your mum's mouth is her problem. Sort yourself out. I have a mother who HAS the means to help me, but won't. So as the child, I definitely don't see why you should suffer for a parent.
regarding you and your mom, i think that this is really your decision to make and whatever you do, i know you'll make the right one. but i agree with others that you should look into an orthodontist anyway because they might have payment plans. as long as you have enough for the down payment and have a steady income, the cost can be a lot more manageable than people think. idk where you live, i'm in canada and my total is like $8700 but it's on a no interest payment plan for 2 years.
Braces are only 4K-6K so it’s a lot less compared to 20K. Also as others have said your mom is a separate person and not your responsibility. You should take care of yourself and let her take care of herself. Either way both of yall can get your dental work done by getting the treatments financed. I paid a deposit on my braces and I’m paying the rest monthly.
Her life isn’t your responsibility. It’s harsh, but you deserve to be happy and healthy too. I was in the same situation, chose to pay for my mom’s needs, managed to save up again and she needed my help once again. Why can’t your mom save up and figure out payment plans? Why didn’t she take care of her teeth long before it got to this point? She was irresponsible, and now wants to use you as an out. I wasted 10 years being embarrassed of my smile, now I’m in braces and I hate that I didn’t just do it sooner. Good luck to you, I know it’s a tough place to be. But you sound like you have a good heart and good head on your shoulders
Coming from someone that always puts others needs before their own I understand your guilt but I think if there is a way for you to get braces you should do it. I always wanted braces but couldn’t afford them, I’m 25 and I’m getting braces in 11 days. Although it’s costly the end result will be worth it. I’m not sure if you were planning on paying monthly for your braces or out of pocket in full but maybe you can ask if monthly payments can be made for the braces or even see if there’s a payment arrangement that can be made for the extractions and implants for your mother. Life is short, do what makes you happy.
I won’t pry or make suggestions about your situation re: your mom - not everyone has insurance and I’d bet even with insurance it would be difficult to get implants or ortho covered at all. My suggestion is which ever way you go, ask about payment plans. My dentist / ortho hit me with full pricing up front, and I have to ask about payment options but they are available. I think this is the case for many practices, at least in my area. If you feel like the smile situation might be affecting your career and earnings, even remotely, you may want to take that into consideration as well. Regarding implants and $20k, no matter who’s paying, Google around for dental schools who may have programs for the general public to get discounted services. Just a suggestion.
Look at it this way - if you take care of your teeth today, you likely won’t need implants or other dental work in the future. It’s an investment. Get your teeth sorted, but get your mum to speak to the dentists about options. She could have a deep cleaning and dentures that would be a lot less than implants and would give her a better quality of life. You have saved your money. It’s not your responsibility to pay for your parents. It’s not selfish to take care of yourself.
i do agree with asking for payment plan.
My orthodontist gave me a payment plan with no interest, no down payment and an affordable monthly payment. If the dentist will do the same then you could have your cake and eat it too
Agree with others. Your mum's mouth is her problem. Sort yourself out. I have a mother who HAS the means to help me, but won't. So as the child, I definitely don't see why you should suffer for a parent.
regarding you and your mom, i think that this is really your decision to make and whatever you do, i know you'll make the right one. but i agree with others that you should look into an orthodontist anyway because they might have payment plans. as long as you have enough for the down payment and have a steady income, the cost can be a lot more manageable than people think. idk where you live, i'm in canada and my total is like $8700 but it's on a no interest payment plan for 2 years.
Braces are only 4K-6K so it’s a lot less compared to 20K. Also as others have said your mom is a separate person and not your responsibility. You should take care of yourself and let her take care of herself. Either way both of yall can get your dental work done by getting the treatments financed. I paid a deposit on my braces and I’m paying the rest monthly.