u/Ok-Study-8474

I just made an appointment with my dentist office to get braces, but the appointment isn’t until June. They would be $3000 for 6-12months $2000 after insurance and with monthly no interest payments ($125/month @ 0% after $500 deposit ),. I went on here to see if this was a good price and realized that I didn’t even think to do due dilligence and just went with this one on impulse due to it being walking distance from my home. As a result, I realized that it would be done by a DDS general dentist and not an ortho- which I have learned is not a good move from this subreddit. it’s a pretty small office, so there are no client testimonials or results photos and only 2 old reviews.

It would be solely cosmetic since my teeth are a bit crooked but not bad enough to affect my dental health.

Is it still best case to find an ortho and cancel with the dentist?

I currently live in houston and want to move to SoCal as soon as feasibily possible (within 1-3 years). In an ideal world, my long term career and life will be based in California.

I have always thought it would be best to get my masters degree in California so that I am more likely to have more connections there, have a potentially more “socially aware” program (for example, CSUF counseling program’s mission statement: “Our department humbly strives to recognize and honor human dignity by promoting equity, inclusion, and respect. We believe that Black Lives Matter as we challenge white supremacy and strive to create spaces where all can flourish. When Black Lives Matter and we deconstruct white supremacist notions, then all communities will be free from oppression. We stand in solidarity to support intersectional identities…”), and a general counseling program with a curriculum that at minimum touches on both LMFT leaning curriculum and LPC leaning curriculum. (I’m leaning toward wanting to be an LMFT but have no experience working with families or couples as a whole/at once so am mainly just a bit fearful that it may not suit me or i may not be good at it. I’m extremely interested in things like IFS and attachment theory)

With that being said, by getting my masters in texas i wouldn’t have to worry so much about money by already having a stable job that could potentially provide supervision (just interviewed today for an even more stable and relevant job at the same company), and obviously lower cost of living and potentially tuition. I would also be able to start sooner and therefore obtain licensure sooner (if i went for CA, i would probably wait at least a year after moving to apply/enroll so that i would qualify for in state tuition).

I don’t want to move in TX again, so I’m confined to Houston’s limited programs. From what I can tell, they don’t have any social awareness/justice components or emphasis and only touch on one course of systems counseling. I dont think there is even any MFT masters programs here either.

I would also hate to only be credentialed in texas and feel like licensure in california would allow me a wider scope of practice than licensure in texas. I would also hate to have to pay for supervision if I were to get my masters here then licensure in CA and be unable to find a job that would be willing to provide supervision.

Overall, my heart says to wait until I can move to california, but my mind wonders if it’s smarter, at least financially, to get it over with here. I would rather not rush through it all, but also don’t want to prolong my career for too long. Everyone around me is making me feel behind and pressed for time, but I’m only 26. I keep hearing suggestions to just get an MSW for less of a time and financial commitment, but I really want to learn about counseling practices in depth and am not so interested in social work practices. I also don’t want to bet everything on getting into CSUF and then end up having to relocate again or take courses solely/primarily online.