It sounds like you've covered all the bases I could think of.

Just went through a few years of major restorative work, with "good" insurance still capped at $2k/year payout and only covers 50% of the work. Financed on CareCredit (which you said you can't get approved for) defitenly helped smooth out the out of pocket side, and my dentist (Unis Dental in Hopewell) and his staff worked to come up with a multi-year plan to both maximize my insurance utilization, and prioritize the work that needed to be done (pain/need to have first, then appearance/nice to have).

One thing I can tell you - and I know you said the Pitt Dental School is probably out because of anxiety - but if they can help you out, it will have a huge impact on your overall mental health to not be self conscious about your smile/teeth. Maybe talk to whoever you're seeing, if they can give you an "emergency" pill to take the edge off.