All I want for 50 is my two front teeth!

Hi! My name is Trisha Fenstermaker-Flake. I am raising money to fix my Denture Debacle- Tooth Torture- Chomper Catastrophe.

*Today’s Edit*

The lower arch (the bottom teeth) broke. I have had these 4 months. Please help. If you know anyone that can help me please forward this on.

A few years ago my medical conditions went from typical to extreme and during that, my teeth crumbled. I lost all of my natural teeth due to what was initially diagnosed as Sjogren's syndrome. I had never had a cavity in my life until I was over 40 years old. Then within 3 years my teeth had decayed and began crumbling to the point that they were beyond repair and had to be removed.

Being relatively young-ish the thought of storing my teeth in a cup for the rest of my life was devastating. I found a dental office to begin the journey of implants to restore my smile.

In December 2022, I began the surgery and steps to get, what the professionals recommended as the best option for me because I had a small amount of bone loss. That recommendation was what is called a snap-on denture. It's basically normal dentures secured with clips that snap onto the implants surgically implanted in my jaw. I was told that I would be finished with the whole process within 6 months.

Fast forward 18 months I am still waiting for the final set. The first set that was done was slanted down to the left and the midline of the front teeth was off to the left of center.

The office assured me that I would be happy when I was done and we started the process to re-make them. The process is kind of extensive. You start with impressions, then a wax template is made so they can see what it will look like before it is finalized. I went to the dentist's office SO many times to adjust the teeth in the wax and each time they were still slanted, off-center, or both. Finally, on January 20, 2023, I approved the wax to be sent to the lab for the final time. On February 1, 2023, I received the approved teeth. duh duh duh... something is seriously wrong. They are slanted, again, they are off center, they are missing some holes where the implants clip in and the bite feels weird. They also felt so thick that I couldn't talk properly. I was assured that that would be fine and to give it a couple of days to see if we needed to adjust them.

On my way home, I stopped to eat lunch. I discovered that the bite was WAY off. only 2 teeth actually made contact to chew. I called immediately to report the problem. They said give it a few days and then come back for adjustment. I left to go to Texas to visit family on March 5th and while I was there one of the teeth popped out when I ate a bagel! A BAGEL!!!

I fixed it but as soon as I ate again, it came right back out. I then realized that the reason it had happened, is that the bottom teeth actually rub on the back of the top teeth. As soon as I returned from Texas I went into the dental office. I was really upset. I met with the doctor that initially encouraged the snap in denture idea and informed him that I was upset and that this is the second set that was supposed to be final. I explained that I had lost faith in the doctor and staff and I was possibly looking to go somewhere else. He said that they would take care of me and make sure I was happy. He assured me that he would talk to his other colleagues and figure out what they could do for me. I left finding out that since I started this process, technology had changed and they were no longer even doing the snap-in denture process.

Fast forward to March 17th, Bryan and I are at dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, John and Kristine Fenstermaker and as I eat a piece of bread, I feel something hard. It's another tooth! I am LIVID! I called the dental office as soon as I could and was told to bring them in for repair. I also, finally had heard from the other Dentist's staff and they said that they were going to re-do the snap-in for no cost. Wonderful, but here we go again. I have completely lost faith in this office but I am out of money and patience.

During this whole process, I finally received the correct diagnosis from a Rheumatologist in Las Vegas, NV. My tests revealed that I have Lupus. For 14 years I had been suffering and misdiagnosed. Hopefully, now I can get treatment to try to mitigate the damages that have happened in my body up to this point.

https://lupus.net/living/dental-health