Hello. My name is Hope and after years and years of pain I’m finally waving the white flag and asking for help. I have been dealing with tooth pain and insecurity my entire life. Growing up my family was extremely poor and was lucky if we had running water or a roof over our head for longer than a few months. As you can imagine dental hygiene in that situation isn’t our number one priority. My family also has a history of dental problems, my mother had dentures before 35. My grandmother by age 30.

I’m only 22 and since 5th grade I’ve been dealing with abscesses, infections and the inability to eat properly. I can’t smile confidently and I wish I could tell you the amount of nights I laid awake unable to sleep from the pain. Breathing hurt let alone eating. Since becoming an adult I have been able to get 6 teeth removed that were serious risks to my health. But that's over the course of 4 years. My teeth are deteriorating before I'm able to fix them.

A year ago I faced a major setback and haven't been able to receive any work on my teeth. I’m constantly fighting off infections that I can’t even afford the medicine for. Two weeks ago I lost my job, setting me even further back and I’m completely at a loss. I can’t eat, my mouth is constantly bleeding and I can’t afford to fix anything or go to the doctor. That’s why I’m here. I wanted so badly to do this on my own, I’ve been so ashamed of my teeth my entire life I don’t even want to tell people how bad things are because I unreasonably feel completely at fault. I need bridges for the gaps in my teeth, root canals, dental caps and serious cavity fills. I will be forever grateful for any donations. I just want a chance at a normal life, to live without debilitating pain.