Help Matt Save His Tooth!
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Hey everyone. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Matthew, or just Matt. 30 year old man who has many hopes and dreams, big and small, just like the rest of you.
I was your typical college student back in the early 2000s, until a close relative passing and a personal struggle with alcohol dependency and abuse, combined with a complete lack of understanding how rapidly dental health can deteriorrate, lead to a single year in which I completely let myself go. Among the many aspects of my physical health to suffer was, much to my shame, my own teeth. The one thing I should have been still taking care of, if nothing else.
Fast forward to the late 2000s. It wasn't until I realized that I saw enamel chipping away from a front tooth just how bad things really were, as I felt no pain in any of my teeth. Cue a few trips to the dentist, a healthy dose of my own money and some insurance cash, and most of my dental problems have either halted entirely, or have been fixed. Save one.
Two years ago, one of my back molars with a leaky filling that had been noticed by my dentist, but went untreated (I was too stupid to realize you have to ask them to fix it), now had a rather large hole in it's rear side. Cue brushing that tooth heavily while making sure food stays out, and heading to the dentist to fix it up. Imagine the sinking feeling in my gut when I was told it'd most likely need a root canal. I've shopped around, and the going rate for a root canal and crown in this area reach around 1300 bucks, at the least. I've only recently gotten dental insurance again. In fact, it's only passed the six month waiting period a while back, and I'm not sure just how much of this (if any) this relatively new insurance company will agree to cover.
I've also only recently gotten a second job, and before this was severly underemployed and on the hunt for more work. At first, I figured I could wait this out just long enough to save up, get the treatment and pay for it myself, just like every dental woe before.
Until about two to three weeks ago, when I was busy cleaning out the cavity, and felt pain, nice (not really) and jolting, when poking certain areas. I called my dentist to see what this meant, and wasn't really surprised when I was told the obvious:
"This means that part of the cavity has gotten close to the nerve, and if you don't get it dealt with soon, it's going to get infected. You either need to get a root canal, or get an extraction, as soon as possible."
We've all heard the horror stories of what happens when a tooth abcesses, except they're not just horror stories. They're very real stories, that happend to real people. I don't want any face-swelling, blood-poisoning, or other such misfourtunes to happen to me before I even have a chance to pay the way myself. I also don't want to lose a tooth that could easily be saved, if only I had the money to pay in full.
I'm fully ready and willing to admit that this is ultimately my fault.
I didn't want to have to resort to this. I hoped I could ride it out, wait and save up on my own like I always have for this sort of thing. However, this one tooth just can't wait anymore. So, I turn to my fellow common men and women out there, asking for anything you can spare, if you are so willing. I have nothing to offer in return, save my gratitude, and while I know that's a very cheap reward (if you can even call it that), just know that every dollar you provide is a step towards saving my tooth for the rest of my life.
Thanks for your time, and I hope you're all doing great out there.
--Matthew
I was your typical college student back in the early 2000s, until a close relative passing and a personal struggle with alcohol dependency and abuse, combined with a complete lack of understanding how rapidly dental health can deteriorrate, lead to a single year in which I completely let myself go. Among the many aspects of my physical health to suffer was, much to my shame, my own teeth. The one thing I should have been still taking care of, if nothing else.
Fast forward to the late 2000s. It wasn't until I realized that I saw enamel chipping away from a front tooth just how bad things really were, as I felt no pain in any of my teeth. Cue a few trips to the dentist, a healthy dose of my own money and some insurance cash, and most of my dental problems have either halted entirely, or have been fixed. Save one.
Two years ago, one of my back molars with a leaky filling that had been noticed by my dentist, but went untreated (I was too stupid to realize you have to ask them to fix it), now had a rather large hole in it's rear side. Cue brushing that tooth heavily while making sure food stays out, and heading to the dentist to fix it up. Imagine the sinking feeling in my gut when I was told it'd most likely need a root canal. I've shopped around, and the going rate for a root canal and crown in this area reach around 1300 bucks, at the least. I've only recently gotten dental insurance again. In fact, it's only passed the six month waiting period a while back, and I'm not sure just how much of this (if any) this relatively new insurance company will agree to cover.
I've also only recently gotten a second job, and before this was severly underemployed and on the hunt for more work. At first, I figured I could wait this out just long enough to save up, get the treatment and pay for it myself, just like every dental woe before.
Until about two to three weeks ago, when I was busy cleaning out the cavity, and felt pain, nice (not really) and jolting, when poking certain areas. I called my dentist to see what this meant, and wasn't really surprised when I was told the obvious:
"This means that part of the cavity has gotten close to the nerve, and if you don't get it dealt with soon, it's going to get infected. You either need to get a root canal, or get an extraction, as soon as possible."
We've all heard the horror stories of what happens when a tooth abcesses, except they're not just horror stories. They're very real stories, that happend to real people. I don't want any face-swelling, blood-poisoning, or other such misfourtunes to happen to me before I even have a chance to pay the way myself. I also don't want to lose a tooth that could easily be saved, if only I had the money to pay in full.
I'm fully ready and willing to admit that this is ultimately my fault.
I didn't want to have to resort to this. I hoped I could ride it out, wait and save up on my own like I always have for this sort of thing. However, this one tooth just can't wait anymore. So, I turn to my fellow common men and women out there, asking for anything you can spare, if you are so willing. I have nothing to offer in return, save my gratitude, and while I know that's a very cheap reward (if you can even call it that), just know that every dollar you provide is a step towards saving my tooth for the rest of my life.
Thanks for your time, and I hope you're all doing great out there.
--Matthew
Organizer
Matthew Brandon Collier
Organizer
Sikeston, MO