I’m Rex, and I’m finally doing something I’ve put off for over a decade: getting my teeth fixed for good.

This has been a long time coming. I’ve had dental problems since high school, but I couldn’t afford to take care of them back then. I was also dealing with undiagnosed PTSD and severe depression, which made basic self-care feel impossible. My dad was sick with cancer for years, and a lot of my energy went toward just getting through each day. By the time I had the awareness to start dealing with my teeth, they were already in really bad shape.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away last year, and since then I’ve been trying to slowly rebuild my life as a whole. I've been in intensive therapy for some time, which has been going well. I also finally got myself to an oral surgeon, and I got the truth I’d been avoiding for a long time: almost all of my teeth need to come out. My entire upper row and most of my bottom row have to go. The infection has been eating away at my bone for years, and this isn’t something I can keep ignoring. Not even just for my jaw, but my entire body's sake ! The initial infection already moved to my left sinus. We don't need it going anywhere else.

The procedure will cost $16,050. That covers: the extractions, sedation and anesthesia, IV medications, biologic materials to help with healing, and the care team’s PPE. This does NOT factor in dentures, as I won’t be getting dentures right away; that’ll come later, after my gums heal. Right now I’m just focused on getting through this first step.

I’m 29, and I’ve spent a lot of my life hiding my smile and living in pain. Eating is always scary, because I'm worried about choking from how weirdly I have to chew, or who knows if this is the time another tooth decides to break out of my mouth. I don’t want to suffer like this anymore. Any donation or share helps more than I can say. Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping me finally move forward !! :0)