Hi everyone,

Those of you who know me know I’ve had a lot of dental procedures throughout my life. These procedures have ranged in severity—cavities turned root canals, root canals turned extractions, and so on. If you know me, you might know I am missing two molars on the right side of my bottom teeth; I haven’t chewed on that side in years. Almost all of my remaining molars have had root canals performed on them and have crowns.

Over the years I’ve had to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for many of these procedures—despite having access to dental insurance (Denti-cal) through Medi-cal. The insurance generally covers the cheaper part (the actual procedure), but I’ve had to pay thousands myself for necessary crowns, x-rays, CT scans, and so on. (I even wrote one of my personal essays for transfer to UCI about having to use academic scholarships to pay for extractions at the time. It felt cruel.)

Unsurprisingly, I’ve raked up a significant amount of debt because of all of these procedures. This has all been happening while I’ve been a full time student, so much of the debt has accumulated on credit cards. It is an awful position to be in.

To my incredible dismay, as of last month (January), I received a new diagnosis, and a new bill. I have two upper right molars that have root canals that have seemingly failed. They require what is called a retreatment—as the name aptly suggests, they re-treat the tooth, essentially performing another root canal to clean out the present infection. (This also means those glittering porcelain crowns I paid for by myself however many years ago will need to be replaced with new, equally as expensive crowns). I should note: these kinds of dental procedures, especially those in the upper region, are an urgent matter, as the infection is liable to spread if left untreated.

My current dental insurance (through UCI) is only paying out $779. The total of the procedures, after insurance, is $2,287. After including the necessary crowns (which are not covered, but rather are discounted with a contracted rate of $1,706), I am left with a grand total of $3,992.

Because of the existing medical debt I have, and not having a large amount of savings or income from being a student, I do not have the funds to handle this cost on my own. I am—incredibly humbly, and so nervously for the first time—asking for the help of my friends.

Even if I don’t receive the full amount needed, literally any dollar amount you can throw my way will help me to not accrue more medical debt. I cannot understate how appreciative I am and how grateful I am to anyone who’s willing to provide this kind of support to me. Despite all the problems I’ve had with my teeth, I’ve never had to ask for help on this scale before, and I admittedly feel embarrassed and uncomfortable doing so. Please know that I appreciate you just for reading and hearing me. Thank you <3

— Your friend, Karli

if you're interested in reading, here is my personal essay written for transfer to UCI in 2021:

Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

I have not chewed food on the right side of my mouth in four months. Constantly, I find myself tonguing at my teeth, wondering which one is going to prompt the next bill.

The last four months started with one root canal. Then it became two root canals. It ended with the addition of an extraction. I’ve had root canals before--eight, to be exact, over the last 5 years--but this extraction was a first. The aberrated tooth in question had already been operated on (that is, drilled into) twice. The thought of losing a tooth--a core molar--agonized me, but the most distressing part of everything was the $4,350 bill.

In my five years at community college, my financial aid has been split into two categories: dental debt and life necessities. Considering the money ($15,000), time (200 visits to 6 different dentists in 5 years), energy (endless insurance calls), and pain (opioid prescriptions), my teeth have been consistently draining me.

The same week I found out I needed the extraction, I finally heard back from the scholarships I applied to months prior; I won $4,700. The money, awarded for merit and hard work, would be spent, almost in its entirety, removing a deeply infected tooth. Losing that money hurt, unquestionably--and though I felt robbed, it was worth eradicating the throbbing pain in my mouth.

I wish I could say this was a barrier that I was able to overcome, but the truth is, I’m constantly concerned about my teeth. Post-extraction I sat distracted in classes reminding myself: “don’t sneeze, you’ll dislodge the blood clot.” Now, I still find my mind drifting in lectures, thinking about the graft. If it isn’t the money, or a present pain, it’s the all consuming fear that it’s going to happen again.

So, I have not chewed on the right side of my mouth in the last four months. I don’t know when I will again. Until then, I will continue to tongue at my gummy toothless socket, and keep my fingers crossed.