Bring Back a Smile

Hello everyone. First of all, thank you for even clicking the link and stopping by.

In my final efforts to fix my teeth and rid myself of the daily pain, I am turning to crowd funding. I don't have dental insurance so all payments for dental work come straight out of my pocket.

A little history...

I didn't always have bad teeth, I used to have an amazing smile! Growing up I was a proud member of the No Cavity Club and was at the dentist every 6 months. Once all of my adult teeth came in though, that's when I started having problems. My teeth would chip on the simplest of foods, like oatmeal and pizza. I would go get those chips fixed and within a matter of months the repair would break off taking more of my original tooth with it. This was from around age 14 until 22. At 22 I became pregnant with my first child and the strength of my teeth went downhill from there. With each child, my teeth became more and more brittle, I was losing large portions of my teeth to breakage.

For the past few years I've been in and out of the doctors office for antibiotics because of infections around my broken teeth. When I couldn't afford the doctor or didn't have coverage, I would hobble my way through the day taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen to try and take the pain away. In 2018, that routine landed me in the hospital with severe kidney infection and on IV antibiotics. I was informed that I had permanently damaged my kidneys and that I shouldn't take ibuprofen anymore.

In 2020, I was given a gift of dental work to have two teeth removed that were giving me the most trouble and that had large pockets of infection. I am still and will always be extremely grateful for that gift.

Most recently in 2023, I found myself battling another round of infections and sought the help of Neighborhood Dental. They were able to get me in as an emergency case and removed three teeth from the lower right side of my mouth. I had to finance that work and I'm still paying it off. I went back for a post op check up and started talking about options to fix my teeth and finally get out of the cycle of infections.

The best option that was presented to me because of my fragile enamel was to have all of my teeth removed and be fitted for dentures. This obviously comes at a great cost. (Phito of treatment plan below.)

My teeth have been giving me trouble for so long that it has taken a toll on both my mental and physical health. I don't fully smile, I try and cover my mouth or turn my head when I laugh, I have sinus issues and constant head and jaw pain along with the kidney issues I spoke of above. Eating is a whole mess of problems of their own due to the missing teeth and that has caused my jaw to become misaligned.

I have an appointment set for October 27th to have impressions made. I thought I would be able to take out a loan but got denied. I've checked on State assistance, I don't qualify because I make too much. I don't qualify for dental grants because I'm either not old enough or make just enough over the income limit. It has been suggested that i travel out of state or country to get them fixed but that is not financially possible.

I'm at the end of my rope. I really don't know where else to go, where else to look, or who else to turn to.

If you are able to help, wonderful! If you are not, I completely understand. If you are not comfortable with donating through Go Fund Me, I do have a venmo account if that's more your style.

Thank you all for listening.