Please help Masha get her smile back

Hi, we are Dave and Kari Speckman. Many of you know our 17-year-old daughter, Masha. Many out there do not.

Masha is a nickname for Mariya. If you know Masha you know she is all Masha. She is a good student and animal lover. She is a powerhouse at the alpaca shows we attend and at our farm. She works with our alpacas and her emotional support puppy, Mila. She gives tours, handles product sales and does numerous farm chores. She is also on track to graduate high school this spring and wants to go into forensics. She came to our family in 2009, adopted internationally from Kazakhstan at the age of 4. We knew she had many ear, nose, throat, and dental problems. When she had been here for only 6 months she had surgery with both a dentist and an ENT doing work. She was not happy with us and for more than a week while recovering at home she would not smile or laugh. She was uncharacteristically mad! Her sense of humor returned and now we laugh about it.

Over the years she has had regular dental care including cleanings and fillings. Her teeth are fragile. In the last year, Masha's teeth problems escalated. We switched dentists and found out she needed 3 root canals, 3 crowns, and 2 extractions. We have started these procedures but much to my surprise (or not) we discovered that Delta Dental will not cover most of these needs and Masha cannot wait to have the procedures done a little bit at a time over 3 or more years for insurance to cover. Her teeth are crumbling. Literally.

Masha needs your help to get her smile back.

No child should have to eat all soft foods just to protect what she has left to chew with. We wish for her to no longer have pain in her mouth. She will not take pain meds as her fear of addiction is high and real.

Because she is not a complainer, Dave and I didn't know the extent of her problems until her teeth started crumbling, her pain increased, and we switched dentists and found out the extent of the problems. The dental work has started. Masha was a champ getting through 2 root canals and 2 crown preps. in 2 weeks we need to pay for what is not covered by insurance for the work already done and the 2 permanant crown seatings. We hope to move forward with the remaining work as soon as these procedures are completed. We can't do it without help.

Yesterday February 17th, 2023, our dental office gave us an estimate of the remaining amount to pay for all procedures needed, not including implants for the teeth that need to be extracted. That estimate for the necessary procedures stated above is $11,000.

We can't ask Masha to wait and have the work done a little at a time.

Would you please consider helping this bright, active teen get her smile back?

We can't do it without your help, any amount would be much appreciated.

We thank you so very much.

Dave and Kari Speckman