Support Cierra's Journey to Dental Health

Hello, my name is Cierra and I am 23 years old. I have two beautiful children. For my entire life, I have always struggled with healthy teeth. It has always affected my confidence. I love my body. I love who I am, even my smile, but my teeth not so much. It doesn’t matter how many times they are brushed, they still look bad. My teeth are weak and fragile, and I’ve dealt with cracking, breaking teeth the past 2-3 years. Part of me feels that my pregnancies and breastfeeding could have played a role in this, but from when I was a kid, I remember the dentist giving me something to try and fix the discoloration in my two front teeth (this was probably in 2012). It never worked.

Fast forward to about 2019, as an adult, I started seeing a state-funded dentist and had been receiving multiple restorations between all my teeth. I never had the same dentist; it was almost always somebody new. Most of these dentists were not very nice and always just made me feel as though everything was my fault. They just wanted to quickly do what they were there to do and send me on my way. I was accepting of this up until June of 2024 when one of my severely fractured teeth had to be extracted, and the dentist sternly told me not to yell at her when all I did was suddenly make a loud “AHH” sound from the sudden deep nerve pain I had felt. She proceeded on even though nothing was making the pain bearable. She cut my lip in the process. I thought I would never get out of that chair that day. Crying and shaking, I left that place and have not been to that facility again.

I have now been enrolled and accepted in Marquette University School of Dentistry for all my new and future dental treatments. A night and day difference in bedside manner, quality of work, and just simple compassion you can tell from everybody involved in this place. I finally feel I’m in a good place.

With that being said, I have been given a few different treatment plan options. Although it is a fraction of the cost it would be to get done at a private dentistry, I still am unable to afford everything that needs to be done at once. I need fillings, crowns, and bridges to have a fully functional, healthy smile. These treatment plans come in two phases. With any of the first phases estimating to $2,890 for the prep work and then an extra $4-5,000 for the second phase for the rest to be done, depending on which plan I decide to choose. I am not expecting to get fully funded and never really thought I’d put myself out to the world like this, but I am at the point where I’ve got nothing to lose. So any help will be of great assistance to me.

I am sick and tired of looking in the mirror and not wanting to look at my mouth, having kids come up to me and say, “Your teeth are gross, don’t you brush your teeth?” I can’t wait to be happy with my smile. I will get this work done regardless of any donations; it’s just a matter of how long it will take. With help from you, I could get there faster. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read into my life. If you’re unable to donate, I ask if you could just share my story. Thank you again and God bless.