Hello! I am Kristin Esterly, the proud mother of two wonderful boys, Geoffrey and Adam. My son Geoffrey Buller needs critical dental work completed; it is impacting his daily life and health.

When Geoffrey was 2 years old, we noticed that he would not eat anything cold as it hurt his teeth. I took him to the dentist where he was diagnosed with Dentinogenesis Imperfecta (DI), which is a rare genetic disorder that affects the dentin of your teeth. DI is a dental abnormality traced back to a mutation in the DSPP gene, which provides tooth development instructions. The DSPP gene writes the blueprint for proteins to form dentin, the second layer of tooth structure located under your enamel. When the DSPP gene is mutated, the dentin does not form correctly, which results in an abnormally soft middle layer of the tooth.

DI causes teeth to appear translucent or discolored, showing gray-blue or yellow-brown undertones. This condition affects both the primary (baby) and permanent (adult) teeth. In addition to changing your teeth's appearance, DI can make the teeth weaker than usual and, therefore, more prone to damage, fractures, wear, and tooth loss.

Due to this condition, Geoffrey has lost teeth; some are falling apart, and others are infected. Due to the amount of missing teeth, Geoffrey will require a bone graft in his jaw, a surgical procedure that uses transplanted bone to repair and rebuild diseased or damaged bones. This graft is critical to moving forward with a treatment plan. If the condition goes ignored, he will continue to lose what teeth he has left, experience facial atrophy or collapse, and dental restoration procedures will not be able to be performed.

I took Geoffrey to ClearChoice Dental Implant Center in April this year. I sat next to my son, listening to how his teeth have impacted his life; we were both in tears. Geoffrey doesn't have the confidence to smile and is constantly in pain. His tooth and bone loss impact his ability to talk, as teeth are critical for articulating words and pronouncing sounds. Geoffrey struggles with eating a healthy diet, or eating at all, which has greatly impacted his weight and overall health. Geoffrey tends to eat only items that can be gently chewed or not chewed at all.

I am asking for assistance to cover only part of the overall $35,400 preliminary treatment plan cost. At this time, Geoffrey needs to complete the bone graft first, which is a 4-month healing process before they can start any other dental work. He will have at least 18 months of dental work ahead of him, which includes root canals (to save the teeth remaining), cavities filled, additional teeth extracted, bridges, and finally 6 dental implants.

We have exhausted our family resources, and dental benefits only cover a very small portion of the overall cost. Dental plans have a yearly cap, and the out-of-pocket cost is more than we can afford (they will not cover the bone graft or implants). I have prayed about this GoFundMe page, asking the Lord for His direction and hand in this process.

If you feel a calling to donate, we thank you.

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God Bless,

Kristin