Life-saving Dental Work

Hello, my name is Hannah. I'm 21 years old and run my own small house cleaning business.

At the beginning of 2019, when I was 15, I experienced a 6-month long CPTSD episode that caused uncontrollable vomiting almost every single day, multiple times a day, for six months straight. I was miserable.

From January to July, I hid it from everyone in my life, including my parents. I never saw a doctor, received therapy, or healed correctly. I developed severe agoraphobia and emetophobia as a result. I fully isolated myself from almost everyone in my life. My illness had taken over my entire personality; and since I was hiding my illness from everyone, I was also hiding me.

One of the many ramifications of this episode has been the decline of my dental health. Around the time the episode was ending, I became reliant on ginger ale and chewing gum for nausea relief. Nausea was constant; so I was constantly using both. The combination of sugary drinks, chewing gum, stomach acid, bad genetics, and lack of dental care expedited the process of my tooth decay.

It's gotten significantly worse over the years. I first noticed the decay around late 2019; and everyone else started noticing in late 2020. It happened rapidly. I lost my first tooth in 2020, and I was devastated. The only thing that kept me sane was the fact that everyone was masking at the time. It was normal for me to hide the bottom half of my face, so I did.

The reason I've decided to finally speak about my story is because I'm tired of keeping it a secret. I'm tired the lack of confidence in my smile. I'm tired of watching people's eyes wander down to my teeth during conversation. Most of all; I'm tired of the physical pain; and the fear that the infection is going to spread and kill me. I want to live a life where I don't have to rotate insane amounts of Tylenol and Ibuprofen every two hours just so I can think straight. I wouldn't wish the mental or physical pain of my situation on anyone. Some days its manageable; and other days, I can't even speak. The infection could spread drastically and fatally any day.

I recently had a consultation to receive treatment for the infection, and dental implants. Obviously, these are extremely expensive. I would rather spend tens of thousands on a permanent, one and done solution rather than spending a similar amount on years of work that will inevitably fail in the future. Because I'm so young; I was advised to avoid dentures due to potential bone loss. I am already experiencing bone loss due to untreated infection in my upper jaw. Implants would fully counteract any further bone loss due to the jaw support that they provide. I, and every professional I have spoken to, feels this would be my best option.

I look forward to taking my life back one day. I no longer want my world to revolve around a pain-med schedule. I want to heal not only physically, but emotionally, and I feel that fixing my health is going to be a huge step in that journey. I want this to help my relationships, and my fear of being seen. The idea of opening up and asking for help in general has been so daunting in itself, but I think I'm ready.

If you can't donate, I ask that you please share this. A single share could lead to a donation that contributes to eliminating a deadly infection. I know I'm asking a lot, which is why I'll also be saving and lowering the goal as time goes on. Thank you for reading if you made it this far :)