Help me pay for my dental surgery

Hello, my name is Kevin, but if you found this via my social media, you probably know me as Bleu.

About a month and a half ago, I started experiencing excruciating aches and pains in my lower gums on the left side of my mouth, assuming it was acute gingivitis or something I made an appointment with a local dentist to have it checked out. When I went to see her, she was baffled. "This is so weird! Your teeth are perfect!" she exclaimed, "You just have some angry gums, have some extra strength ibuprofen and it should bring the swelling down, you should feel better by the end of the weekend." Feeling thankful and yet a little uneasy about how dismissive the initial diagnosis was, I went home and started the ibuprofen. This did little to alleviate the pain for more than a few hours at a time.

When the pain did not subside the following Monday, I decided to go to a different practice for treatment, as I was unhappy with the treatment I received from my previous practice and was eager to finally get some relief as it had been almost two weeks since the pain started. They were out of my current dental insurance network but I did not mind paying out of pocket if it meant I could finally find some answers as to why I was in so much pain.

Upon visiting this new dentist, they confirmed I had a serious gum infection, a 9mm pocket in my back left molars. They were shocked that my molars weren't loose yet, as tooth loss usually starts to occur with a 5-7mm pocket. They numbed me, gave the infected area a deep periodontal cleaning, and made me an appointment to see a periodontal specialist the following day as they assumed that I would potentially have to go in for a root canal or have the infected teeth removed entirely.

I choked back tears in the chair as I've never even had as much as a cavity, let alone a root canal. I've always tried my best to take care of my teeth and this all seemed to come out of nowhere. They assured me that the specialist would give the final verdict on what should occur and that I should "prepare for the worst but try not to worry"

This did little to quell any worry.

The next day, I went to see the specialist, who took a panoramic x-ray and confirmed the depth of the pocket and the location of the infection.

Good news:

I would not need to lose any of my teeth, nor would any kind of root canal need to occur. He said this kind of thing "just happens sometimes, especially in patients who have their wisdom teeth removed" and the procedure I needed was very easy and I'd be back to normal about two weeks post-op.

Bad news:

The procedure was nearly $4000, they don't take my insurance and said this procedure most likely wouldn't be covered by my level of insurance even if I went elsewhere. In addition to this, he highly urged me to schedule the surgery sooner rather than later as this type of infection has a history of worsening very quickly.

I was devastated. There was no way I'd be able to afford the procedure upfront. However, because of the level of pain I was still experiencing I agreed to schedule the procedure and put it on a credit card or finance it through the dental office.

It was at this point I started opening up with friends about the situation and the sentiment was unanimous.

"Start a GoFundMe."

I wrestled back and forth with this for quite a while, as I try not to ask for help unless it's truly needed, but after spending the last two weeks wrestling with my current health insurance on solutions to get this covered, it is quite apparent that help is needed. My health insurance company confirmed that this isn't something that would be covered as my current plan covers preventative services only.

On the day of writing this, later this afternoon, I will go in for gum surgery and I will owe the dental office 4000 dollars. I've done everything in my power to find coverage for this but it is completely out of my hands at this point.

I will be out of commission for about two weeks after the surgery and my current plan is to hit the ground running as soon as I am able and put everything I make back into the bill.

I am not expecting anything to come out of this, but if this GoFundMe campaign can relieve any of the financial burden, I will be forever grateful ;w;

Of the funds raised via this campaign:

$3910 for the estimated cost of the procedure

$90 will go towards paying the GoFundMe fees

From there I should be able to pay any extraneous fees incurred by the operation out of pocket.

Below is a copy of my bill from the specialist.

Ever since this started, it has drastically affected my quality of life, if I'm not on Ibuprofen and antibiotics, I cannot function, I have been performing live music and trying to work on art as much as I can, but if I go too long without taking meds the pain rushes back and my life grinds to a halt. Despite all of the monetary issues surrounding this situation, I'm excited to put this infection behind me and get back to creating art and music and experience life without constant jaw pain. ❤️

Thank you so much for reading,

Kevin/Bleu <3