How I got here:
I found this site while googling low cost dental care. I havent had a chance to look thru others postings (just registered) but definitely will. The concept is brilliant!
I desperately need low cost dental care.
Here is my story:
Where to begin? I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 6. From that point untill just 3 years ago I was on the maximum dose of tegretol , lamyctal, and several other meds in between. While they somewhat controlled my seizures those meds wreaked havoc on my body, teeth included.
Raised by a single (divorced) mother who was disabled, I received SSI from the time i was 6 until i was 25. At that point i was dropped and lost my medical insurance (medicaid). I worked part time (what 20 -something wants to feel retired?) and lost every job i had due to absence - due to having seizures. Apparently I fell into a catch 22... i couldnt survive on $600 /mo from SSI, I coudnt support myself or afford medical insurance working part time, and i couldnt work more than part time due to my illness - but there was no financial / medical assistance available for me. If i had children (that i couldnt afford) then i would have qualified for all kinds of things... go figure.
Why i need dental treatment?
I was blessed (for a time) with a beautiful smile. My teeth were naturaly straight, and my smile complimented regularly. However, around the age of 24 my teeth began to weaken; partly due to genetics, partly due to side effects of my medication.
The dentist i saw said my gums were in bad shape, and i had decalcified enamel at the gum line on several teeth. She filled those teeth (at the gum line) and told me as a "preventative measure" she shoud do the same to several other of my front teeth. So she basicaly put fillings into most of my top & bottom front teeth. (not to mention several back teeth that actualy needed fillings). less than a year after the fillings turned bright white.
I went back to the same dentist who had no explanation for the discolorization, she said she had never seen it happen before & that the fillings needed replaced. So she redid all the fillings.
About 2 years after that the new fillings began to fail (chip, break, etc) i went back and she fixed them one more time. she told me at that point i needed ot have crowns on my fornt 6 teeth... due to the amount of filling vs. actual tooth i had left.
She tried twice to get medicaid to approve the crowns, and they would not. She then lied to medicaid and filed work that i did not need done but that would cover the cost of the fillings. It was approved. Befor ei was able to get in to have th ework done, however, medicaid changed their policy and excluded tooth colored crowns from coverage.
my teeth are so badly discolored, chipped, and filled that i absolutely need corwns on my front (top) 6 teeth at this point.
I have no insurance, my credit is bad (thanks mostly to my mother putting things in my name without my knowledge), and cash is very limited. I have no idea where to turn or what to do at this point.
Please help me...
Everyday I wake up and the first thing i think of is my teeth. Not an hour passes during the day that I dont think of them and feel ashamed, hopeless, and like giving up. I avoid being around people as much as possible because I am ashamed of my teeth. I am an otherwise very attractive woman... but i know that the first thing ppl are going to notice is my bad smile. It's mortifying.
My mother passed away recently and it's been hard enough to find a reaosn to smile... now when I do it is instantly overshadowed by the shame of hididng my smile.
I lie in bed at night trying to think of ways to come up with the money / a solution .... my heart heavy with worry, and hopelessness.
I work everyday. I work hard, but it is neer enough. I work a job that is basically "labor" because i am too ashamed to face the public in a job that would pay / suit me better.
I honestly dont know what to do at this point.
