3 years. That's how far back I had to go to find a picture where I was fully smiling, without trying to cover the damage in my teeth. I have a degenerative disorder causing my teeth to be more likely to get cavities and crumble away.
In February I met with a dentist who told me they recommended the removal of over half my teeth and bridges installed to "full the holes" that would remain. They scheduled me to see another local dentist with better imagery technology.
Since I was pregnant at the time, they didn't want to do anything further. I was devastated at the thought of what was to become my mouth. I envisioned my smile uncovered looking like a poorly carved jack-o-lantern.
A friend and I started talking more about the dental work she had done. I didn't know her full story, but I knew she had a similar dental experience and had complete dental reconstruction. She shared the company she went with and told me to reach out to them and see if they could help me, too.
After a few days of discussion with Anthony (my husband) we decided I should schedule a phone consult and just see what this company has to say on my case. I spoke with Stephanie at the Tysons Square,VA office for G4 by Golpa. They said I'm a firm candidate for their procedures and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I began to picture myself with a beautiful, healthy smile.
As hubby and I began researching, praying, and talking more about this procedure we discerned a few things. First, we have 5 kids and the risk of not repairing my teeth could leave him without me to help raise the blessings Good bestowed on us. Did you know that if an infection traveled from the jaw to the heart it could stop your heart in 7 seconds? Me neither, but it terrified me. Second, this procedure is expensive (roughly $40k) and as a single income blue collar family, we don't have those funds sitting in our back pocket. Third, our credit is trash because we made foolish choices over the years. This meant getting any loans would be a challenge. I also felt a huge conviction about going into further debt to fix my teeth, even if it was protecting my life. Finally, we began making a list of how much this surgery was going to improve my life. Little things like eating rice, chips, and cooked meat you have to chew and not needing to reposition it in my mouth or immediately rinse with warm water to flush things from my gaps and such filled the list.
I decided I'll do whatever I can to raise the money necessary. I have faith that God will see us through. While I work toward that, the dentist here is going to remove only the teeth we can't save, patch those we can, and order removable bridges to restore dental structure, which should allow me to eat basic foods again and lower the risk of infections.
So how can you help? First of all, continue to pray. Then, if you feel led, donate to help us pay for this work to be done. Even just a dollar gets us one dollar closer to the goal.
