Mar 20, 2009
I am a 38 year old single disabled mom of two children and we live off of my disability check of $694.00 a month. I became disabled 4 1/2 years ago and this is when I started having problems with my teeth. I was diagnosed with Lupus and along with that came dry mouth syndrome and I was also diagnosed with epilepsy. The dry mouth syndrome is the main cause of the loss of my teeth and the reason my teeth are so brittle now. I don't have very many teeth left and the few that I do have are brittle, some are broken in half, and others are broken down to the gums. I am in constant pain. I tend to get sores on my tongue,my gums and the insides of my cheeks sometimes due to the wasting of my teeth and the decay of them as well. I have been so depressed and isolated ever since I have started losing my teeth. I don't feel like the same person and I feel like people see me differently, and I know that people see me differently. People even treat me differently when they see that I don't hardly have any teeth. I feel like an outcast in this world. I use to laugh and smile and talk and joke around all the time with everyone. Now I don't do any of those things, because when I do people stare at my mouth noticing that I have only one tooth in the front and none on the bottom. I get so embarassed and feel so humiliated when someone asks me what happen to your teeth. I just turn away and don't answer. I have been to a dentist and the dentist says that I need all my teeth pulled and that I need a full set of dentures. But that is so very expensive that I can't afford to get it done. I had the four bottom teeth removed because they were so brittle that they had broke and they were cutting into my lip and my tongue and that was too expensive for me. And I can't afford to have anymore dental work done to my mouth without some help. Some of my teeth are so far broken into my gums that I can put my tongue over that broken tooth and feel my gums. I am in so much constant pain. I can't eat regular food and I can't drink anything cold. I am also so very depressed and feel like an outcast in this world. I use to laugh all the time,joke around with my friends, talk to my friends, smile all the time and now I don't do any of those things anymore. I was so embarassed and humiliated one day when some man asked me what happen to my mouth and why didn't I have any teeth. He told me that I was pretty but not like that without any teeth. I was so hurt. I cried and I just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. So I am just asking for some help in getting some dental care. I really need dental care. I really need help in getting my teeth pulled and getting a full set of dentures. So I would appreciate it if you could consider helping me getting my teeth pulled and getting a full set of dentures. Thank you for your time. My name is Tina Marie Bosquez for San Antonio, Texas.
Sincerely,
Tina Marie Bosquez
