I am a 28 year old college graduate, a husband and a father of 1.

In early 2000, I sustained irreparable damage to my teeth, cracking my molars and breaking a front tooth completely out.  Prior to this, I had good teeth, but I have never had dental or medical insurance. 

After the accident, I received emergency medial attention to band-aid the injury, but without insurance, this minor treatment alone nearly broke my small family.  We pulled through, but since then, I have not been able to save enough money to completely fix the issue.  So, the situation has progressively worsened, with the broken teeth become infected periodically.  Occasionally, the infection become so severe that I have to take another emergency trip to the dentist, throwing our family into debt once again.

I need help.  I live in constant pain, my teeth ALWAYS hurt.  It hurts to eat, it hurts to drink.  More importantly, it hurts me emotionally.  I am a smart, quick-witted person, I am very capable and hard-working, but I have the constant stigma of missing & broken teeth hanging over me always.  It shatters my self-confidence and makes me feel worthless.  I am able to find work, but I feel I am working far below my potential, limited by my physical appearance from landing more lucrative positions.  I feel that employers look at me and see a person who can't be trusted because of what my mouth looks like.

I don't want a hand-out, but I need help so badly.  I just want to smile and not think about what other people see when I do... I want to laugh out loud at a funny joke and not remember my teeth are messed up and stifle it.  I want to kiss my wife and not feel like I am grossing her out (she isn't, but I feel it).  I want to go 6 months without having to take antibiotics to quell yet another infection before it gets out of control and sends me to the dentist for yet another costly half-measure that makes no headway on addressing the real issue.

I need around $6000 to have my teeth removed and dentures fitted.  I can pay it back over time, but with student loans and other bills inheirant to supporting a family, I can't afford much in the way of payments.  Dentists do not take payment arrangements, and my credit is burdened with the trappings of family debts, I could not get a bank loan for this.  I need someone to see me, to understand, to help.