- Joined
- Feb 10, 2023
- Messages
- 1
TW: Rotten Teeth
I do not know who else to turn to, because we’re both at our wits end. My name is Amber Giza and my mom’s name is Pamela Giza. We’re both 26 years old, and 56 years old, respectively. This letter is in regards to her and her dental health.
For the past few decades, my mom’s dental health has been declining, rapidly. My mom has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Herniated Disc Disease, and because of the intense amounts of pain she’s in, she has to take prescription opioids. One of the side effects that they have is that it dries her mouth out. She can’t brush her teeth, because of how sensitive her teeth and her nerves are.
It's been at least since 2020 since she’s seen a dentist. The reasoning behind it is because of not having enough money. It also doesn’t help that she has no dental coverage or insurance. In Washington State, she doesn’t qualify for Medicaid or any form of affordable dental coverage, because her income is apparently too high. As of 2023, she earns roughly $1,400 per month, on disability, and she spends over 90% on it on our rent. For me, I make about $940 a month, also on disability. We’ve tried looking into dental grants, but we have no luck. We’ve been phished, lied to, and nearly scammed, because of our income situation. We’ve spoken to a couple of orthodontists about her situation, and it would take around $55,000 for the medical procedure that she needs. This is money that neither of us have. This is money that none of our immediate family has.
To really see how bad her teeth are, here's a photo I took of her mouth, as best as I could:
As you can see, the right side of her mouth is severely infected. The last tooth she got removed was one of her top incisors. Her bottom-left canine, pre-molars, and molars are the most infected. The right side of her mouth isn’t as bad, but it’s getting there. In the end, she just wants all of her teeth removed and to either have implants or removable dentures. Because of how bad her teeth are, it’s affected her mental and physical health.
Because of her teeth, she doesn’t like going outside in the condition she’s in. She’s very self-conscious about her face. It’s also getting harder for her to eat and chew foods. The only type of medical care she can do, is take more pain killers or NSAIDS for pain, or she has to keep going back to the urgent care and get antibiotics. She can’t do that forever, because she is a carrier for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Often, she breaks down because she doesn’t know about her financial options, what to do, where to go, or who to talk to. Meanwhile, I’m in college still, trying to get my degree. I can’t get a job just yet, because I’ve tried holding down a job and do school, but it took a massive toll on my mental health.
We have no one else to turn to, in terms of asking for help with getting dental grants, and for getting my mom’s teeth out. Please help us out, in any ways that you can. I don’t want my mom to die of septicemia, because I have nowhere to go, should that happen.
Please, if there's anything you can do to help us out or any resources you can think of, please message me/let us know. I'm sick and tired of having to try and win the dang lottery, just to save my mother's life!
I do not know who else to turn to, because we’re both at our wits end. My name is Amber Giza and my mom’s name is Pamela Giza. We’re both 26 years old, and 56 years old, respectively. This letter is in regards to her and her dental health.
For the past few decades, my mom’s dental health has been declining, rapidly. My mom has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Herniated Disc Disease, and because of the intense amounts of pain she’s in, she has to take prescription opioids. One of the side effects that they have is that it dries her mouth out. She can’t brush her teeth, because of how sensitive her teeth and her nerves are.
It's been at least since 2020 since she’s seen a dentist. The reasoning behind it is because of not having enough money. It also doesn’t help that she has no dental coverage or insurance. In Washington State, she doesn’t qualify for Medicaid or any form of affordable dental coverage, because her income is apparently too high. As of 2023, she earns roughly $1,400 per month, on disability, and she spends over 90% on it on our rent. For me, I make about $940 a month, also on disability. We’ve tried looking into dental grants, but we have no luck. We’ve been phished, lied to, and nearly scammed, because of our income situation. We’ve spoken to a couple of orthodontists about her situation, and it would take around $55,000 for the medical procedure that she needs. This is money that neither of us have. This is money that none of our immediate family has.
To really see how bad her teeth are, here's a photo I took of her mouth, as best as I could:
As you can see, the right side of her mouth is severely infected. The last tooth she got removed was one of her top incisors. Her bottom-left canine, pre-molars, and molars are the most infected. The right side of her mouth isn’t as bad, but it’s getting there. In the end, she just wants all of her teeth removed and to either have implants or removable dentures. Because of how bad her teeth are, it’s affected her mental and physical health.
Because of her teeth, she doesn’t like going outside in the condition she’s in. She’s very self-conscious about her face. It’s also getting harder for her to eat and chew foods. The only type of medical care she can do, is take more pain killers or NSAIDS for pain, or she has to keep going back to the urgent care and get antibiotics. She can’t do that forever, because she is a carrier for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Often, she breaks down because she doesn’t know about her financial options, what to do, where to go, or who to talk to. Meanwhile, I’m in college still, trying to get my degree. I can’t get a job just yet, because I’ve tried holding down a job and do school, but it took a massive toll on my mental health.
We have no one else to turn to, in terms of asking for help with getting dental grants, and for getting my mom’s teeth out. Please help us out, in any ways that you can. I don’t want my mom to die of septicemia, because I have nowhere to go, should that happen.
Please, if there's anything you can do to help us out or any resources you can think of, please message me/let us know. I'm sick and tired of having to try and win the dang lottery, just to save my mother's life!