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I am a 52 year old woman with 9.5 teeth left, and those are loose.  I have applied for Social Security Disability.  I have a part-time job & cannot afford to get dental care.  I receive food stamps & have a clinic card.  With the clinic card I can get teeth extracted for $7.00 per tooth.  I can't afford THAT either.

I have contacted several low-cost dentist in my area and the extractions start at $55.00 per tooth.  Needless to say, I can't even come close to affording that.

I have run out of options.  It is to the point that I can barely eat anything because my mouth is sore & my gums are inflamed.  I live with an almost constant headache and have trouble sleeping.  I was hoping to use my income tax refund from 2006 to help me, but that was taken away because I owe money on a student loan.

I have been staying with a friend and I am wearing out my welcome since I don't make enough money to pay my share of the bills.  I no longer own a vehicle because it broke down & I couldn't afford to have it fixed.  I am getting desperate.

I am at my wits end.  I don't know what to do. Could you tell me if there is any way to get some assistance with this growing problem.

Sincerely,

Susan in Corpus Christi

wings2fly7608@peoplepc.com

I have excellent job skills and experience, but my appearance (no front teeth) is preventing me from getting a job.  For example:  There is an opening for a job at your company.  You have interviewed many applicants and you have narrowed qualified applicants down to two people.  Both are equally qualified and both have excellent references and pleasant personalities.  However, one of the applicants is missing her front teeth.  Since the job requires dealing with the public on a daily basis, which applicant would you choose???

Not too hard to see how the story will end. 

That is where I am.  And I have been unable to find a job that pays well enough to allow me to save enough money to fix my teeth because of my appearance.