Braegen McIntosh says he prioritised paying his energy bills and looking after his kids instead of paying for dental care, but now he’s facing the reality of not being able to eat solid foods
A single dad says he regrets spending his money on energy bills instead of going to the dentist for 14 years – after half his teeth rotted.
Braegen McIntosh says he’s been left in constant pain and with broken shards of teeth in his mouth because he couldn’t afford to go to the dentist for more than 10 years. The 46-year-old says he’s reluctant to open his mouth to smile, talk or laugh due to the appearance of his gnashers.
Braegen says his dental problems first started when he discovered all four of his wisdom teeth were impacted 14 years ago. Unable to afford further dental treatment to remove them, Braegen says the wisdom teeth started pushing against the other teeth in his mouth.
The security officer worker says his other teeth eventually all cracked ‘like a domino effect’ as a result. With just 16 of his 32 adult teeth left, Braegen says he’s in constant pain, which makes it difficult to eat solid food.
The dad-of-three says he’s always brushed his teeth, but admits he skipped flossing. Now, Braegen is issuing a warning to Brits about the importance of ensuring they still pay for dental care amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Braegen, from Tampa, Florida, US, said: “I went to the dentist 14 years ago and all four of my wisdom teeth were impacted. They started pushing against all of my other teeth and they started cracking like a domino [effect] – crack, crack, crack.
“Now all of my teeth are pretty much all destroyed, broken, or rotted. I have bone shards stuck in my gums that need to be removed. My front teeth on the bottom are the only good teeth I have left in my mouth.
“When I saw my teeth cracking, I didn’t know what to do because I can’t afford insurance, I can’t afford to pay $5,000 – even if I got a loan for it, I’d still have to pay.”
Braegen says he is in constant pain and is unable to eat solid food properly because of the state of his teeth.
Braegen said: “It’s progressed and got worse in the past two or three years. I can’t eat anything easily. Everything I try to eat is difficult and it’s painful. I’m in constant pain and I can only drink lukewarm water.
“I have to be really careful if I drink anything cold, I have to drink small quantities.
“I have to stay away from certain parts of my mouth. One of my teeth is loose and it’s cracked and it’s painful but it won’t come out.
“I can’t chew on that side because anything I try on chew on that side is very painful. I have to chew on the left side of my mouth but I have giant holes on the left side of my mouth because I don’t have any molars.
“I have to use my front teeth to do any chewing – but my front teeth are decaying so I can’t really chew on the front teeth.
“Most of what I eat has to be chilli or something that I don’t really have to chew a lot of, I can’t really eat sandwiches.”
Self-conscious of his broken smile, Braegen now only has 16 of the 32 adult teeth he should have.
Braegen said: “My teeth have just rotted away now. I love to talk to people and I love to laugh but I can’t.
“I feel so self-conscious because I know my teeth look so awful,- they look so jacked up like some sort of cracked-up bum. I try not to smile and I try not to laugh or open my mouth to a point where you can see my teeth.
“I’ve always had such a good smile, I’ve been complimented on my smile for so long but now it’s all cracked.”
Braegen says he wasn’t able to afford dental care for the past 14 years because he prioritised buying food and paying the electricity bills instead.
Braegen said: “I have two kids I have to take care of, I’m a single father. I’ve always been able to make ends meet, always been able to afford what we need and stuff and it’s never been a big deal.
“The money I could spend on the dentist, I spend that money doing something with my kids. It would cost me $200 a month for the dental treatment if I were to finance it.
“It’s either that or food, it’s either that or electricity, it’s that or gas.
“It’s a huge amount of money to set aside per month considering I don’t need it to survive. I can survive without it – it’s not pleasant but I don’t need my teeth to survive.
“I need them to feel good about myself and I need them to feel confident.”
Braegen has now set up a GoFundMe page in the hope of fundraising money to cover the cost of the treatment that he needs in order to eat and speak pain-free.
He wants to warn Brits to ensure they still prioritise paying to visit the dentist amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Braegen said: “I would warn people that going to the dentist is just as important as paying your bills. Every day I tell my kids to brush and floss their teeth.
“It’s not worth the pain and the suffering – it’s not worth everything I’ve gone through just to skip out on some dental treatment.”
You can donate to Braegen’s GoFundMe here