Help me smile again! It’s kind of my thing!

Hi I’m Chris! Im glad you’re here! I’m kind of known as a smiley happy guy, and I don’t smile nearly as much as I used to because of so many broken, missing teeth. On my 15th birthday I was jumped by a bunch of “crips” for wearing an all red outfit I’d gotten for my birthday. I had a tooth knocked out, and the way the dentist decided to fix it, was with a bridge. They drilled down the the two opposing teeth, and glued it in place. As a child with some low self worth issues and a lifetime of zero direction, I've done a horrible job of self care. In 2014 my bridge fell out. It was very difficult to maintain due to my ongoing mental state. I’ve always been an optimist that lives to just be happy in the moment. Never worrying about my future or my finances. I’ve scraped by my entire adult life with the only thought being to stay positive and have fun, while internalizing all the issues that most adults make priorities. Luckily for me the folks that I worked for at Broadway Roasting Co. helped me with some dental work and I got a new “flipper” for my missing front teeth. They allowed me to pay for it over time with money taken from my check and I will forever be super grateful to Jon and Sara for the help when I needed it! Prior to all of this I had visited a dental clinic, and they had told me a large chunk of tartar on my bottom front teeth was holding my teeth in place and they would soon fall out. When I heard this, I don’t know why, but I decided the best option was to stop brushing my teeth so the tartar would keep my teeth in because I didn't want to be toothless. Since I was uninsured, no credit, living paycheck to paycheck, I thought this was my best route. To ignore it! This is a recurring downfall of mine. Ignore your problems and have fun and stay positive.After moving to Oregon I started having teeth break probably due to unaddressed cavities. I’m now missing 11 teeth and they’re mostly in my chewing teeth, aka not showing when I talk (mostly). This has led to me smiling less in photos and destroying any self confidence and making eating a task and unenjoyable. I’m now at a job I really love with the City of Portland and my benefits are there, and are great, but dental insurance won’t cover these really high costs. Went to the dentist a few years back with insurance from the restaurant I was working at, and they told me my teeth were beyond repair and the lack of care resulted in some bone loss, and their recommendation was to graft some bone tissue in, and install full implant dentures so I could eat food that’s important to a healthy diet. I’m 45 now and have the mouth of an 85 year old. Since that visit all I want to do is brush and floss, but I’m afraid that will lead to more missing teeth since my bones and gums are deteriorated so bad. People I’m close to all say to start a gofundme for help. A down payment on a financing situation would be life changing! I’ve been slowly building my credit in hopes that I could finance this. I got a job that enables me to spend almost no money on my hobby which is Golf duh! I chose to move to Portland and some aspects of that move resulted in me finding my true calling taking care of highly manicured turf! But on the flip side it’s very expensive here and is a constant struggle to save money. So here’s the ask! I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few years and think this idea could work if YOU can help. What if you gave me a dollar? (idea stemmed from Portlandia, with the “can I have a dollar” Fred Arbanas” street kid character). Ok, so what if you gave me the dollar but then shared the link on your social platforms, and we created a giant network of folks giving me that one dollar. What if it went viral? This idea could benefit even more folks than myself! Ultimately I’m just asking for your help and trust me, this is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. This ask is very difficult for me but I’m out of options. Currently my teeth are in a lot of pain and I just smile and don’t talk about it. My mental state is very much affected, and internally I’m spiraling a bit, and have been slowly, since leaving Kansas City. I just want a sandwich so bad lol! If you can spare a dollar and share this gofundme to your friends and ask them to share with theirs. I think this is an attainable goal. If it’s successful, more money could be made to help other folks in the same boat! Thank you for taking the time to read this and please donate and share if you can.