Patient Stories
Tasha’s Story
Many people don’t know the value of a smile until they lose it. Tasha Morton is one of those people. She lost hers for 7 years.
At the age of 31 Tasha was told that her gums were so infected that she would have to have all of my teeth pulled, this was after years of root canals and surgeries to save them. Tasha had also become severely allergic to plastics, so much so that she was in the ICU for several weeks after a failed attempt to fit her with dentures. Her allergy is so severe that she is now required to take daily shots to suppress it. She could not even wear plastic dentures. Tasha was told that she needed all implant retained teeth. She saved for years, but there was no way that she could come up with the $30,000 required for the implants. Tasha was out of money and out of hope. She simply gave up.
Her lack of teeth resulted not only in a poor appearance but also in digestive problems the loss of her gal bladder… more hospital time. Tasha took off in my car one afternoon, just driving and crying. She really felt that she could not endure any more. She got lost, something that never happens to her, so she pulled over in the Krystal parking lot on Charlotte Avenue and cried until her head pounded. “Then God told me to look up and right in front of me was the Interfaith Dental Clinic.”
Tasha had been to the clinic years ago when she worked for Head Start. I was escorting a young girl who suffered from severe decay. While she was at the clinic, Dr. Switzer observed her lack of teeth and told her “If you ever need me, look me up.” Tasha pulled herself together, went into the clinic and asked to see Dr. Switzer. Tasha felt she was her last resort.
Dr. Switzer met Tasha in the consult room and she fell apart. Tasha told her, “I’m tired, I have been through so much and today, I am broken. I just want some teeth and to be able to smile again.” I will never forget what she said to me “If money is your burden, then your burden is mine.”
The Interfaith Dental Clinic relieved Tasha’s burden. Dr. Switzer located the right agents for her mouth, special dentures were made that she wasn’t allergic to. “I am so thankful to Dr. Switzer, the staff at Interfaith, and to the donors that made it possible for me eat, laugh and smile again. I am so appreciative!”