MarishaDotson

[deleted]

Well, for a year I was emailing them and reaching out regularly. They kept saying I was supposed to be working things out with the dentist; the dentist's PR person kept saying she was waiting on the show. It was a lot of going in circles and, near the one-year mark (8/23/27), I sent a long email to Christine Mango and the two main producers I'd been in touch with at "The Doctors," basically explaining where I was at -- I'll post part of that here:

“As I mentioned before, I know you said you had finally found a special lab, but at this point the piece that is in now is falling apart. I can’t wait for however much time it would take to make this happen unless it’s immediately. As I do need one right now, critically ASAP. I just want to say I am not angry or anything like that, but I do need to say I am a bit frustrated because last year it was said to me that it was ready, and then it wasn’t even made, to now needing to find alternative plans. I realize it can be difficult making plans, but a year later with no estimate on when it can be done is bit much for my condition and what I was led to believe was happening in a timely fashion for my medical needs. I can’t express how much the current temporary surgical piece is an insufficient and painful fit as it was only meant to be worn 6 to 9 months, and now I have been waiting a year on top of the year I had already been in this piece because I was promised these services. I had every belief it would have happened months ago the way it was laid out. My obturator is my lifeline, literally. One more crack in this one, and it’s done. It was more meaningful than a promise to someone who really needed something to me. I rely on it to speak, eat, drink, talk, and to process saliva. It’s not just a regular denture. I literally can’t survive without one or interact with the world. I honestly don’t think it should have been taking this long to work something out. I know they are special and expensive, but once a place has been procured, the piece itself should only take four weeks to three months at the very most to manufacture and deliver. That is a direct quote from the prosthodontics lab that works here in TN and for most of the surrounding states as well who specialize in dentures and dental prosthetics.

With that being said, I was forced to raise funds from several people in my community for a temporary interim dental prosthesis that, even with the discounts from the prosthodontist, cost almost $4000, not including visits and adjustments in the future that are out-of-pocket. Cancer destroyed my finances too, so I am too poor for the things I need to live, like this for example. I am still making payments while it is being manufactured so I can go home with it when it is ready. In this way, this is a big expense that should have been unnecessary on my part if things has been worked out efficiently between the show and the sponsors who promised the services.

Even though I am getting the intermediate appliance, I must make clear it is only a temporary solution. I will need a definitive obturator after this one has molded for a few months. For that, I would like to be kept in mind and up-to-date with what the lab has said it can do and what kind of timeline we can shoot for on the obturator they would make, as well as when and how we are moving forward with this. For example, something like six months or nine months? That would be okay at this point since I am getting an intermediate, but I do need to know what is going on with it and a reasonable timeline goal we can shoot for to expect going forward to avoid any uncertainty and needless pain on my part. I can’t heal if I always have sores and infections weakening my immune system

I need a clear and succinct idea of what’s happening with this.”

They didn't respond to that, so one month later, I posted on Facebook. The next day is when I got the voicemail message from Christine Mango, and then I got the voicemail from the show producer.

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Thanks for the support! The most helpful thing is probably to tweet at "The Doctors" and share the videos on social media.

Nope. Both "The Doctors" and True Dentistry have scrubbed all mention of me from their websites, though.