If you’re guessing that she kisses a fool, you’re way off base. Would that it her that simple.
Eighteen-year-old Linzi Grant has a far more serious problem, which doctors are a loss to explain. As Grant puts it in her own words, “Every time I sneeze or jolt my head bits of my teeth shoot out.”
She means it literally. Her teeth have gradually been crumbling away since she was 14.
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Even between sneezes, her life is no bed of roses. The Daily Mail notes she is constant agony from painful gum abscesses triggered by a buildup of pus in the gaps left by the lost teeth. She has been hospitalized on six separate occasions for infections, and her crumbling teeth means her only option is to eat soft foods.
Then there is the social pain caused by her unusual problem. Laments Grant:
I’ve been bullied by people who tell me I’ve got manky teeth.
It’s humiliating and I’ve been astounded by how many people just stare….
I just want to tell them what’s wrong with me but I don’t even know what that is.
Sometimes I just go home and cry because it really gets to me. I don’t want to be 18 with dentures but I don’t feel like I’ve got a choice anymore.
If she does opt to have all her teeth extracted, as dentists are urging, she runs afoul of Britain’s infamous National Health Service, which classifies dental implants as a cosmetic procedure. The cost, which redounds entirely to Grant, is £20,000 ($29,000).
Grant’s health problems, the Mail article explains, started early:
After being diagnosed with type one diabetes as a young child, Miss Grant was taken to the dentist every four months for regular check-ups.
By the age of 14, she had never had a filling, so was surprised when she started suffering pain in her back teeth.
She underwent emergency treatment to have the nerves removed as they were hitting the roots of the teeth and causing her discomfort.
But following the treatment, she found her teeth suddenly began to disintegrate.
‘I was sitting watching the TV and remember my teeth begin crumbling into my mouth,’ she said.
‘I didn’t know what to do, I just cried my eyes out. My face started swelling up because of a build up of fluid.
Grant set up a page at GoFundMe eight months ago, but so far she has raised only £420.
