I'm a 25 yr old female and this is very embarrassing for me. Since I was a kid , I always took care of them..brushed, flossed, mouth wash, 6 month dental check up's etc. I guess the last few years I have had some serious issues with my teeth & am not really sure why or how it was caused. My doc said it could just be hereditary and have nothing to do with my personal dental hygiene. Anyways, it began 5 years ago with one broken tooth now it's led to 5 years later with 5 messed up teeth. They aren't all missing but huge pieces have fallen out and I can feel my gums with my tongue under where the tooth is supposed to be. I am scared as heck to go to the dentist because I quite frankly don't have the money to get all of these extracted and definitely can't afford dentures either. I have been in and out of the hospital 3 times in the last 5 years cause of the pain as it can be unbearable. They've given me antibiotics to kill the infection and a prescription for pain killers but they can't actually fix my teeth and referred me to a dental surgeon who I just cannot afford. I have called places, even in other states asking if they can possibly do low payment plans and it seems with this economy no dentist are taking the risk of losing money. I am getting worried about my general health now as I know infections can eventually lead into the blood stream and then cause serious damage. Now that the 5 teeth are basically all rotted out, I don't feel any pain as I think the nerves are killed but I'm still worried. Does anyone have any suggestions for me as I am getting more and more nervous about this every day.