Getting my smile back - dental treatment for a fresh start

I write this with hope, not pity. Not because it's easy - but because I've reached a point where I can no longer do it alone. My teeth are not just a health problem. They are the result of years of compromise, pain and struggle to survive. The consequence of constant stress, accumulated trauma, setbacks and the silent swallowing of hardship when you're just trying to make it, day by day.

And in this attempt to be "strong," you forget yourself - until your body says, "Enough. That's it."

For me, that "so far" came not in one fell swoop, but with accumulation - with every loss, every compromise, every delayed self-care. The pain in my mouth is no longer just physical - it's an obstacle to speaking freely, to eating normally, to smiling without shame. To be a complete father, partner, person.

I work, I struggle, I learn, but I cannot cover the cost of the full treatment needed - and it is beyond my means: 12 357 BGN (about 6316 euros). I have no savings, I have no health insurance, and I have put off this treatment for too long. And I can't anymore.

That's why I'm launching this campaign - not for a luxury, but for a basic human right: To be able to eat without pain. To speak clearly. To smile without shame. To breathe peacefully around people.

To have children I love. I have a job I want to do with face and confidence. I have a life that isn't over yet - and I want to live it with dignity. I pray for a chance.For that chance that life sometimes takes away, but people can give back.

If this story touches you, if you see in it not me, but someone you love, or yourself in a difficult moment - help. Everything matters.

Thanks for reading. It's no small thing - because it means you care.

And what a person in need needs most is to know they are not invisible.

- Ivaylo