HOUSTON – Nikita Goffney quickly whips together a concoction of fresh fruits, protein powder and juice, not because she’s an athlete preparing for a workout, but because she simply can’t eat much else.
You see Nikita literally can’t chew solid food anymore because her teeth are in such horrible shape.
“I’m basically not chewing, I am basically gnawing like a baby to try to get food down,“ Nikita said.
Nikita spent almost her entire childhood in foster care and received very little in the way of dental exams and treatment.
As an adult, working to help children with autism, she never could afford health insurance or dental insurance so her teeth continued to be ignored.
Finally, 10 years ago, Nikita’s teeth began to crack and break apart and simply fall out of her mouth and of course her mouth was ravaged by infections.
“My gums will swell so badly. So again, some days I will not have to, I won’t be able to eat anything. It used to swell so bad that I would have to put ice packs on it,” Nikita said.
But the worst part, even beyond the pain Nikita says, is that she is constantly afraid to talk to people, to smile.
She even worries about talking to the parents of the children she helps with autism.
Afraid they will notice her ravaged teeth.
“I try to stay on my own and not going out. I will stay back or I will cover my mouth when I’m talking to people because I don’t want them to judge me or you know judge my kids based off of me not having teeth in my mouth. So it has affected my whole life,” Nikita said.
But, after Nikita contacted 2 Helps You, I went to work trying to find the perfect dentist to fix her nightmare dental problems.
I immediately went to Dr. Terri Alani.
Specializing in cosmetic, implant and general dentistry, when she heard Nikita’s story, she couldn’t wait to help.
“I get teary-eyed just talking about it. It’s like you just realize how lucky I am to be able to give back to people that really, you know, they just, they don’t, it is not on purpose that their teeth are in such bad shape and that they can’t smile. Everybody should have the chance to be smile and feel good about themselves,” Terri said.
But the best part of this story is giving Nikita the good news.
I tell her what we are going to do, as she stands there outside her small apartment.
“I want you to know Nikita that we’re going to get your teeth completely fixed. I mean you’re going to get a beautiful new smile. We’re going to fix all of this for you.”
Nikita can barely believe what I am saying and gives me a big hug.
“Thank you so much, thank you,” Nikita says, fighting back tears, and yes, smiling a warm, big, smile.
