A woman who turned to drugs after thinking she had killed her brother has revealed that a dentist pulled out all of her teeth instead of fixing them, leaving her unable to eat.
Brittany Negler, 29, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, weighed just 79 pounds and was on the verge of getting a feeding tube when she reached out to cosmetic dentist Dr. Kenny Wilstead, who gave her a $30,000 smile makeover.
The mom shared her traumatic story while meeting with Dr. Wilstead at his office in Garland, Texas, explaining that her life changed forever when her older brother died of cancer when he was 18.
Transformation: Brittany Negler, 29, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, got a $30,000 smile makeover from dentist Dr. Kenny Wilstead after another dentist pulled out all of her teeth out
Opening up: She shared her traumatic story while meeting with the dentist at his office in Garland, Texas, explaining that her brother died of cancer when she was a teen
‘For the longest time I thought I killed my brother,’ she tearfully admitted in the video the dentist shared on Instagram. ‘He had Ewing sarcoma. One day I woke up, I had a feeling not to go to school.
‘So I went and laid in bed with him, and 15 minutes after I laid in bed with him, I heard him gasp and he died right there,’ she recalled.
‘I didn’t know better, so I thought I killed him. Like, I thought I laid on his breathing tube or something.’
Brittany, who was a teenager at the time, said her family split up shortly after, and she thought it was her fault because she had killed her brother.
‘I went to a dark place, I’m not going to lie. I started hanging out with the bad kids, started doing drugs to numb the feeling. I got really depressed,’ she explained. ‘I was like I need to take care of myself.’
Hard to handle: Brittany (pictured as a child) said she was laying next to her brother when he passed away and thought it was her fault
Trauma: ‘For the longest time I thought I killed my brother,’ she tearfully admitted in the video the dentist shared on Instagram, saying she turned to drugs to numb the pain
Side-effect: Brittany went to rehab for her drug issues, but she was left with missing and rotting teeth
Say what? She went to a dentist in Philadelphia, but she was told that her teeth weren’t ‘fixable’ and she had to ‘get them all pulled’
Painful: Brittany’s dentist gave her dentures, but they were so large she couldn’t even close her mouth, let alone eat
When she went to rehab, she told her family that she thought she had killed her brother and was struggling with the guilt.
They assured her that wasn’t what happened, saying ‘it was just his time to go’ and he wanted her to be there with him when he passed.
Brittany also wanted to feel better about her physical appearance by fixing her missing and rotting teeth. She went to a dentist in Philadelphia, but she was told that her teeth weren’t ‘fixable’ and she had to ‘get them all pulled.’
‘They literally pulled all your teeth and did dentures because of some minor [issues],’ Dr. Wilstead said in shock.
‘I went and got my records before I came here and it looks like they just made it up right before I came in,’ she said. ‘Because on there it says fixable by a root canal, but they never said anything about a root canal. They said my teeth weren’t fixable that they had to be pulled.’
Awful: Brittany cried as she told the Dr. Wilstead that she couldn’t eat and was rapidly losing weight. She said she weighed just 79 pounds
Adding bulk: She was so thin that she had to wear layered T-shirts and pants. She said she didn’t leave the house because people would mock her missing teeth and gaunt frame
Last hope: Brittany was on the verge of getting a feeding tube when she reached out to Dr. Wilstead
Dr. Wilstead confirmed that her dental records didn’t say anything about her needing to get all of her teeth pulled.
Brittany’s dentist gave her dentures, but they were so large she couldn’t even close her mouth, let alone eat.
‘When I chew, there is so much pain up here,’ she said, explaining that bones and sores that ‘keep randomly popping up’ on her gums, making the ill-fitting dentures impossible to wear.
‘I’m so excited to be here because I just want to eat again. I wear baggy clothes,’ she said, lifting up her sweatshirt and layered T-shirts to show how gaunt she was.
Brittany said she would drink bottles of Ensure to try and gain back some of the weight she was rapidly losing, but it didn’t help. When she went to see Dr. Wilstead, she weighed just 79 pounds.
Desperate: ‘I was ready to call it quits and throw the towel in,’ she admitted. ‘I’m a strong girl because I’ve been through a lot, but this is one thing that burned me real bad’
Life-changing: Over a series of appointments, Dr. Wilstead fitted Brittany for a pair of removable dentures
Amazed: Brittany could already feel the difference when he put the dentures in her mouth for the first time
‘I was so close to getting a feeding tube put in because I couldn’t eat and I was losing so much weight,’ she explained.
Brittany cried as she told the dentist how people would message her on social media from fake accounts to cruelly mock her about her missing teeth and how skinny she was, calling her a ‘crackhead.’
‘I don’t leave the house anymore,’ she admitted. ‘I won’t leave the house because it’s embarrassing. My face is sinking in.’
When she stood up, she revealed she was wearing a sweatshirt over three T-shirts and two pairs of pants because she was so thin.
Brittany sobbed as she explained that she was at her breaking point when she reached out to Dr. Kenny Wilstead on Instagram for help.
Feeling good: Brittany was smiling before she even saw her new teeth for the first time
Heartwarming: She burst into tears when she looked in the mirror and saw her new smile
Aww! Brittany jumped out of the chair to give the dentist a big hug to thank him
Helping others: Brittany has been sharing her story in a series of TikTok videos and answering people’s questions in the comments, revealing her smile makeover cost $30,000
‘I was ready to call it quits and throw the towel in,’ she admitted. ‘I’m a strong girl because I’ve been through a lot, but this is one thing that burned me real bad.’
Over a series of appointments, Dr. Wilstead fitted Brittany for a pair of removable dentures. The end of the emotional video shows her looking into the mirror and seeing her beautiful new smile for the first time.
She burst into tears and jumped out of the chair to give Dr. Wilstead a big hug. The dentist and his wife later took her to their favorite restaurant to make sure the dentures felt good while she ate.
Brittany has been sharing her story in a series of TikTok videos and answering people’s questions in the comments.
She explained that smile makeovers typically cost between $9,000 to $60,000, and her total expenses were about $30,000. She didn’t specify how she paid for it, but she noted that financing is offered to cover the expenses.