A lovelorn chef, who has been left toothless due to a rare bone disease, is hoping to raise enough money so that he can smile again.
Osteoporosis 'melted' Lukas Moskor's teeth and turned them into 'mush' around two years ago, with the 28-year-old now having to wear dentures. Lukas is now scared to laugh or kiss anyone, in case his false teeth pop out.
Due to the dentures, he only eats soft foods such as soup and porridge, and he thinks that his slender frame is also another reason that he is unable to find love. Lukas, from Warrington, has now set up a fundraising page to try and fund a new set of gnashers.
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Lukas, who is originally from the Czech Republic, said that dentists were forced to remove his old teeth from his mouth, after they became 'soft as grapes'. "When the dentist removed all 16 of my top teeth, it was painful but short," he recalled.
"When I looked in the mirror and saw I had no top teeth, I felt empty and just so ugly. It changed my face completely. My face shrunk, I looked 10 years older.
"Six months later I went [back to the Czech Republic] and he removed the bottom teeth and gave me dentures. The dentures were massive. My gums were swollen too so they didn't fit in my mouth. I didn't smile, they just looked fake. Every night I have to put them in a glass with water and it's just weird
"I've never really gotten used to wearing them. It just isn't the life, because I'm young they make me really shy and I feel so unattractive.
"I've been single for six or seven years now and I know it's because of the teeth. Women really like a nice smile, it makes a man more confident, it'd make me more confident.
"I don't feel insecure meeting women, but I feel so weak, not like a man. I've been on a couple of dates and I feel bad not telling them, so I always say it straight. I feel judged for it because people don't understand. If they want to kiss, I'm so scared of it in case they lift my dentures.
"If I was more confident I think I could meet the love of my life. With my teeth, it's harder to socialise, so I stopped going out. If I'm socialising with friends and get food stuck underneath and I can't wash them, I can't bite and it'll be painful. It feels so awkward.
"When someone tells a big joke and everybody laughs, I can't. I just sit quietly just in case they fall out."
When Lukas was just 12, he was told by a doctor that he would lose all of his teeth by the time he was 30, but only in the last few years did his teeth begin to turn to 'mush'. His teeth were all removed due to fears of infection in 2021, leaving him feeling insecure.
He added: "I can laugh about it and make jokes, but in front of women I feel really weak and not confident or attractive. I hope getting them [permanent dentures] will mean I am able to meet somebody and make a family. I'm almost 30 and time is flying.
"Since I was seven or eight I have had bone disease called osteoporosis, which basically makes your bones mush. It's a silent disease so at first you can't see anything or feel anything, only after five or six years does it start showing up.
"When I was 12, my dentist told me 'look Lukas, when you're 30 you won't have any of your teeth so you need to get ready'. I started saving up money then.
"Then two years ago the disease started attacking my jaw from the inside. Each month it [the osteoporosis] attacked another tooth. Within a year my teeth were like grapes - it was like they were in a shell and they were so soft on the inside. All 32 teeth were attacked by osteoporosis.
"It was very difficult to eat. I ended up not eating meat or hard things, I couldn't chew, my face was so swollen. I went to the dentist here [in the UK], they told me it would cost £35,000 pounds. I couldn't do that.
"I thought about going to Turkey, as everyone seemed to come from there with a nice smile and teeth. They were willing to help me for £5,000 but the teeth only last five years.
"In 2021 I went to the dental clinic [in the Czech Republic] and the owner said my teeth were so bad and the osteoporosis was eating them slowly away. [He said] they were just melting away and I'd end up with multiple infections in my body if I didn't remove them now."
A day later, Lukas went back to the dentist who plucked out all 16 of his top teeth and since then, all of his bottom teeth have been removed too. Now, he has one more surgery to go through next month which will fit his mouth with a final four metal implants. These metal implants are what his future set of fixed teeth will connect to and will last him until retirement age.
Lukas said: "Hopefully this year I'll get them but the money is a lot. I've already paid over £9,000 and altogether it will cost about £20,000.
"The dentist told me they'll last 35 years or more, hopefully until I retire. I just want to have a nice smile and somebody who loves me."
If you want to help Lukas get his new smile, then you can donate to his GoFundMe here.
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