When most of us have a toothache we don’t think much of it.
We make an appointment with our dentists and let them resolve the issue for us.
But we might think twice about how serious we consider our dental ailments after the death of a 26-year-old California father of two.
Vadim Anatoliyevich Kondratyuk, a truck driver, was driving to New York last week and he started to suffer from a toothache.
So, he stopped in Oklahoma to visit a dentist.
It seemed like a pretty routine situation.
The dentist looked at his infection, cleaned it out, and gave him some antibiotics, his family told CBS News.
But by the time he got to New York, his condition got much worse.
The pain returned and caused the side of his face to become swollen.
Kondratyuk’s brother decided to drive him home.
It got so bad that they stopped at a hospital in Utah.
Doctors told him that the infection of his tooth was spreading through his body.
The infection spread to his lungs making it difficult for him to breath on his own.
“They had him on medication, they tried everything they could,” Kondratyuk’s wife Nataliya told the Sacramento Bee. “We prayed for him that day, that night, hoping he was going to survive.”
“But God has his plan, and we had a talk with the doctors and they told us how this all happened. It was just not healing how it was supposed to. It was just getting worse.”
The antibiotics weren’t strong enough to kill the infection.
The infection eventually caused Kondratyuk’s heart to give out.
“The doctor said tonight is the night he’s gonna die because we did everything we can and nothing seems to work,” his wife Nataliya told FOX 40. “It’s just the bacteria and the infection keeps growing to his lungs and they can’t clean it out.”
Kondratyuk, who was diabetic but otherwise healthy, left behind his wife and two daughters.
“I don’t think you could find a better husband. I thank everybody for his prayers, for his brother, for his friend that dropped me off over there,” Natalyia said.
“I know he’s in heaven. He’s a happy person right now. He’s gonna be my angel for the rest of my life and he’s gonna help me through this whole time without a dad and without a husband,” Nataliya said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral and to help the family with living expenses.
“Vadim was a very humble and calm person,” the page reads. “A wonderful father, husband, brother, son, and friend. He would always put others before himself and was known to be the peacemaker. He had a very close and special relationship with his two daughters and he loved spending time with his family.”
So far that fund has surpassed its goal of $250,000 and has raised $278,678.
“On behalf of Nataliya, her daughters and all of Vadim’s family, thank you sincerely for your support during this difficult time! We have been blown away by the love and kindness we have been shown by our friends, family, community and even kind strangers,” the family said. “May God Bless you for your generosity.”
The American Dental Association says your dentist should determine how often you come in for checkups.
“The ADA wants to remind consumers that the frequency of their regular dental visits should be tailored by their dentists to accommodate for their current oral health status and health history,” the American Dental Association said in a press release. “Individual risk factors help to dictate the frequency of cleanings needed per year to help prevent periodontal disease. Based on data analysis, researchers speculate that high-risk patients would likely benefit from more frequent dental visits, while low-risk patients may see the same benefits from only one cleaning per year
You can make a donation to that fund here.
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