Mike Eddy had little to smile about.

His teeth were always crooked, he says. They only got worse as he got older. Cavities blackened his front teeth.

The Bristol Township teen says he last saw the dentist four years ago. Like a growing number of American families, he doesn't have dental coverage or the money for routine care, he said.

So he'd been prone to covering his mouth whenever he felt on the verge of a smile or laugh.

Tooth decay is the most common disease among children 5 to 17 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Health.

Children with untreated dental problems have problems beyond low self esteem. They are likely to have problems chewing and swallowing, speech problems, and poor school performance due to difficulty concentrating and school absenteeism.

A C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health report last year revealed that nearly 12 million U.S. children experience serious barriers to getting dental care due to lack of insurance coverage, cost of care and difficulty finding providers.

Few charity resources exist for kids without dental insurance. At least one in five go without annual dental care, and most states don't ensure access to cost-saving preventive treatments, according to a Pew Center on the States study released in February.

Enter Bensalem dentist Dr. Michael Eisenbrock.

In December, his staff received an out-of-the-blue call from the mom of one of Mike's friends. She was worried about his teeth. She was cold-calling dentists out of the phone book looking for someone to help him.

Eisenbrock knows how it feels to be a young man with ugly teeth. As a kid, he had a bad overbite. He didn't smile, either. But Eisenbrock was lucky. His parents could afford braces.

Mike, who at 18 works in a pizza restaurant, needed a lot of dental work. He had more than 20 teeth with cavities and impacted wisdom teeth that crowded others.

"It was obviously affecting his life. He was embarrassed," Eisenbrock said. "If you don't like your smile or your teeth aren't looking good, then it affects your self esteem."

The dentist started working on Mike's teeth two days before Christmas. Mike has appointments almost every week and he always keeps them, the staff said.

"He is a really nice kid," Eisenbrock added.

So far, Mike's teeth have been cleaned and whitened and the cavities filled. He can't wait to get the wisdom teeth removed.

He said he's willing to go through any amount of pain to fix his teeth. "That is how unconfident I was about my mouth," he said.

Not any more, though.

"Everyone has told me this - I don't cover my mouth anymore when I smile," Mike said. "I laugh a lot more."

Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at 215-949-4181 or jciavaglia@phillyBurbs.com

Dr. Michael Eisenbrock works on a filling for Mike Eddy of Levittown at his office in Bensalem Monday. Eisenbrock is donating his services fixing damaged teeth for Eddy, who has no insurance. At right is dental assistant Jackie Kane. - Matt Stanley/Staff Photographer