Drumright Dental Office Raising Money To Bring Special Needs Boy To Oklahoma For Dental Care

An Oklahoma dental office is working to get a special needs teenager from Honduras to Oklahoma.

The boy has a rare condition and desperately needs dental work.               

For the past 8 years, the staff with Drumright Dental Center has gone on mission trips to Honduras to provide dental care to folks in a small community there.

During their trip this February they met Michael. He’s a 17-year-old with special needs and a rare condition that has caused a deformity with his mouth.

“It's amazing the things that he's able to do and just running around with me and laughing and playing soccer was probably the highlight of my trip,” says clinic assistant Morgan Cummings.

Cummings says Michael is a joy with a spirited, happy and positive attitude, despite being in extreme pain and discomfort due to the issues with his mouth.

The dentists tried everything they could to treat Michael in Honduras, but they didn't have the equipment to give him the care he needs.

“There was just absolutely nothing that we could do in those conditions,” Cummings said.

The only option is to treat him in the United States. So the night she met Michael, Cummings set up an online fundraiser to bring him to Oklahoma.

‘We immediately started raising money, but we’ve kind of hit a plateau,” she said.

So far they’ve raised $2,400 of their $8,000 goal. Every penny will go toward covering his passport, Visa and travel expenses, along with his mom’s and two support staff member from his school.

"It would mean the world to us. Just the smile on the that boys face and us being able to send him home without infection, without pain would just make us very happy,” said Drumright Dental Care Communications Director, Bobbi Jenkins.

They hope to have all the money raised in the next few months so they can get to Oklahoma by June.

Once he’s here, the dentist, anesthesiologist and Cushing Hospital are covering the medical costs.