Irving's U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) has announced its support of Operation Restore Oral Health by giving the national nonprofit an initial $10,000 contribution – the largest, single donation in the nonprofit’s history. In addition, USOSM is offering a matching gift incentive of up to $20,000 to encourage others to donate.
“The general public only sees a glimpse of what our service men and women go through to fight for our freedom, and there’s a monumental gap between the support that’s needed and what’s available. Programs like Operation Restore Oral Health help bridge that gap,” said Richard Hall, USOSM president and CEO and a former U.S. Marine. “In addition, Dr. N. Ray Lee, Operation Restore Oral Health founder and board chairman, is a veteran and one of our surgeon partners. We’re proud to work alongside him to support this worthy cause.”
A shared services organization, USOSM is a management services company that exclusively serves oral and maxillofacial surgeons. It is headquartered in Irving, Texas, with partner practices spanning 19 states.
Operation Restore Oral Health is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit that provides pro bono dental and oral surgery services not covered by the VA to honorably discharged U.S. veterans from all branches of the military. In addition, it provides wisdom teeth extractions to children of U.S. Special Forces soldiers who were killed in the line of duty. Its mission is to restore hope to veterans by restoring their smiles, both in form and in function.
“I’m extremely grateful to USOSM for their generosity in supporting this worthy cause,” said Dr. Lee. “I’m a veteran myself and became interested in oral health because of the military. I was a combat-trained medic and I cross-trained into dentistry, where I became passionate about the difference good oral health can make, particularly in the lives of our service men and women. Creating Operation Restore Oral Health was a way to give back, to help veterans who can’t afford to change their own smiles. It makes such a difference, not just financially, but because they know someone cares.”
Dr. Lee says this usually is the case with the veterans Operation Restore Oral Health assists, like former Marine and DFW resident Christopher Coker, who served two tours in Vietnam and had several oral health concerns stemming from severe Crohn’s Disease, as well as complications from an old injury. A few years prior, Coker had undergone a lung biopsy procedure, during which, two large tracheal tubes were placed in parts of both of his lungs. During the tube removal, all of Coker’s front teeth were knocked out.
Coker said he didn’t have anyone to help him, until Operation Restore Oral Health heard what he was going through. The nonprofit provided Coker with everything needed to restore his smile, including a complex surgery that lasted approximately eight hours. All at no cost to Coker.
“Helping people like Christopher Coker makes such a big difference. We’re restoring hope by restoring their smiles,” added Dr. Lee. “Our network of dentists and doctors have graciously stepped up to provide oral health services on a pro bono basis, which makes a tremendous impact. However, there are many other things these veterans need in conjunction with that – such as dental implants and restorative parts, lab work, etc. When you donate to Operation Restore Oral Health, you help us cover other related healthcare and incidental costs for the veterans and children we serve, and we truly could not do it without you.”
On the web: https://operationrestoreoralhealth.org/.