Navy Veteran Gifted New Smile

A Navy veteran who served for 29 years has been gifted a new smile thanks to the help of Dr. Jamiah Dawson, a Navy veteran and Navy dentist.

Travis Arrington, a Navy veteran who deployed nine times and served his country for 29 years, always served his country with pride, but sometimes his personal dental care had to take a back seat while he dealt with other things in life.

“So, I came in a few weeks back basically to get a partial repair, and the dentist said, ‘Would you want to change your smile?'” Arrington told WTKR.

Arrington had no clue his smile was about to undergo an entire makeover.

“She was like, ‘What if we could do this for free? and I was like, ‘You can’t be serious…you are playing with me!'” said Arrington.

So early Monday morning, Arrington arrived at Dr. Dawson’s office to get his smile repaired on Veterans Day.

“I honestly jumped at the opportunity to offer a vet a gift from a vet on Veterans Day. it’s just been overwhelming,” said Dr. Dawson, who is in charge of Affordable Dentures and Implants in Newport News, Virginia.

Donations provided Arrington the opportunity to receive $25,000 worth of dental procedures and implants.

“This is the kindest thing someone has done for me. I feel so humbled,” said Arrington.

Dawson also gifted new smiles to two other veterans just in time for Veterans Day.

“I love smiling, and this helps get his confidence back. It’s like we gave him his gold star today,” said Dr. Dawson.

A branch of Affordable Dentures and Implants in Minnesota also gifted two veterans with new smiles for Veterans Day this year.