Dentist and MTV star make a difference for Crivitz man with free dental work
CRIVITZ (WLUK) -- With help from an MTV celebrity and a west coast dentist, a Crivitz man is all smiles after having serious dental work done that he thought he’d never be able to afford.
Steve Greene Jr, 34, says his teeth issues started when he was 3 or 4 years old.
“As bad as mine were, they were just falling out,” said Greene. “Every year that went by, I lost a couple more teeth.”
Greene says his appearance had a serious impact on his confidence, including going to job interviews.
“I would guard my mouth a lot when I was talking,” said Greene. “I didn't want them to see my smile with a bunch of gaps in it.”
Greene works at his mother's business in Crivitz, Countryside Boarding and Grooming. He says he’s never been able to afford much dental work beyond extractions.
Last year, Greene couldn't take it anymore. He became desperate and decided to contact any and all dentists he thought might be willing to help him out.
“I had gotten quite a few mean responses from dentists actually,” said Greene. “One of them told me, I need therapy and dentures.”
Greene moved on to celebrities for help. He eventually focused in on Steve-O from MTV's Jackass, who Greene has always been a fan of and who also had teeth problems.
To Greene’s surprise, Steve-O got back to him within about a week.
“It just blew me away,” said Greene. “I couldn't believe it.”
“Here's what I want to do,” Steve-O can be heard telling Greene over an initial phone call in a video Steve-O posted to his social media pages. “I promise that any dentist that helps you out, I will make some kind of a follow up post, video, whatever to thank them and promote them.”
The same time Steve-O came into the picture, Greene was already making progress with a dentist just outside Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Brady Smith agreed to help Greene and instead of having Steve-O promote his practice, he asked him to promote his new charity: The HALO Dental Network.
“The HALO Dental Network is kind of like the Uber of dental charities,” said Smith. “We want to connect people who want a ride to people who want to give a ride.”
In one year, The HALO Dental Network has recruited 10 to 12 dentists, who make up the Tooth Fairy Army. They provide serious dental work for free to people who can't afford it.
“We are extremely ambitious and want to develop and expand this into a very national program where dentists all over the country can sign up and help us out and be kind of our hub in their local area and commit them to a case per year,” said Smith.
The HALO Dental Network paid for Greene to fly west several times over the past year for his dental work. His first trip, included a special surprise.
“No way! What? No way!” Greene can be heard saying in a video where he is lying in a dental chair when a man who sat down next to him with a power drill reveals himself as Steve-O.
“I didn't expect him to be there at all,” said Greene. “Afterwards he wanted me to go out to eat with him, but I couldn't with my teeth.”
With help from Steve-O, Dr. Smith, and The HALO Dental Network, Greene now has a full mouth of teeth.
“His need became kind of a medical necessity because he was missing so many teeth,” said Smith. “You become nonfunctional. You're not able to chew food correctly or adequately.”
Smith says the work Greene received would likely cost about $40,000 at his office.
“Now that I can talk and eat and be confident with people and not have to hide my smile,” said Greene. “I used to talk like this trying to keep my teeth hidden, which also now kind of sucks because we all have to wear masks and I just got my teeth done.”
Greene is hoping his story will be the first of many in Wisconsin. He wants dentists to see this story and join HALO Dental Network, so others can erase years of pain and embarrassment from their smiles.
“They're miserable and I think it could do a lot of good out here,” said Greene.
