A Texan dentist surprised a military veteran when he gifted him $15,000 of free dental work.
Retired Staff Sergeant David Tyler Harmon first met Dr. David Nguyen at their local gym, when he decided to visit the dentist's office to get his teeth cleaned.
What was supposed to be a simple appointment turned into two weeks of dental work.
In the early 2000s, Harmon began to have problems with grinding his teeth, after suffering from head trauma. The veteran had several accidents while serving in active duty as a Spanish language linguist for the U.S. Air Force.
"I came in for a cleaning, and he's like, 'My goodness!'" Harmon told FOX 26. "And I start telling him all the pain I'm in."
Nguyen, a dentist at URBN Dental River Oaks in Houstan, said Harmon had an infection in his gum tissues, several cracked teeth, and overcrowding, which would cost $15,000 to repair.
Unfortunately, Harmon didn't have the money, and would need to seek assistance from the Veterans Administration to pay for the procedures.
When Nguyen heard of Harmon's situation, he decided to waive the fee the procedures would have incurred.
"When he heard me say that I couldn't pay the bill, he came in, and he was like, 'Don't charge him anything,'" Harmon said.
Nguyen decided to perform the dental work for free way to say thank you to the retired staff sergeant.
"All veterans are heroes," Nguyen said. "They give up so much for this country, and whatever I can do just to help him out a little bit, it's all worth it to me."
Nguyen said the repairs would take several sittings to complete, estimating Harmon to have his corrected pearly whites in a year's time. The generous dentist is also giving Harmon's daughter free dental work, as another gift for his military service.
"I love this guy," Harmon said. "I would take a hundred bullets for this guy, for this doctor, in a second."