Caring for fellow Texans

Dental student Youngju Oh, Dr. Feng-Ming Wang and dental student Van Nguyen

Texas A&M College of Dentistry faculty and 40 dental, dental hygiene and graduate students joined other dental providers April 10-11 to help nonprofit Texas Mission of Mercy provide necessary dental care to members of the North Texas community. Their volunteered efforts contributed to 817 patients receiving more than $900,000 in oral health care at no charge, according to information provided by TMOM.

Four hundred fifty volunteers provided 5,562 treatments at Fair Park, TMOM shared.

A&M Dentistry’s faculty participants included Dr. Liang Hong, head of public health sciences; Dr. Jon Williamson, adjunct assistant professor in public health sciences; Dr. Feng-Ming Wang, clinical associate professor in endodontics; Dr. Partha Mukherji, clinical assistant professor in comprehensive dentistry; Chelsi Graham, clinical assistant professor in the dental hygiene program; Ariana Vargas, clinical assistant professor in the dental hygiene program; Thao Kim, clinical faculty in the dental hygiene program, and Dr. Hoda Abdellatif, clinical associate professor in public health sciences.

Volunteers also included Tony Keller, program coordinator in public health sciences, and alumni Drs. Okeysolom Oradiegwu Jr., Class of 2021; Lorenzo Cruz, Class of 2024; and Randy Vu, Class of 2025.

“Participation in TMOM Dallas offered students invaluable hands‑on experience while reinforcing the school’s mission of service, access to care, and community engagement,” Abdellatif said. “The event exemplified the power of teamwork, compassion and professional dedication in addressing unmet oral health needs.”