Local dentists rally to help child with rare jaw cancer

Gentle Dentistry of Lancaster and Winning Smiles Pediatric Dentistry of Amherst have teamed up to help a local child diagnosed with a rare form of lower jaw cancer.

Ten-year-old Collen Mertz of Cheektowaga has already undergone surgery to remove the lower half of his right jaw as a result of this rare cancer diagnosis in November 2011, and is in need of further dental treatment to reconstruct his jaw as a result.

A "jump-a-thon" fundraiser will be held on Thursday, June 14, at SkyZone, 425 Cayuga Road, Cheektowaga from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance at Winning Smiles dental office or at SkyZone directly in advance or on the day of the fundraiser for $15, and kids will get an hour of trampoline time, dodge ball or diving in the foam pit. There will be a clown and kid-friendly tattoos for the little ones, as well as raffles throughout the evenings' event.

"We are definitely going to rally behind this child to do whatever we can to help him. It pains me to see the little ones with this rare form of cancer," said DePonti, a dentist at Gentle Dentistry of Lancaster, who performs reconstructive dental surgery.

The entire staff at Gentle Dentistry of Lancaster are putting their full support behind this fundraiser for Collen, by contributing to this fundraiser among their staff and hope that the community will help them support this family who is in need of financial assistance to cover the enormous cost of treatment, both past and future.

Tickets can be purchased at Winning Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, 3476 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY 14226. Contact Jami Haglund at Winning Smiles Pediatric Dentistry (716-332-2444) to schedule jump times during this fundraiser from 6 to 7 p.m., 7 to 8 p.m. or 8 to 9 p.m.