Fishbein Group strives to improve the quality of life in our local community. Dr. Ben Fishbein, the owner of Fishbein Orthodontics, uses his orthodontic talents to spread acceptance and positivity in our Northwest Florida community. His anti-bullying initiative helps students become ambassadors to stand up to bullying. Read more about his contribution here or below.
(WEAR) — Fighting bullying – that’s what one local orthodontist is doing in our community.
Channel 3 News got to meet several of the kids Dr. Ben Fishbein has helped. They tell us he’s changed their lives in more ways than giving them straight teeth.
There’s one thing that stand out the second you meet 11-year-old Blake Bingham – his beaming smile, but Blake says he’s not always been that way.
“I usually have my head down or went like this [puts hand over mouth],” Blake said.
He said he was bullied about his smile for years.
“Because of the shape of my teeth and because if you look there’s a big ole gap,” Blake said.
That all changed with orthodontist Dr. Fishbein and his team offered to give him braces for free. It’s part of their Embrace Program that was launched in 2018.
“One of the ways we thought we could help the most with our skill set is to try to fight bullying, so we started an anti-bullying campaign through our foundation where we’re able to provide pro-bono orthodontic care for children who have been bullied,” Dr. Fishbein said.
Contestants submit essays sharing their stories of what they’ve been through, and why they’d like the treatments. Six students were chosen in 2018 to get free braces.
“It’s tough, when you read those essays – your heart breaks,” Dr. Fishbein explained.
It’s a heartbreaking reality that Dr. Fishbein says has become too common. One in five students between the ages of 12 to 18 has been bullied during the school year in the United States, according to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics.
“I’d go home crying, or I’d cry myself to sleep at night,” said patient Kyra Russell.
Kyra says she was teased so much she changed schools, but the bullying didn’t stop there.
“Turns out the same girl went there too, and this was the beginning of fourth grade…and I ended up getting slabbed in the face, “Kyra said.
Now, Kyra and other winners, like Blake, are young ambassadors against bullying in the community.
Dr. Fishbein wants families to know that if your child is being bullied about their teeth, and you can’t afford orthodontic treatment, he’s here to help.
He’s already given away more than $250,000 worth of braces here in our community.
Click here to learn how you can apply to become an Embrace ambassador.
