Domestic abuse survivor gets her smile back thanks to generous dentist

FOX 2 - Friday has been a big day for Otelia Jones. 

"I love it, I can smile," she said.

Jones has an indomitable spirit - she has continued to smile despite the hardship, pain and abuse she’s endured.

"We’ve gotten hit after hit after hit, then we thought we were ahead and I got sick," she said.

Jones has been through a lot. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while being a single mom who has been on her own since she was 14.

She gave birth to her first child at 15 and struggled for years to make ends meet. She endured the death of another child. She lived in a hotel with her children for two years to stay away from an abusive boyfriend who would eventually hit her so hard, he knocked some of her teeth out.

Her teeth would be further damaged while in the hospital recovering from a stroke.

"She tried to get up to go to the bathroom and she fell and knocked the rest of them out," said Aaron Williams, her oldest son.

Williams contacted FOX 2 to see if we can help, and a local dentist Dr. Nawras Najor, stepped in to fix her smile for free.

"I just think of my mom, just to see her happy and just to see her boys here too, my heart is beating right now," said Najor. "I’m borderline going to tear up"

And her sons were right there with her standing by her, the way she has stood by them.

"You’re a beautiful mom and you deserve 100 percent of it," Najor said.

Jones will need a post-op and may need a few adjustments, but most of the process is over. Even with the numbing, she’s smiling brightly - and for good reason.