Coyotes’ Team Dentist Partnering with Gem Foundation to Provide Services in Uganda

Dr. Matthew Goldring has cared for some of the biggest stars in the NHL as the Arizona Coyotes’ team dentist.

Now, he’s assembled his own All-Star team to embark on some of his most impactful work to date.

Goldring has assembled a 20-person team comprised of doctors, dental hygienists, and dental assistants that will provide services to children with special needs, their caretakers, and many other residents in Uganda who don’t have access to basic oral healthcare. His team, which leaves Oct. 6 and returns on Oct. 17, is partnering with the Gem Foundation and Highlands Church, and will be providing critical care while also training two Ugandan dentists on equipment that will then be left behind for them to use.

A previous trip was postponed due to a devastating Ebola outbreak, but having performed similar missions in the past, Goldring was determined to reach those most in need with the Gem Foundation.

In just a few days, he and his All-Star team will finally kick off this long-delayed trip.

“Once I get there, about halfway through the trip or so, I realize that, yes, I'm giving someone, a service that I know how to deliver. But they are giving me so much more,” Goldring said. “What I get out of these mission trips is a different perspective on life.”

The Gem Foundation cares for children with special needs in Uganda, currently overseeing almost 60 kids altogether. There are 90 full-time workers present that will also receive treatment, and Goldring said he and his team would like to extend their services to the surrounding community if time allows.

He said most of the work to be performed will likely be restorative fillings, as well as preventative care, standard cleanings, oral health education, and also any surgery that may be required, such as extractions.

Logistically speaking, the trip was challenging to set up. Goldring estimated it has cost upwards of $80,000, and that isn’t limited to travel arrangements such as airfare, lodging, and food for his team. They’re also bringing large quantities of supplies, x-ray equipment, and portable dental units, which he then plans on donating to the site for future use.

He credited Highlands Church in Scottsdale for its incredible support – both financially and morally – as well as the Gem Foundation, whose work in Uganda is impacting dozens of children with special needs including cerebral palsy and extreme autism.

Goldring said he and his team are prepared to run into challenges, but they will stop at nothing to provide this critical service to those most in need.

“Everybody's eligible, and we're going there with the mindset that everybody gets seen,” Goldring said. “We’re not there punching a time clock, we're there to serve. Everybody going feels that calling and feels that we are there to serve, and if it means working all day, every day, then that's what we'll do.”

The Coyotes are also sending Goldring with a litany of shirts and hats for the children, provided by the team’s ownership.

Alexis Meruelo, Chair of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation Board of Directors, said as soon as her family learned of what Goldring has set out to do, the team wanted to lend its support in any way possible.

“When we heard about his work, we wanted to make sure that we supported him however we could, and we know that now the kids are going to be receiving Coyotes gear all the way from Phoenix, Arizona,” Meruelo said. “Community impact and heart is really at the cornerstone of our business and our organization in the sports world.

“We are advocates and we represent a community, and having the opportunity to reach out and make someone's day or inspire someone or be a part of something bigger than yourself is what we want to do both as a family and as an organization.”

Goldring, who is entering his third year as one of the team’s dentists, is adamant in highlighting the support his team has received from the Coyotes, the Gem Foundation, and Highlands Church. The team and Highlands Church have both stepped up to help for the trip, but the Gem Foundation’s contributions reach even further.

Not only will Goldring and his team stay at the Foundation’s compound in Uganda, they will also participate social, cultural, and worship events with the children and staff. The Gem Foundation rescues neglected and/or abandoned orphans, restores their health through physical and occupational therapy, and then provides support to the kids by housing them at Gem Village, or providing rehoming/adoption services.

Goldring has done international missions in the past, traveling to Cambodia in both 2014 and 2019, but said his involvement with the Gem Foundation has taken this mission to another level, especially considering the challenges Ugandan children with special needs face on a daily basis.

“Unfortunately, in Uganda, there’s a general problem with how those with special needs are seen and treated,” Goldring said. “They're often seen as cursed, and even unworthy of life. It’s a very discarded and marginalized population that leads to frequent abandonment situations.

“The Gem Foundation contradicts this abandonment by establishing that the human value of these children is no different than anyone else's, and they act on it with their direct care.”

Any money raised that exceeds the cost of their trip will be donated directly to the Gem Foundation.

Upon his return, Goldring will return to his practice in North Scottsdale, in addition to assisting the Coyotes with any dental needs that come up throughout the season. He’s looking forward to the 2023-24 season – which kicks off in New Jersey on Oct. 13 – and said he “absolutely loves” his position as team dentist, as he’s been a hockey fan, and a Coyotes fan, for decades.

For the immediate future, though, his focus is going to be alongside his All-Star team in Uganda, ensuring the underserved and underprivileged children receive the basic care that so many often take for granted.

“It's humbling, in a good way,” Goldring said. “It's something that puts my life into perspective and makes me feel like those first-world problems aren't important.

“This life is not just about taking. It’s for giving, also.”