Even though he’s 6-8, people hardly notice Nets forward Eric Williams. Over his nine years in the League—he’s been with the Cavaliers, Celtics and Nugets before signing with New Jersey—he’s been one of the toughest and smartest players on the floor, without hogging the spotlight.

It’s something he has been practicing his whole life. Growing up, Williams used to dread the idea of people looking at him because he was self-conscious about his less-than-perfect teeth. He would cover his mouth when he talked, and when students had to stand in front of the whole class and speak, he would skip school in fear.

Eric Williams, now with New Jersey, is trying to help give underprivileged kids the chance to smile with pride. (Jesse D. Garrabrant NBAE/Getty Images)

"My two front teeth were big and crooked," he explains. "My mom couldn’t afford dental care." Williams is trying to make it so that no other kid will ever have to go through that situation.

In '03, Williams started a foundation called Believe In Me, which aims to give more children access to good dental care. Williams can cite all sorts of reasons why low-income children need help with dental care: tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease, children with low incomes are five times more likely to have untreated tooth decay than their richer peers, and dental problems can lead to everything from speech development to missed schooldays.

In its first year the foundation has quietly raised a significant amount of money, sent out millions of pamphlets on dental hygiene, and has helped minority students who can’t afford dental care. And that’s just the beginning. Working with dental schools, government agencies and corporations, the foundation is preparing to fund school-based dental programs, support dental clinics for children in areas where good care is hard to find, and develop several different kinds of dental programs that help young people.

Williams has also been in discussions about becoming the nation’s official spokesperson for oral health. This project is in his heart, and he intends to work hard at it whether or not anyone notices. One way he can prove that: he has already committed to working at the foundation full-time once his playing days are over.