PUBLISHED: . 19:25 EST, 29 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:48 EST, 30 August 2013 . A cyclist who had his front teeth shattered after an attack by teenagers while riding through Portland, Oregon will soon be speaking clearly again thanks to a generous dentist. Andy Sweeney, 20, was intentionally struck with a traffic cone last weekend and a photo of his cracked-tooth grin quickly went viral. Instead of being an embarrassment, the photo became the key to fixing his smile after a fundraising effort and a kindly dentist came to his aid. Ouch: Just a month after he moved to Portland, Andy Sweeney, 20, was smashed in the face with a traffic cone by teens as he rode his bike . ‘Some kids threw a traffic cone at me while I was riding my bike down MLK,’ Sweeney wrote next to the aftermath photo in a Reddit post. ‘Any other sh***y areas I should avoid?’ Two of the recent Illinois transplant’s front teeth were almost completely missing after the unprovoked attack just a month after his move to Portland. ‘I was coming up on these three kids,’ he told Oregon Live, ‘and they just threw a traffic cone at me. It hit me square in the teeth.’ The impact left him missing most of two of his front teeth. 'Square in the teeth': Sweeney moved to Portland form Illinois a month ago. He says he has no idea what motivated the attack that left him in terrible pain . Kindness of strangers: Local news editor Tim Oberlander started an online fund for Sweeney and it quickly raised over $1,500 . ‘It's crazy,’ Sweeney told KGW. ‘I don't really understand their motivation or what they were going for.’ He posted about the incident to Reddit and asked for advice about where else he should ride his bike and the photo he added started attracting attention. Tim Oberlander, a news editor at KGW, heard the Portland newcomer’s story and decided to do something about it. ‘I felt a little shameful that this happened to him in my town,’ Oberlander told the Oregonian. Sweeney used a credit card to get temporary caps put on his teeth after the pain became too much to bear but was told a permanent fix would cost something like $1,700, which he can’t afford on what he makes delivering sandwiches. Oberlander created a fundraiser on . group funding site gofundme.com and the donations to help Sweeney get . his teeth fixed poured in. As of Thursday, nearly $1,600 was raised and Sweeney was at a loss for words. Dis one: Sweeney shows off the temporary caps he paid for with a credit card. An area dentist and fellow cyclist has now come forward with an offer of free dental work . ‘I didn't really ask for it,’ he said. ‘I'm trying to see if I can maybe get things covered by my parents' dental insurance.’ But that won’t even be necessary. Portland, Oregon dentist Scott Edgar has offered to fix Sweeney’s teeth for free. A cyclist himself, Edgar felt obligated to help. ‘I felt bad that this happened to him in my part of town,’ he said. ‘I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the money that has been donated,’ Sweeney said. ‘I didn't ask for that. I need to figure it out. But that doesn't mean I'm not grateful.’ Police continue to look into Sweeney’s assault, as well as other recent reports of assaults on cyclists in the area.
Andy Sweeney was smashed in the face with a traffic cone by two teens Saturday night .
By Wednesday, over $1,000 had been raised to help pay his dental bills .
A local dentist has also offered to fix the Illinois transplant's teeth for free .
PUBLISHED: . 19:25 EST, 29 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:48 EST, 30 August 2013 . A cyclist who had his front teeth shattered after an attack by teenagers while riding through Portland, Oregon will soon be speaking clearly again thanks to a generous dentist. Andy Sweeney, 20, was intentionally struck with a traffic cone last weekend and a photo of his cracked-tooth grin quickly went viral. Instead of being an embarrassment, the photo became the key to fixing his smile after a fundraising effort and a kindly dentist came to his aid. Ouch: Just a month after he moved to Portland, Andy Sweeney, 20, was smashed in the face with a traffic cone by teens as he rode his bike . ‘Some kids threw a traffic cone at me while I was riding my bike down MLK,’ Sweeney wrote next to the aftermath photo in a Reddit post. ‘Any other sh***y areas I should avoid?’ Two of the recent Illinois transplant’s front teeth were almost completely missing after the unprovoked attack just a month after his move to Portland. ‘I was coming up on these three kids,’ he told Oregon Live, ‘and they just threw a traffic cone at me. It hit me square in the teeth.’ The impact left him missing most of two of his front teeth. 'Square in the teeth': Sweeney moved to Portland form Illinois a month ago. He says he has no idea what motivated the attack that left him in terrible pain . Kindness of strangers: Local news editor Tim Oberlander started an online fund for Sweeney and it quickly raised over $1,500 . ‘It's crazy,’ Sweeney told KGW. ‘I don't really understand their motivation or what they were going for.’ He posted about the incident to Reddit and asked for advice about where else he should ride his bike and the photo he added started attracting attention. Tim Oberlander, a news editor at KGW, heard the Portland newcomer’s story and decided to do something about it. ‘I felt a little shameful that this happened to him in my town,’ Oberlander told the Oregonian. Sweeney used a credit card to get temporary caps put on his teeth after the pain became too much to bear but was told a permanent fix would cost something like $1,700, which he can’t afford on what he makes delivering sandwiches. Oberlander created a fundraiser on . group funding site gofundme.com and the donations to help Sweeney get . his teeth fixed poured in. As of Thursday, nearly $1,600 was raised and Sweeney was at a loss for words. Dis one: Sweeney shows off the temporary caps he paid for with a credit card. An area dentist and fellow cyclist has now come forward with an offer of free dental work . ‘I didn't really ask for it,’ he said. ‘I'm trying to see if I can maybe get things covered by my parents' dental insurance.’ But that won’t even be necessary. Portland, Oregon dentist Scott Edgar has offered to fix Sweeney’s teeth for free. A cyclist himself, Edgar felt obligated to help. ‘I felt bad that this happened to him in my part of town,’ he said. ‘I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the money that has been donated,’ Sweeney said. ‘I didn't ask for that. I need to figure it out. But that doesn't mean I'm not grateful.’ Police continue to look into Sweeney’s assault, as well as other recent reports of assaults on cyclists in the area.
to a generous dentist. Andy Sweeney, 20, was smashed in the face with a traffic cone by teens avoid?’ Two of the recent Illinois transplant’s to help Sweeney get . his teeth fixed poured in. dentist Scott Edgar has offered to fix Sweeney’s teeth for free. A cyclist himself, Edgar felt