You can take pride in knowing that your donation enables Operation Smile to provide the highest standard of care – and empowers us to treat each child as if they were our own. With that in mind, we provide complete cleft care, not just surgery.
Every child’s journey to a new smile is unique, but each has one thing in common. They all have the goal of creating a full, healthy life.
Each step in the journey – nutrition, oral health, psychosocial care, integrated medicine, and surgery – is only possible because of your generous support. Thank you for caring about kids who otherwise would not have access to safe, essential healthcare!
Nutrition is Foundational
Cleft conditions can make latching, suckling, and swallowing milk nearly impossible. Some babies fail to thrive and quickly become malnourished, like tiny Janat from Morocco. At 1 month old, Janat had lost half her birth weight. When her mother brought her to Operation Smile, she was hours away from passing.
We sprang into action and, within an hour, placed a custom molded device in her mouth to close the gap in her palate. Within minutes, Janat fed, and – perhaps for the first time ever – fell asleep peacefully and with a full belly in her mother’s arms.
The first step of Janat’s journey to a new smile was saving her life. After many more steps, she grew strong enough to receive the life-changing surgery she deserved and has grown into a charming girl!
Janat joyfully shows off her new smile. Our Smile Partners, who are committed to giving monthly support, provide reliable funds that enable us to react swiftly in emergency situations. Janat’s family could not be more grateful – and so are we!
Oral Health that Lasts a Lifetime
Children born with cleft conditions experience both facial and dental differences. Differences such as missing, extra, misshapen or malformed teeth can cause crowding, increased tooth decay, and even speech and language delays.
Our Care Centres around the world offer ongoing care to both surgical and non-surgical patients throughout their adolescence to alleviate the lifetime impact cleft conditions can have on their oral health.
Antonia from Brazil has been in our care since she was 8 years old and benefited greatly from oral health care. Now an adult Operation Smile volunteer, Antonia says she hopes to one day become a nurse or doctor to help children like her.
Speech Therapy
The lips, palate and dental structure play a critical role in speech development. The ideal age to surgically repair a cleft condition is before 18 months – or before speech begins. When this is not possible, more complex speech and language delays are common.
Operation Smile is dedicated to working with children of all ages to help them develop the skills to speak clearly and confidently – so that they can integrate with their peers and have a bright future with opportunities.
Speech therapy is hard work! That’s why we make it fun by using games and songs to engage children. Through play, kids like Zoe from Honduras learn without frustration.
Mental Health Matters
Operation Smile provides psychosocial care to every family that walks through our doors. Often called Child Life Specialists, these special individuals help children and their loved ones understand upcoming procedures and tests, and help them craft a plan to make it as stress free as possible for the child.
You’ll often find Child Life Specialists creating magical moments with the children, helping them create positive memories that outweigh any difficult ones that come with medical procedures. Parents often express their gratitude as they feel more at peace when a Child Life Specialist leaves the room than when they first walk in.
An important part of the journey is social integration. Many children, especially those that have not had surgery early in life, face bullying and isolation. This can take a toll on a child’s mental health, self-esteem, and confidence. We work to help patients, like Oscar from Colombia, regain their sense of self and integrate back into society. Oscar says, “Without exaggeration, I owe almost everything in my life to Operation Smile. They were always by my side, from treatment to social integration.”
Thank you for making Oscar’s quality of life so much better!
Pediatrics and Specialties
From integrated pediatric care, ear, nose and throat specialty to audiology and much more, the children we serve get the quality and timely care they need to address health challenges related to their cleft conditions.
They say it takes a village to care for a child. We are proud to be part of that village for children around the globe. And proud to have you as part of the team that provides the complete care that children need to survive and thrive. You’re making a profound difference as an important member of the village. Thank you!
