About the Smile for a Child Foundation

The purpose of this foundation is to help the many medical, educational and emotional needs of children affected with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial anomalies. The children served by this foundation will have positive effects that will last a lifetime.

What is the need?

Children with this health problem need constant team care and may require surgical procedures until the age of twenty. The Surgeon General of the United States has estimated the lifetime medical costs to by upward of $100,000 each. Many of the procedures are covered through private and government funding but the majority of the children have excessive financial burden. The birth rate of children with clefts is about one out of every 700 births! The problem affects every walk of life and does not have economic preferences.

Jordan before his first of two surgeries to repair his lip. He will need one to three more surgeries on his palate, two to three for his nose and one for jaw correction. He will need multiple treatments of orthodontics and general dentistry. He will see a speech pathologist for many years and have multiple ear surgeries. He may not get optimal care because he and his single mom are underfunded.

How do these children do?

If the child has access to appropriate health care through interdisciplinary team evaluation and care they will grow up to have happy normal lives. We do know that our perception of others is greatly biased by what people look like, if the children go without a particular aspect of care due to being underfunded they will be affected the rest of their lives. Our goal is to eliminate this lack of care so that those smiles shine.