Dentsply Sirona continued to support cleft care through its partnership with Smile Train, raising over $1 million and donating needed equipment.
Following a successful first year of collaboration, with more than 730 cleft surgeries funded, Dentsply Sirona and Smile Train continued their efforts to provide care for children with clefts through fundraising activities in the second half of 2022.
The first fundraiser was launched at DS World 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees were invited to visit the BEYOND booth to learn more about the partnership between Smile Train and Dentsply Sirona and donate in support of children with clefts.
The momentum continued to World Smile Day, when the general public was encouraged to make donations through a social media fundraising campaign leading up to Smile Train’s Giving Tuesday campaign.
For all three activities, Dentsply Sirona matched every $1 donated up to $200,000.
Dentsply Sirona employees also participated in their own fundraiser, with the company donating $25 for every dental check-up booked between October 7, and November 18. The company encouraged employees to take care of their own oral health while raising a total of US $67,700.
The company strengthened these efforts with a cash donation of $160,000 which, in conjunction with product donations made to Smile Train partner treatment centers, brought the total donations since the start of Dentsply Sirona’s partnership with Smile Train to over $1 million.
“We’re very pleased to have Dentsply Sirona as our partner,” said Susannah Schaefer, president and chief executive officer for Smile Train. “By combining our extensive network of care with Dentsply Sirona’s cutting-edge digital solutions, we can ensure that more people around the world have access to industry-leading cleft care.”
Dentsply Sirona also made new dental and orthodontic equipment donations to Smile Train’s Cleft Leadership Center (CLC) at the Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais (HRAC/Centrinho)-USP in Brazil.
The team will now have access to 2 additional Primescan intraoral scanners, an Axeos 2D/3D hybrid unit, and 2 Heliodent Plus intraoral X-ray units. The digital impression and imaging equipment will make treatment more comfortable for children with clefts and speed up clinical treatment time.
With a reduction in both chair time and the number of return visits, the clinic can now provide cleft care to even more patients.
The equipment donation is also expected to reduce the costs of acquiring impression and laboratory materials for the clinic and to help improve and modernize the research carried out by the hospital. More than 40 dentists on the team are transitioning to the digital workflow, with an average of 100 patients treated each day at the center.
“We’re happy that our patients with clefts can benefit from the highest standards of procedures and protocols,” said Dr Cleide Felício de Carvalho Carrara, pediatric dentist at HRAC. “With the new equipment, our daily work is enhanced, patients’ appointments are faster, and all treatment is completed using a digital workflow.”
Photo courtesy of Dentsply Sirona
