Partnering with Dentsply Sirona to Transform Cleft Care in Colombia
And worldwide
The steadfast love of her family and the full commitment of her cleft team at Smile Train partner Fundación Sonríe made Nasly’s childhood easier, but they couldn’t make it easy. Memories of other children mocking her for her cleft, even after surgery, make her cry almost as much as those of the pain she endured from so many years of braces.
But what if she could smile and have straight teeth without braces? Smile Train’s partnership with Dentsply Sirona, the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, has turbocharged our ability to share the latest cutting-edge technology with our partners around the world.
Including in Colombia, where their donations are making a world of difference for patients of all ages, including Nasly, now 14.
Thanks to Dentsply Sirona’s intraoral scanner Primescan, her cleft team was able to create a 3D model of her mouth and model her missing teeth, which they then 3D printed and thermoformed.
“That’s a perfect example of the magic of digitalisation”, said Dr Juan Pablo Gomez, a Smile Train partner who has worked with Nasly for years.
On a recent visit to Smile Train partner treatment centres in Bogotá and Pereira, Dentsply Sirona representatives witnessed firsthand the life-changing difference their investments are making each day for Nasly and so many other children with clefts and their families.
They met babies who had customised oral devices created just for their unique palates thanks to the intraoral scanners they donated.
And saw doctors using remote technology to monitor patients who live several days’ journey away.
They sat in on cleft professionals training others on these life-changing tools.
And heard children who once could barely speak buoyantly, confidently, and gleefully lifting up their voices in FISULAB’s cleft choir.
That’s where they met Nasly.
“Nasly doesn’t seem to have limitations”, wept her mother, Dora Nancy. “And to see her now, enjoying singing and making her own life, despite the challenges, is incredibly satisfying for us parents”.
“We believe a healthy smile can be transformative. That’s why we’re so proud to partner with Smile Train to support FISULAB here in Colombia and other clinics around the world”.
- Erania Brackett, Senior Vice President, Orthodontic Aligner Solutions & Customer Experience, and Head of Sustainability at Dentsply Sirona.
In 2021, Smile Train and Dentsply Sirona entered a five-year partnership to improve oral health globally and build a brighter, more sustainable future for children and families affected by clefts worldwide.
