We envision a world where no one suffers needlessly from untreated cleft.
The mission of Global Smile Foundation (GSF) is to provide comprehensive cleft care for patients in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC) and to advance the level of cleft care provided globally. For the past 38 years, GSF volunteers have been dedicated to providing our patients with the best possible long-term and interdisciplinary cleft care. We return to the same locations annually and are thus able to provide individualized follow-up care for our patients and a continuity of care. Our approach enables us to facilitate the best health outcomes for our patients and gives them the opportunity to live full, productive lives without the burdens of cleft.
In addition to surgical procedures, comprehensive care includes:
Pre-surgical dental orthopedics
Feeding and nutrition counseling
Dental and orthodontic treatment
Speech therapy
Psychosocial support
Patients and their families also receive education and inform
Millions of people around the world live with an untreated cleft lip or palate. For a child, a cleft can affect the ability to eat, speak, breathe and thrive. In many communities, stigma can mean being kept home, kept quiet or kept apart.
But cleft is treatable. And where a child is born shouldn’t determine the care they receive.
GSF provides cleft surgery and comprehensive treatment, trains healthcare professionals to deliver specialized cleft care in their own communities, and advances research to improve outcomes for children everywhere.
Every child deserves access to exceptional, comprehensive cleft care.