In many developing countries, children with cleft lips or palates are generally ostracized from society, unable to go to school or make friends. As adults, patients with the same issues have little chance of making a living.

Fathers often leave the family, believing their child or their marriage, has been cursed; parents will abandon their infant in the hospital, unable to cope with the future the child will face.

For the past three decades, Global Smile Foundation (GSF) has been dedicated to changing those devastating consequences by making first-class cleft care accessible to all patients, regardless of geographic or socioeconomic barriers.

Who supports these positive changemakers?

Every contribution to their organization helps fund life-changing comprehensive cleft care for underserved patients. One of their longtime supporters is the Benco Family Foundation, the charitable division of Benco Dental, the nation’s largest independently owned dental distributor.

“For the past 11 years, support from the Benco Family Foundation has helped Global Smile Foundation provide comprehensive cleft care for underserved patients born with cleft lip and palate.  
The people we serve live in parts of the developing world where access to proper care is extremely limited. By helping us reach these underserved areas, Benco Family Foundation has truly helped us change the lives of our patients and their respective families.”

– Usama Hamdan, MS, FICS, Co-Founder & President of Global Smile Foundation


What a difference a year can make.

In 2019, Global Smile Foundation (GSF) conducted six missions to four countries: Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador and Lebanon. Their teams of expert medical volunteers had evaluated more than 1,000 patients by mid-November in 2019 to determine the best individual treatment plan for each patient.

Their team shared comprehensive cleft care stats for 2019 with thedailyfloss.com:

  • 358 surgical procedures for 285 patients
  • 3,786 dental procedures for 576 patients
  • 520 speech therapy procedures and sessions, including 144 feeding consultations
  • 126 Psychosocial consultations

Learn how you can support Global Smile Foundation and keep the positive changes happening: visit their website for details.