September – Dental Health Awareness month – isn’t only about remembering to book your annual check-up.

It’s an opportunity to help someone who needs more than a filling or routine clean and polish.

Someone who lives with teeth that aren’t just slightly crooked, chipped or discoloured. Teeth that make it hard to look in a mirror … that destroy your confidence and rob you of your smile.

When you’re born with a cleft lip and palate, as Zivezile was, it affects the way your teeth grow. Cleft surgery is only the start of a long journey back to health and confidence.

That’s why Operation Smile provides comprehensive cleft care – including specialised dentistry and speech therapy – along with life-changing surgery.

Thanks to support from caring people like you, Zivezile not only received the cleft surgery he needed; our volunteer dentists made a special plate for him with a false front tooth – giving him the confidence to smile again.

This September, please help us give more people born with cleft conditions a healthy start – by supporting Operation Smile with a generous donation.

As with most conditions, the earlier we start the better the outcome.

Especially when it comes to kids who don’t have access to oral health care … or even a toothbrush to call their own.

For those born with cleft conditions, the impact on health can be serious. Apart from the risk of tooth decay, infections caused by food particles trapped in the cleft can cause severe problems.

A healthy smile starts with access to basic care.

Please will you help bring that care closer to home for more children born with cleft lip and palate?

Your donation will help provide oral health assessments, dental treatment, education and preventative care – as well as cleft surgery, nutrition support and speech therapy.