Partnership with Smile Train

Partnering to provide safe and high quality cleft care

In 2021, Dentsply Sirona entered into a five-year renewable partnership with Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft organisation. The partnership is driven by the shared ambition to further the provision of safe, high quality, and expert cleft care from diagnosis through to comprehensive care delivery — using the most advanced dental technology resources to serve the complete patient care continuum. To support our partnership, we have announced a $5 million donation to Smile Train. It further includes:

Dentsply Sirona International Smile Train Scholars programme: This programme will support in-person and virtual training and provide learning opportunities for Smile Train dental partners
Clinical Education programme: Providing free access to the full online Dentsply Sirona Clinical Education curriculum for all Smile Train oral health professionals
Technology, R&D and innovation: Providing R&D and innovation know-how, including state-of-the-art technology and equipment to improve access to the best possible care for children affected by clefts.
Developing and outfitting treatment centres

The need for cleft care

Globally, 1 in 700 babies are born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Clefts can have devastating effects on the quality of a child's life, both physically by compromising the ability to communicate and to eat properly and from social stigma resulting in feelings of anxiety and a lack of self-confidence. A child with a cleft requires more than just surgery. Essential cleft care includes nutrition programmes, dental and orthodontic care, speech therapy, as well as social and emotional support.

To learn more about the profound impact of cleft lip and palate, tune into a DS Tunes podcast episode featuring the Netto family. Join Manuel Netto, a Dentsply Sirona employee, his wife Phoebe, and their daughter Abigail as they share their personal story.

Listen to the podcast episode

Advancing the future of and access to cleft care

Smile Train is the largest cleft-focused organisation with a model of true sustainability - providing training, funding, and resources to empower local medical professionals in 70+ countries to provide 100%-free cleft surgery and other forms of essential cleft care in their own communities. For over 20 years, Smile Train has supported safe and quality cleft care for more than 1.5 million children in over 90 countries around the world.

Smile Train's sustainable model empowers local medical professionals to provide free cleft surgery and essential cleft care in their own communities. That's why, in September 2021, Dentsply Sirona has launched a five-year partnership with Smile Train to increase access to cleft care globally and to build a brighter, safer, healthier future for patients affected by cleft worldwide.

First-ever global standard protocols for digital cleft treatment

In partnership with FDI World Dental Federation and Smile Train, Dentsply Sirona is proud to have contributed to the development of the first-ever global standard protocols for digital cleft treatment. These protocols are expected to improve the accuracy and efficacy of the current treatments significantly while providing dental professionals with a comprehensive clinical approach across all stages of care.

Discover the global standard workflows

Additionally, a comprehensive clinical education course to provide in-depth training into digital cleft care for oral health and cleft professionals worldwide to accompany them as they integrate digital technologies into their treatment plans has been developed.

Discover the clinical education course

Contact us if you would like to take action together with us, to support the treatment of children with cleft. You can do this by volunteering to support a treatment and training programme or by making a financial donation.

Email us

“We are pleased to welcome Dentsply Sirona on board as a corporate partner. This five-year partnership comes at a pivotal moment for Smile Train and will help advance the future of cleft care by supporting global treatment standards and best practices for digitalised cleft orthodontics. We are grateful for Dentsply Sirona’s generous support and look forward to working together to raise awareness about and deepen our impact around cleft.”

Susannah Schaefer, Smile Train President & Chief Executive Officer

Smile Train — Dentsply Sirona Colombia Donation

By donating one of our most advanced products to a Smile Train treatment centre in Bogotá, we eliminate a life-threatening risk for the patients and reduce the treatment path – which for a child with cleft, lasts for what may seem forever.

Babies born with clefts are more likely to suffer cavities, tooth decay, and have extra or missing teeth, among many other urgent dental issues and early dental care is important to prevent pain. Using Primescan to take an intraoral scan as the first step of the treatment makes it more comfortable for babies and prevents the use of gooey impression material. In addition, dentists can easily create individual digital treatment plans and families save trips to the treatment facility.